Reading
Reading in iTEP SLATE Core presents short informational or school-related passages followed by multiple-choice questions. The section tests main idea, explicit detail, vocabulary in context, inference, pronoun reference, sequence, and author purpose. Passages are short enough that the difficulty is usually in the answer choices, not in the length.
A reliable attack plan
- State the topic and purpose after the first two sentences: is the passage explaining, comparing, or persuading?
- For detail questions, locate the keyword in the passage and read the whole sentence around it; the answer often depends on a qualifier such as most or only when.
- For vocabulary, substitute each option into the sentence and keep the meaning that fits the passage, not the most common meaning.
- For reference questions, look backward for the nearest noun that matches the pronoun in number and logic.
- For inference, combine two stated facts. Reject options that are true in general but not supported by this passage.
Worked example
Passage: Many cities are planting trees along sidewalks. In summer, shade can lower street temperatures by several degrees. This effect is strongest on blocks with few buildings. Question: What does this effect refer to? Options: tree planting, lower street temperatures, few buildings, summer weather. Reasoning: This effect follows the sentence about shade lowering temperatures, so the effect is the cooling. Tree planting is the cause, not the effect; few buildings describes where the cooling is strongest. The answer is lower street temperatures.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an answer that is true but does not answer the question.
- Extreme wording: all, never, only, always.
- A vocabulary option that fits everyday use but not the passage context.
- Mistaking a supporting detail for the main idea.
- An option that copies exact words but reverses cause and effect.