Reading Comprehension: Narrative and Expository Passages
This domain tests main idea, detail, inference, and reference in narrative and expository passages. Narrative questions often ask about a character change or lesson; expository questions ask about the writer's point and how examples support it.
Work from structure
- Narrative: track character, setting, problem, turning point, and resolution. The main idea is usually a change or lesson, not an early detail.
- Expository: find the topic sentence and each paragraph's function: example, contrast, cause, result. Repeated terms signal the topic.
- For detail questions, locate the sentence first, then compare options word by word.
Reference and inference
- For pronoun questions, substitute backward into the nearest noun phrase that agrees in number and makes sense.
- Inference must be forced by evidence. If two answers are possible, choose the one stated or directly implied.
Worked example: Mika practiced the piano every day for the contest. On the day, she made two mistakes and did not win. She congratulated the winner and promised to try again. Question: What does the passage suggest about Mika? A) She dislikes contests. B) She is a good sport. C) She will stop playing. Reasoning: congratulated the winner plus promised to try again supports B. A contradicts daily practice; C contradicts the promise. Answer B.
Traps:
- Selecting a true detail as the main idea.
- Over-inferring feelings that are not stated.
- Sending a pronoun to the last noun only, without checking number and sense.
- Confusing what the author thinks with what a character says.
Core rules
- Main idea answers cover the whole passage, not one paragraph.
- Detail answers must match the text exactly; watch except and not.
- Reference answers must be nouns or noun phrases that fit grammatically.
- Inference answers need textual evidence, not personal opinion.