Reading Comprehension and Written Communication
Reading Comprehension and Written Communication measures how well you extract meaning from policy memos, post orders, incident narratives, and inmate requests, and how precisely you write a summary or message. The test rewards literal accuracy first and interpretation second.
Core rules
- Identify the main idea before details; then locate the sentence that supports it.
- Separate a stated fact from an inference. If the passage does not say it, do not treat it as true.
- Track sequence and conditions: who, what, when, where, how many, and under what exception.
- In your own writing, use plain, objective language: short sentences, specific nouns, active verbs, one idea per sentence.
- Match tone to audience: a log entry is factual; a response to an inmate request is courteous and limited to what policy allows.
Worked example
Memo: 'Effective Monday, visiting is limited to two adults per inmate. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and count toward the two-adult limit. Visitors arriving after 3:15 p.m. will not be processed.' Question: An inmate's sister, 22, arrives at 3:10 p.m. with her 10-year-old son and the inmate's mother. How many adults count toward the limit? Reasoning: The sister and mother are adults, so they count as two. The child is a minor who must be accompanied, not an adult. The arrival is before the cutoff. Result: two adults plus one child, permitted.
Traps
Choosing a true statement that does not answer the question; treating an inference as explicit; missing exception words such as 'except,' 'unless,' and 'only'; overstating in your own writing with 'always' or 'never'; burying the main point in a long sentence.