ParaPro common mistakes
ParaPro · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Selecting a reading answer because it matches what the candidate already knows about the topic, without locating a sentence in the passage that supports it.
Familiar passage topics trigger prior knowledge, and under time pressure the brain accepts a plausible statement as 'supported' before checking the text.
What to do instead
For every choice, point to the line or sentence that proves it. If no line can be cited, eliminate the choice even if it is factually true.
Choosing a vivid supporting detail as the main idea of a passage.
Details are often repeated and memorable, and they feel 'important' because they carry specific names, numbers, or examples.
What to do instead
Ask 'What is the whole passage mostly about?' and test the choice against every paragraph. A main idea must be broad enough to cover the entire passage, not just one part.
Answering a vocabulary-in-context question with the word's most common everyday meaning.
Candidates retrieve the first-learned definition automatically instead of testing which meaning fits the sentence.
What to do instead
Substitute each candidate meaning into the original sentence and read the whole sentence. Eliminate any meaning that does not fit the surrounding words.
On inference questions, choosing the most extreme or dramatic option rather than the one the passage actually implies.
Strong wording ('always,' 'never,' 'proves') feels like a confident answer, and candidates confuse 'possible' with 'supported.'
What to do instead
Prefer the mildest choice that the text clearly implies. Reject any answer that requires an assumption not hinted at in the passage.
Missing a subject-verb agreement error because a phrase or clause sits between the subject and the verb.
The ear latches onto the nearest noun before the verb instead of the true subject.
What to do instead
Cross out or bracket the interrupting phrase, then read the subject and verb together: 'The box (of pencils) is...' Check number only after removing the phrase.
Confusing homophones and possessive forms, such as its/it's, their/there/they're, or plural versus possessive apostrophes.
Casual speech and texting habits make these forms sound interchangeable, so the eye skips over them.
What to do instead
Apply a substitution test: replace 'it's' with 'it is' and 'they're' with 'they are.' If the sentence breaks, the apostrophe form is wrong. For possessives, ask whether the word shows ownership or plurality.
Placing a sentence in a paragraph based on what the sentence is about rather than on the transition words and pronouns that link it to its neighbours.
Candidates match topics instead of reading the connective logic (however, therefore, this idea, these steps).
What to do instead
Read the sentence immediately before and after each insertion point. The correct spot must make pronouns and transition words refer clearly to what comes before.
On 'which revision is best' questions, choosing the grammatically correct option that changes the writer's original meaning.
Candidates focus only on fixing the error and ignore the sentence's purpose or the surrounding context.
What to do instead
After checking grammar, reread the revised sentence in context and ask whether it still says the same thing. Eliminate options that fix the error but alter the meaning or tone.
Setting up a percent or proportion problem with the wrong base, for example inverting the ratio or using the new amount as the base.
Candidates match keywords ('of,' 'more than') to operations instead of reasoning about which quantity is the whole.
What to do instead
Label every number with its unit and identify the whole before writing the proportion. In percent problems, the number after 'of' is the base; write the ratio so the units on each side match.
Making an order-of-operations error when parentheses, exponents, or negative signs are involved, often by working strictly left to right.
Left-to-right reading habit overrides the hierarchy of operations, and negative signs get lost in multi-step expressions.
What to do instead
Rewrite the expression one step at a time, handling parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication/division, then addition/subtraction. Put negative numbers in brackets so signs are not dropped.