How to Study

Reading Comprehension Questions
This is the portion of the test where you find a short essay followed
by several questions. You are supposed to find the answers to those
questions in the essay. Unlike the multiple-choice questions, where
the answer is actually right in front of you, the answers to the essay
questions may well be hidden in one fashion or another.
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Here’s the method I recommend for answering comprehension 
questions:
1. Read the questions before you read the selection. They will
alert you to what you’re looking for and affect the way you read
the passage. If dates are asked for, circle all dates in the passage
as you read. If you’re looking for facts rather than conclusions,
it will, again, change the way you read the passage. 
2. When you first read the question, before you look at the
answers, decide what you think the answer is. If your answer
is one of the choices, bingo! 
3. If the correct answer is not obvious to you, slowly read the
essay, keeping in mind the questions you’ve just read. Don’t
underline too much, but do underline conjunctions that 
alter the direction of the sentence: “however,” “although,”
“nevertheless,” “yet,” and so forth. Because of this shift, 
there is a good chance that this sentence will figure in one 
of the questions. 
For example: “John Smith was the kind of writer who 
preferred writing over editing, while his wife Lois was inter-
ested in the latter over the former,” might provide the answer
to the question: “Did Lois Smith prefer writing or editing?” 
A careless glance back at the text will cause you to select
“writing” as the answer.
4. Read the questions again. Then go back and forth, finding 
out the answer to the first one, the second one, and so forth.
Don’t skip around unless the first question is an absolute
stumper. If you jump around too much, you’ll get confused
again and you won’t answer any of the questions very 
completely or even correctly. 
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