Types of Reading Comprehension Questions
The official GMAT website tells us what is being tested or measured in the reading comprehension passages:
“Understanding words and statements in reading passages: Questions of this type test your understanding of and ability to comprehend terms used in the passage and your understanding of the English language.
Understanding the logical relationships between significant points and concepts in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to determine the strong and weak points of an argument or to evaluate the importance of arguments and ideas in a passage.
Drawing inferences from facts and statements in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to consider factual statements or information and, on the basis of that information, reach a general conclusion.
Understanding and following the development of quantitative concepts as they are presented in verbal material: Questions of this type involve the interpretation of numerical data or the use of simple arithmetic to reach conclusions about material in a passage.”
The reading comprehension questions fall into one of several categories. If you can identify the type of question being asked you will be better prepared to answer it.
Factual Questions. These tend to be the easiest questions to answer but also the most time consuming. The correct answer will paraphrase something specific in the passage, not something implied by it. As with all question on this challenging test, the writers include curveballs to throw you off base.
Main Idea Questions. These questions will address the passage’s overall theme. The writers will try to fool you by offering answer choices with information discussed in the passage, but it may not necessarily reflect the central theme. Answers that emphasize a lot of factual information can be eliminated, as they are probably too narrow in scope. You can often find the answer to the main idea either in the first or last paragraph of the passage.
Tone Questions. These questions ask you about the author’s opinion. When you read the passage initially try to gauge the writer’s opinion. When this question pops up, hopefully you can answer it without referring back to the passage, by recalling the overall feel of the passage. As a rule, the tone is more likely to be positive or neutral as opposed to negative. (Science passages are often neutral.) This question may appear as “The author’s attitude can best be described as…” or “The writer’s tone can be described as…”
Inference Questions. We discussed these in an earlier post. These questions do not test your knowledge of an explicitly stated fact, but rather your ability to draw conclusions from such information. Inference questions may ask you the author’s opinion. You can often identify such questions with words like hint, imply, suggest.
Word in Context Questions. These ask you to determine the meaning of a word in the context of the passage. I suggest reading one sentence before the word and one sentence after it. See if you can determine your own synonym before looking at the answer choices.
A good tip to remember in deciphering reading comprehension questions is to pay close attention to the scope of the question. If you are being asked something specific, your answer should be specific. And vice versa, as with main idea questions, if asked a general question, the answer should be broad and not focus on specific details.
Add comment April 14th, 2008