In the previous installment of our series on LSAT basics, I discussed the most effective method for reading the passage in the reading comprehension section. This week, I’ll cover how to answer the major question types in this section.
The two most common question types are main point questions and inference questions. Both of these question types requires you to use different information from the passage, and each requires a different approach.
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Main Point Questions: Main point questions ask you to identify the passage’s main point or central idea. Almost every passage contains a main point question, and it’s almost always the first question asked about the passage.
The correct answer for this question will be a complete summary of the contents of the passage. One way to quickly check for the completeness of the answer choice is to make sure that some element of each paragraph is represented in the answer choice.
Incorrect answers tend to follow one of three patterns: they are too broad, too narrow or inconsistent with the author’s tone. An answer choice that is too broad will be attractive because it will contain all the information in the passage, but it will also contain information outside that passage. An answer choice that is too narrow will also contain information in the passage, but there will be important information in the passage that it does not contain.
By identifying the main point of each paragraph as you read, you should have all the information needed to answer a main point question. These paragraph summaries will help you determine which answer choices are too broad, which are too narrow and which strike the correct balance. Knowing the author’s opinion on the subject will enable you to eliminate answer choices that are inconsistent with that opinion.
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Since the reading method described last week gives you all the information you need to answer these questions, you should usually answer them first.
Inference Questions: Inference questions will often be worded deceptively. They might ask you to identify an answer choice with which the author would agree or to infer information from the passage. These questions are simply asking you to restate information that is already in the passage. To answer these questions try not to think critically or infer anything. Instead, treat these questions as a process of identifying the relevant information, then finding an answer choice that is an accurate restatement of that information.
There are two types of inference questions in the reading comprehension section: those that ask for specific information, and those that don’t. For questions that ask for specific information, find that information in the passage before attempting to choose the correct answer choice. For questions that do not identify any specific information, first eliminate answer choices that are inconsistent with either the main point of the passage or the author’s opinion.
As we mention above, the correct answer for an inference question is simply a restatement of some piece of information in the passage. This idea is counterintuitive to most LSAT test-takers. The LSAT is viewed as a complex, dense test, so how could they want something as simple as a restatement without any type of critical thought or analysis? Once you internalize this idea, answering these questions will become much more straightforward.
Incorrect answers for this question type tend to take one of two forms. They mention something that isn’t a part of the passage, or they state something that is inconsistent with the main point of the passage.
It is not a good use of time to try to internalize detailed information contained in the passage. Unfortunately, many of the answer choices in the inference questions will ask you to retrieve a bit of that detailed information. The best way to retrieve that information is by using your understanding of the basic content and the structure of the passage as a map. By knowing the basic content and the structure, you can usually know approximately where specific information is located.
Have questions about LSAT prep? You can reach me via email.
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