11th grade reading comprehension

Example

Graph summary: Ice cream sales rise from 200 in March to 900 in July, then fall to 300 in October. Which conclusion is best supported?

1. A claim about data must match the numbers exactly.
2. So the answer is: Sales peaked in July.

Answer: Sales peaked in July.

Example

Text 1: Some economists argue that a four-day week raises productivity because rested workers focus better. Text 2: Other researchers caution that productivity gains seen in office trials may not apply to hospitals or factories, where hours relate directly to output. How would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the economists in Text 1?

1. Comparing texts means finding where they agree and differ.
2. So the answer is: By noting that their findings may not apply to every kind of workplace.

Answer: By noting that their findings may not apply to every kind of workplace.

Example

[1] The novelist rarely describes her characters' appearance. [2] Instead, she reveals them through small gestures — a tapped spoon, a glance away. [3] Readers thus come to know the characters as they would real people. Which choice best describes the overall structure?

1. Text structure is how a writer organises ideas.
2. So the answer is: It identifies a technique, illustrates it, and explains its effect.

Answer: It identifies a technique, illustrates it, and explains its effect.

Example

In a study, students who explained a concept aloud to a classmate later remembered it better than students who reread their notes for the same length of time. This finding suggests that ___ Which choice most logically completes the text?

1. The correct completion is the conclusion the evidence in the text best supports.
2. The explaining group remembered more, with time held equal.
3. So the answer is: actively explaining material may strengthen memory more than passive review.

Answer: actively explaining material may strengthen memory more than passive review.

Example

For decades, researchers assumed that octopuses, being solitary, had little need for complex social behaviour. However, divers off the coast of Australia have recorded groups of gloomy octopuses living together, sharing dens and even signalling to one another by changing colour. These observations suggest that octopus social life may be richer than once believed. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

1. The main idea is the central claim the whole text supports; details are evidence for it.
2. The text sets up an old assumption and presents evidence against it.
3. So the answer is: New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.

Answer: New observations challenge the view that octopuses have little social behaviour.

Example

An economist argues that a city's new metro line caused local shops to earn more. Which finding would most directly WEAKEN this argument?

1. Evidence strengthens a claim when it shows the predicted result in a fair comparison, and weakens it when the result appears without the proposed cause.
2. If distant shops did equally well, the metro probably isn't the cause.
3. So the answer is: Shops far from any metro station saw the same rise in earnings during the same period.

Answer: Shops far from any metro station saw the same rise in earnings during the same period.

Example

Which rhetorical device matches this description? Repeating the same word or phrase at the START of successive clauses.

1. Speakers and writers shape sentences for effect: repetition (anaphora, epistrophe), balance and contrast (antithesis, chiasmus), pace (asyndeton, polysyndeton) and understatement (litotes).
2. anaphora: Repeating the same word or phrase at the START of successive clauses.
3. So the answer is: anaphora

Answer: anaphora

Example

Which drama term matches this description? A brief remark to the audience that the other characters on stage supposedly cannot hear.

1. Drama has its own techniques for revealing thoughts (soliloquy, aside), shaping character (foil, tragic hero, hamartia) and affecting the audience (catharsis).
2. aside: A brief remark to the audience that the other characters on stage supposedly cannot hear.
3. So the answer is: aside

Answer: aside

Example

Which narrative technique matches this description? A story told through letters, diary entries, emails or other documents.

1. Narrative techniques shape how and when readers learn the story, and how far they trust the teller.
2. epistolary: A story told through letters, diary entries, emails or other documents.
3. So the answer is: epistolary

Answer: epistolary

Example

For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a photograph taken at a 1963 protest march

1. Primary sources are first-hand evidence; secondary sources interpret or summarise primary sources.
2. Created at the event itself.
3. So the answer is: primary source

Answer: primary source

Example

A study tracked 50,000 adults for ten years and found that those who walked daily had fewer heart problems. The researchers adjusted for age, smoking and diet, and said walking 'may help protect' the heart. Why is the researchers' wording appropriate?

1. Strong evidence for a cause comes from fair comparisons (ideally randomised, with control groups) on large, representative samples; claims should match the strength of the evidence.
2. Observational data, however large, justify cautious language.
3. So the answer is: Even a large, careful observational study can suggest but not prove cause, so 'may help' is suitably cautious.

Answer: Even a large, careful observational study can suggest but not prove cause, so 'may help' is suitably cautious.