Part 10 (1/2)

4. Eliminate common wrong answer choices including out of scopes, distortions, and opposites.

There are three common wrong answer choices in reading comprehension. These include aout of scope,a aopposite,a and adistorteda answer choices. Note that although airrelevanta answer choices are possible (and common wrong answer choices among critical reasoning problems), they are not common wrong answer choices in reading comprehension.

Reading Comprehension Snapshot There is an obvious difference between the kind of casual reading that takes place when reading a newspaper and the kind required when one encounters reading comprehension in an exam format. There are essentially five areas to cover when discussing strategies to tackle reading comprehension pa.s.sages and accompanying multiple-choice questions. Mastering reading comprehension involves an understanding of pa.s.sage type, pa.s.sage content, and pa.s.sage structure, as well as pa.s.sage question types and common wrong answer choices.

I. Pa.s.sage Type i)*Social science ii)*Science II. Pa.s.sage Content i)*Topic ii)*Scope iii)*Purpose (equals main idea) III. Pa.s.sage Structure i)*Transition or guide words ii)*Number of paragraphs and their function iii)*Number of viewpoints and their relations.h.i.+ps IV. Pa.s.sage Question Types i)*Overview questions ii)*Explicit-detail questions iii)*Inference questions iv)*Tone questions v)*Pa.s.sage organization questions V. Common Wrong Answer Choices i)*Out of scope ii)*Opposite iii)*Distortion iv)*Irrelevant v)*Too general vi)*Too detailed Pa.s.sage Type There are three basic types of reading comprehension pa.s.sages a” social science, science, and business/economics. Since business and economics pa.s.sages read more similar to social science than science, they fit easily under the umbrella of social science. The fundamental difference between social science and science is that science pa.s.sages tend to be objective and generally exist to describe. Social science pa.s.sages tend to be subjective and usually exist to argue. Social science (which deals with people, societies, and their inst.i.tutions) is typically the domain of ideas, opinions, and conjecture while science (which deals with nature and the universe) is typically the domain of phenomena, theories, and details.

Viewpoints, and the flow of ideas and viewpoints, are generally more important in social science readings than in science readings. In terms of understanding a social science pa.s.sage, it is critical to understand the authoras stance a” awhat side the author is on.a A fitting a.n.a.logy is to say that social science pa.s.sages are ariver-rafting ridesa where the goal is to not fall off our raft amid the twists and turns. Science pa.s.sages are aarcheological digs.a Once we determine where to dig, we must keep track of the small pieces a” we must be able to memorize and work with details.

Pa.s.sage Content Obviously, the better we understand what we have read, the better our chance of answering questions related to the subject at hand. In breaking down pa.s.sage content, we can subdivide everything into three areas, namely topic, scope, and purpose.

Topic is defined as athe broad subject matter of the pa.s.sage.a Scope is defined as athe specific aspect of the topic that the author is interested in.a Purpose is defined as athe authoras main reason for writing the pa.s.sagea or awhy did the author sit down to write this pa.s.sage.a In summary, topic and scope are awhata a pa.s.sage is about while purpose is about awhya the pa.s.sage was written.

One tip involves always performing a atopic-scope-purposea drill. That is, always ask yourself what is the topic, scope, and purpose. Letas test this.

The whale is the largest mammal in the animal kingdom. When most people think of whales, they think of sluggish, obese animals, frolicking freely in the ocean by day and eating tons of food to sustain themselves. When people think of ants, on the other hand, they tend to think of hardworking underfed creatures transporting objects twice their body size to and from hidden hideaways. However, if we a.n.a.lyze food consumption based on body size, we find that ants eat their full body weight everyday while a whale eats the equivalent of only one-thousandth of its body weight each day. In fact, when we compare the proportionate food consumption of all living creatures, we find that the whale is one of the most food efficient creatures on earth.

What is the topic? The answer is clearly awhales.a Donat be fooled into thinking that the topic is the aanimal kingdom.a This would be an example of an answer that is too general. What is the scope? The answer is afood consumption of whales.a What is the purpose of the pa.s.sage or why did the author sit down to write this? The authoras purpose is to say that whales are food efficient creatures and to thereby counter the popular misconception that they are abiologicala gas guzzlers.

Pa.s.sage Structure There are essentially two distinct ways to a.n.a.lyze pa.s.sage structure: the micro and the macro. Micro a.n.a.lysis involves keeping track of transitions, which signal the flow of the pa.s.sage. Transition or guide words, including such words as but and however, have been called the traffic lights of language. These words serve one of four primary purposes: to show continuation, ill.u.s.tration, contrast, or conclusion. See Exhibit A.

Exhibit B a” Pa.s.sage Structure and Viewpoint Macro a.n.a.lysis involves not only noting the number of paragraphs and their function, but more importantly, the number of viewpoints and their relations.h.i.+p. The relations.h.i.+ps between or among viewpoints are finite and summarized in Exhibit B.

In terms of paragraphs and their functions, the opening paragraph is usually the introduction and each succeeding paragraph takes on a single viewpoint or concept. Pa.s.sages with one or two viewpoints are most common on reading pa.s.sages, although three viewpoints within a single reading comprehension pa.s.sage is a possibility. As already noted, viewpoints are more applicable to social science pa.s.sages than to science pa.s.sages because social science is typically subjective and argumentative.

Pa.s.sage Question Types There are five basic kinds of reading comprehension questions. These include: (1) overview questions, (2) explicit-detail questions, (3) inference questions, (4) tone questions, and (5) pa.s.sage organization questions. Examples of each question type follow.

Overview questions: aThe primary purpose of this pa.s.sage is to aa or aWhich of the following is the authoras main idea?a Not surprisingly, an overview question is sometimes called a primary purpose or main idea question.

Explicit-detail questions: aAccording to the pa.s.sage, the author states that aa An explicit-detail question is a question which has a very literal answer. It is something that the reader has read and it can be confirmed based on words actually written in the pa.s.sage.

Inference questions: aIt can be inferred from the pa.s.sage that aa or aThe author implies that aa The artistry in answering an inference question lies in drawing that magic line between what can be logically inferred based on information in a pa.s.sage and what is declared outside the scope of the pa.s.sage.

Tone questions: aThe att.i.tude of the author toward mystics can best be described as aa A tone question asks the reader to comment on the atemperaturea of some aspect of the pa.s.sage.

Pa.s.sage organization questions: aWhich of the following best describes the way in which this pa.s.sage is organized?a A pa.s.sage organization question asks about the structure of the pa.s.sage or the structure of a portion of the pa.s.sage.

Exhibit C a” The Four-Corner Question Cracker for Reading Comprehensiona”

The four-quadrant grid above, per Exhibit C, is a useful tool to ferret out common wrong answer choices on reading comprehension questions. The correct answer always appears in the middle where the bullas-eye is located. The four incorrect answers will almost always appear in one of the four corners.

Common Wrong Answer Choices Out of Scope: An out of scope answer choice is an answer choice that cannot be answered based on information in the pa.s.sage. An out of scope statement may, in fact, be right or wrong, but it is not something that can be determined based on information supplied by the pa.s.sage.

Irrelevant: An irrelevant answer choice is an answer choice that in no way touches the topic; it is completely off target. We might contrast irrelevant answer choices with out of scope answer choices in that an out of scope answer choice is related tangentially to the pa.s.sage, whereas the irrelevant answer choice is not. Think of an archer with bow and arrow. Out of scope means that the archer is missing the target, but at least he or she is shooting at the right target, and in the right direction. Irrelevant means that the archer isnat even shooting at the correct target.

Opposite: An opposite answer choice is an answer choice which is opposite in meaning to a statement or viewpoint expressed or implied by the pa.s.sage. One common way answer choices are used to reverse meaning is through the inclusion or omission of prefixes such as ain,a aun,a and adis,a or the inclusion or omission of negative words such as anoa or anot.a Thus aunfortunatelya becomes afortunately,a aadvantageousa becomes adisadvantageous,a and anot applicablea becomes aapplicable.a Distortion: A distorted answer choice is an answer choice that distorts the meaning of something stated or implied by the pa.s.sage. Saying, for example, that something is agooda is not the same as saying that something is abest.a Distortions are typically signaled by the use of extreme wording or by the use of categorical words such as aany,a aall,a aalways,a acannot,a anever,a aonly,a and asolely.a Too General: This answer choice is relevant only to the overview question type. Examples: A discussion of aSouth American trade imbalances in the 1950sa is not the same thing as a discussion of amodern global economic practices.a The latter is obviously broader in scope: aglobala is broader than aSouth Americana; amoderna is broader than athe 1950sa; aeconomicsa encompa.s.ses more than just atrade imbalances.a Too Detailed: This answer choice is also relevant only to overview-type questions. Example: A discussion of athe propagation of the Venus Fly Trapa is a much more specific topic than is aplant reproductive systems.a The correct answer to an overview-type question is, relative to the topic, neither overly general nor overly detailed.

Letas gain further insight into how test makers may create incorrect answer choices with respect to reading comprehension (as well as critical reasoning) questions. Take the following easy-to-understand statement: Original: aSuccess is a strange phenomenon. You can achieve it through hard work, skill, or luck, or some combination of the three.a Here are several concocted statements derived from the original statement which showcase incorrect answer choices.

Out of scope: aThe most important ingredient in success is hard work.a (Comment: No, we donat know whether hard work is the most important element in achieving success.) aHard work is a more important element in success than is skill.a (Comment: Unwarranted comparison a” we donat know which element, in relative terms, is more important than the other.) Irrelevant: aPeople who achieve success through hard work, skill, or luck sometimes find that their lives are meaningless.a (Comment: We are only concerned with how to achieve success, not what might happen beyond that juncture.) Opposite: aPeople who are either hardworking, skillful, or lucky are not likely to achieve success.a (Comment: The word anota reverses the meaning of the original statement.) Distortion: aOnly through hard work can one achieve success.a (Comment: No, we can also achieve success by being skillful or lucky. The word aonlya creates a distortion.) aA person who is hardworking does not run any risk of failure.a (Comment: The word aanya distorts the meaning of the original statement. How likely is the possibility of engaging in any human endeavor and having no chance of failure. Another way to view this statement is out of scope because the original statement makes no mention of the word afailure.a) aA person who is hardworking, skillful, or lucky can achieve greatness.a (Comment: The word agreatnessa has an elevated meaning as compared with asuccess.a Another way to view this statement is that it is out of scope because the original statement does not make mention of what it takes to achieve greatness.) The Relations.h.i.+p Between Question Types and Common Wrong Answer Choices How might the different reading comprehension question types be tackled based on an understanding of the common wrong answer choices?

(1) Overview questions There are at least four ways to avoid wrong answer choices when tackling overview questions.

i) Consider eliminating any answer choice which does not contain the words of the topic. Note that this advice works well for Q1, problem 43.

ii) Avoid any overly detailed answer choice which may be a factually correct statement, but which is too detailed to be the correct answer choice to an overview question.

iii) Avoid any overly general answer choice that is too broad to represent the topic at hand.

iii) Use a verb scan, when possible. That is, look at the verb which begins each answer choice and eliminate those verbs which do not fit. Five common verbs found in reading comprehension pa.s.sages include describe, discuss, explain, argue, and criticize. aArguea is found frequently in social science pa.s.sages; adescribea is found frequently in science pa.s.sages. aDiscussa and aexplaina are found in both social science and science pa.s.sages. aCriticizea is usually not correct in an overview question involving a science pa.s.sage because the author is typically out to describe something without being opinionated or judgmental.

(2) Explicit-detail questions and (3) Inference questions On both explicit-detail questions and inference questions, common wrong answer choices include opposites and out of scopes.

Inference questions are especially vulnerable to wrong answer choices that are beyond the scope of the pa.s.sage. In the context of a standardized test question, the test taker must be careful not to a.s.sume too much. Standardized test questions are notorious for narrowing the scope of what we can infer based on what we read. Contrast this with everyday life in which we generally use a loose framework and a.s.sume a lot.

(4) Tone questions Tone is att.i.tude and there are basically three atemperaturesa for tone questions a” positive, negative, or neutral. One trick is to avoid answer choices which contain averbally confused word pairs.a For example, the word pairs asupercilious disdaina or aself-mingled pitya are not terribly clear. Test makers like to include these types of answer choices believing that test takers will be attracted to confusing, complex sounding wrong answer choices.

(5) Pa.s.sage organization questions Two cla.s.sic structures arise in reading comprehension pa.s.sages. The first relates to social science pa.s.sages, where a common structure is aA > B.a Given that the hallmark of social science pa.s.sages is their provocative, subjective, and often argumentative nature, such pa.s.sages often contain competing viewpoints, where one view is favored over another. The other cla.s.sic structure relates to science pa.s.sages, which are often structured in the form of aA, B.a An important distinction with regard to the latter is that the two events are simply being described in detail, but not contrasted. Because science pa.s.sages exist cla.s.sically to describe (not to criticize), the author is unlikely to show favoritism to one side.

Regardless of the structure of the pa.s.sage, a reader should always be careful to distinguish between the authoras view and that of the information and evidence in the pa.s.sage itself. For instance, the author may present information that clearly favors one side of an issue, especially if there is more support for that side or the stance is compelling. However, he or she may not necessarily endorse that viewpoint. Remember that awhat the pa.s.sage saysa and awhat the author thinksa may not always be one in the same. For example, an author of a pa.s.sage may present evidence as to why the scientific community, in general, is sceptical about a belief in psychics, but that doesnat necessarily mean that the author is skeptical about a belief in psychics.

Authoras note: Two caveats that must be noted when using the The Four-Corner Question Cracker for Reading Comprehensiona”. The first is that it can only be used on three of the five question types, namely overview questions, explicit-detail questions, and inference questions. That said, this is hardly problematic because these three question types are by far the most common question types found in reading comprehension. In fact, they may even be referred to as the abig 3a question types for reading comprehension. Second, the vertical grid of the four-corner question cracker, which highlights too general answer choices and too detailed answer choices, can only be used when tackling overview questions. That is, the vertical grid cannot be used on explicit-detail or inference questions. In short, wrong answer choices on explicit-detail and inference questions are strictly referred to as being out of scope, opposite in meaning, or distorted in meaning.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS.

Note: Some problems have definitive solutions. For others, where there is no single arighta answer, a proposed solution is provided.

CHAPTER 2: CREATIVE THINKING.

Problem 1: One Stroke

Oh, how easy it is to be trapped by a programmed mindset and conclude, aThereas no answer here!a SIX = 6.

Another solution is: IX a 6 Hereas another solution (although the instructions donat actually say you can reposition a character): IX = 9.

Back to problem Problem 2: Mop The floor is dirty because Sally used a dirty mop, and before she used the mop the floor was clean!