Some questions do not ask what the passage says. They ask how it is written: how the author put the ideas in order, what kind of text it is, and why a certain detail is there. Six techniques and four kinds of text cover most of the answer choices.
19 min read · 15 practice questions · 12 flashcards · Free
Technique means how the author builds the passage
Passage
Riding a bike and taking the bus are both cheap ways to get to work, but they suit different days. A bike costs nothing per trip and gives you exercise. The bus costs a fare, but it keeps you dry when it rains. Unlike the bike, the bus runs on a schedule, so you cannot leave whenever you want.
Signal wordPoint compared
The passage tells you things about bikes and buses. That is what it says. Now look at how it says them: every sentence puts the two side by side. The way an author builds a passage is the technique. Here it is comparison and contrast: showing how two things are alike and how they are different.
Three questions about how a passage is written
Question
It asks
In the bike passage
Technique
How are the ideas put in order?
Comparison and contrast
Kind of text
What form does the text take?
A report: facts, no side taken
A detail
Why is this detail here?
“Keeps you dry” gives a point for the bus
Key idea
Read for how, not only for what
A technique question does not care about one fact. It asks what the author is doing: comparing, giving an example, explaining a cause, listing steps, solving a problem or defining a word. Small signal words, like both, but and unlike here, usually give it away.
A technique is the plan the author follows to put the ideas in order. Some tests call it the pattern of organization or the structure: all three mean the same thing. Short passages use six plans again and again.
Comparison and contrastalike / differentshows how two things are the same and how they differ
Examplefor instancebacks up a general idea with one specific case
Cause and effectwhy → resulttells why something happens and what it leads to
List of steps1, 2, 3tells how to do something, in order
Problem and solutionproblem → fixdescribes something that goes wrong, then a way to fix it
DefinitionX means…explains what a word or an idea means
Comparison
“A ferry carries cars across the bay, while a footbridge carries only people.”
Two things side by side: comparison and contrast
Problem and solution
“The library was too noisy to study in, so it opened a quiet room upstairs.”
Each technique has its own small words. A signal word does not carry the facts. It shows how the facts are connected. Find two or three signal words and you usually have the technique.
Signal words for each technique
Technique
Look for
Comparison and contrast
both, also, like, unlike, but, while, however
Example
for example, for instance, such as
Cause and effect
because, since, so, as a result, led to
List of steps
first, next, then, after that, finally
Problem and solution
problem, trouble, to fix, one answer, solved
Definition
is, means, is called, refers to, in other words
Passage
Every winter, the problem on Elm Street was the same: snow from the plow buried the sidewalk, and older neighbors could not get out. To fix it, the block started a sign-up sheet. Now each family shovels the walk one week a season, and nobody is stuck inside.
Signal wordThe problem and the fix
Example
Which technique does the Elm Street passage use?
“Problem” names something that goes wrong: the buried sidewalk.
“To fix it” brings in the answer: the sign-up sheet.
The plan is a problem first, then the way it was solved.
Some questions ask what kind of text the passage is. The kind is its form, like the difference between a recipe and a letter. Four kinds cover most passages.
Instructionsdo thistells the reader what to do, step by step
Argumentshouldgives an opinion and reasons to agree with it
Reportfactsgives facts about a topic without taking a side
Narrativestorytells what happened to someone, like a story
The kind of text is close to the author’s purpose (to inform, persuade, explain or entertain), which has its own lesson. Here the question is only about the form: is it a set of steps, a case for an opinion, a set of facts or a story?
Instructions
“Rinse the jar, peel off the label and drop it in the blue bin.”
Commands, one after another: instructions
Argument
“The city should plant more trees, because shade keeps streets cool.”
An opinion with a reason: argument
Narrative
“When Luis stepped off the bus at boot camp, his hands were shaking.”
A person and what happened to him: narrative
Shortcut
Look at the verbs
Commands like “rinse” and “turn” mean instructions. “Should” and “must” mean an argument. Actions a person did in the past (“stepped,” “said”) mean a narrative. Plain facts with no opinion mean a report.
A detail is a small piece of the passage: a number, a name, a short story, a quote. Some questions ask why the author put it there. The answer is the detail’s job in the paragraph, not what it is about.
To give an examplefor instancemakes a general idea easy to picture
To give evidencea fact or numberproves the author’s claim is true, for example that a plan worked
To show a contrastbutsets one thing against another
To define a termmeansexplains a word the reader may not know
To catch your interesta short storyopens the passage so you want to read on
To find the job, cover the detail with your finger and read the paragraph again. Ask: what does it lose without the detail? If it loses its proof, the detail was evidence. If it loses a real case you can picture, it was an example.
Passage
Walking is one of the easiest ways to stay healthy. My neighbor Rita, who is seventy, walks two miles to the market every morning and has not missed a day in years. You do not need a gym or special gear, just good shoes.
The detail
Example
Why does the author mention Rita?
The first sentence is the general idea: walking is an easy way to stay healthy.
Cover the Rita sentence. The idea is still there, but now nobody is actually doing it.
Rita is one real person who shows the general idea: a specific case.
Her numbers (seventy, two miles) only make the picture clear. Rita shows the idea in one case; she does not prove the claim that walking is one of the easiest ways to stay healthy. So this is an example, not evidence.
When two techniques mix, the whole passage decides
Real passages often use more than one technique. A problem-and-solution passage may explain a cause on the way. An argument may give an example. The question asks for the technique that organizes the whole passage, not one sentence.
Ask: what is the plan from the first sentence to the last? The other techniques are smaller pieces inside that plan.
Passage
Many new drivers fail the parking part of the road test. The cause is usually nerves, not skill. Our driving school found a fix: students now practice parking with an instructor in the passenger seat who acts like the examiner. Since the change, far more of our students pass on the first try.
A cause, inside the bigger plan
Example
Which technique organizes the whole passage?
Sentence 1 names a problem: new drivers fail the parking test.
Sentence 2 gives a cause, but only to explain the problem.
Sentences 3 and 4 give the fix and how well it worked. From start to end, the plan is a problem, then a solution.
Answer Problem and solution (the cause is one piece inside it)
Each one starts with the first try many people make, crossed out, and then the way that works. Read the wrong try too: it is the kind of answer the test puts in the choices.
The test-level one asks why a detail is there. Name the detail’s job in the paragraph in your own words before you look at the choices.
Example · Easy
“To pack a sea bag, first roll each shirt tightly. Next, put your boots at the bottom. Then fill the gaps with socks. Finally, put the things you will need first on top.” What kind of text is this?
First tryA narrative
A narrative tells what happened to a person. Nobody here does anything in the past: the passage talks to you.
The verbs are commands: roll, put, fill.
“First,” “next,” “then” and “finally” put the commands in order.
Answer Instructions
Example · Medium
“Frogs and toads look alike, but you can tell them apart. A frog has smooth, wet skin and long legs for jumping. A toad, however, has dry, bumpy skin and short legs for walking. Both lay their eggs in water.” Which technique does the author use?
First tryDefinition
The first try sees “a frog has…” and thinks the author is explaining what a frog is. But the passage never says what a frog is. It says how a frog differs from a toad.
Signal words: “alike,” “but,” “however,” “both.”
Every sentence puts frogs and toads side by side, point by point: skin, legs, eggs.
Answer Comparison and contrast
Example · Test level
“Many small towns are losing their only grocery store, and people must drive far for fresh food. In Harlan Springs, residents tried something new: each family bought a small share, and together they opened a store they own. In its first year, the store sold more fresh vegetables than the old store had sold in three. Other towns now visit to learn how it works.” Why does the author mention the vegetable sales?
First tryTo give an example of a small town
First the plan of the whole passage: a problem (stores closing), then a solution (a store the town owns).
The vegetable sales come right after the solution. Cover them: the passage still says what the town did, but no longer shows that it worked.
Harlan Springs is the example. The sales are a fact that proves the solution worked: evidence, not another example. An example shows the idea in one case; evidence proves the claim the author is making.
Warm-up first, then core, then test level. Pick an answer, then read why.
On test day
On the computer test, Paragraph Comprehension has 10 questions that count toward your score, in 27 minutes: about 2 min 42 s each. On paper it is 15 questions in 13 minutes, about 52 s each. Questions about how a passage is written look like “The author develops the passage mainly by…,” “This passage is best described as…” or “Why does the author mention…?”
Before you read the choices, find two or three signal words and name the technique in your own words. For a detail question, cover the detail and ask what the paragraph loses without it.
On the computer test you cannot go back to a question. Check your answer against the whole passage once, then move on.
Question 1 of 15 · Warm-up
Passage: “A glacier is a large, slow river of ice. It forms where more snow falls each winter than melts each summer.” Which technique does the author use?
Show the answer
B. “A glacier is…” followed by what it is made of and where it forms explains the meaning of a word. Nothing goes wrong and gets fixed, so it is not problem and solution. There are no steps for the reader to follow, and nothing is set side by side with the glacier. The technique is Definition.
Question 2 of 15 · Warm-up
Passage: “To set up the tent, first spread the floor on flat ground. Next, push the poles through the sleeves. Then stake down the corners. Finally, tie the rain cover over the top.” What kind of text is this?
Show the answer
D. The verbs are commands to the reader: spread, push, stake, tie. “First,” “next,” “then” and “finally” put them in order. It gives no opinion, so it is not an argument. Nobody does anything in the past, so it is not a narrative. It does not just give facts about tents, so it is not a report. It is Instructions.
Question 3 of 15 · Warm-up
In the sentence “Some jobs keep you outdoors; for instance, park rangers spend most of the day on trails,” why does the author mention park rangers?
Show the answer
A. “For instance” signals an example: park rangers are one specific case of a job that keeps you outdoors. The sentence does not explain what “ranger” means, it does not set rangers against anything, and there are no steps. The answer is To give an example.
Question 4 of 15 · Warm-up
Passage: “Heavy rain fell for three days. As a result, the creek rose over its banks and flooded the road to the school.” Which technique does the author use?
Show the answer
C. “As a result” links a cause (three days of rain) to its effects (the creek rose and the road flooded). No word is defined, nothing is compared, and the reader is not told to do anything. The technique is Cause and effect.
Question 5 of 15 · Warm-up
Passage: “Our team kept missing deadlines because nobody knew who was doing what. To fix this, the manager put a task board on the wall, with a name next to each job.” Which technique does the author use?
Show the answer
B. First a problem (missed deadlines), then “to fix this” and the fix (a task board). There is a cause inside (“because nobody knew”), but the plan is a problem, then a fix. It is not one case of a bigger idea, so it is not an example; nothing is compared; and no word is defined. The technique is Problem and solution.
Question 6 of 15 · Core
Passage: “Every job seeker should keep a resume to one page. A busy manager may have dozens to read, so a long resume gets skimmed. One page that shows your best work gets read.” What kind of text is this?
Show the answer
A. “Should” states the author’s opinion, and the rest gives a reason to agree: long resumes get skimmed. It tells you what to do, but there are no steps in order, so it is not instructions. No one’s story is told, so it is not a narrative. It takes a side, so it is not a plain report. It is An argument.
Question 7 of 15 · Core
Passage: “Bread goes stale faster in the refrigerator than on the counter. The cold makes the starch in the bread harden, so the loaf turns dry and firm within a few days.” Which technique organizes the passage?
Show the answer
C. The comparison in the first sentence is only the fact to be explained. The rest tells why it happens: the cold makes the starch harden, “so” the bread dries out. A cause and its result organize the passage, so comparison is the one-sentence trap. There are no steps to follow, and the passage does not explain what “stale” means. The technique is Cause and effect.
Question 8 of 15 · Core
Passage: “Many animals change the way they live to get through the winter. Bears, for example, sleep through the coldest months, living on fat they stored in the fall.” Why does the author mention bears?
Show the answer
D. The first sentence is the general idea: animals change the way they live to get through winter. “For example” brings one specific case: bears. Nothing compares bears with other animals, no word is defined, and the reader is not taught how to store fat. The answer is To give an example of the idea in the first sentence.
Question 9 of 15 · Core
Passage: “A night shift at a city hospital can be quiet for hours and then suddenly busy. Elena’s first night as a nurse was quiet until 2 a.m. Then the phone rang, and three patients arrived at once. She took a deep breath and went to work.” What kind of text is this?
Show the answer
B. The first sentence sounds like a report: a general fact about hospital nights. That is the trap. It only sets the scene. Everything after it is a person (Elena), a time and events that happen to her, told in the past: “rang,” “arrived,” “took.” The passage follows one person’s night instead of giving facts about a topic, so it is not a report. It gives no opinion, so it is not an argument, and it gives you no steps, so it is not instructions. It is A narrative.
Question 10 of 15 · Core
Passage: “A credit score is a number that shows lenders how likely you are to pay back money you borrow. In other words, it is a grade for how you handle debt.” Why does the author write the second sentence?
Show the answer
A. “In other words” signals the same idea said again, more simply. The first sentence defines a credit score; the second says it again as “a grade.” It proves nothing, so it is not evidence. It does not turn against the first sentence, so it is not a contrast. There are no steps. The answer is To restate the definition in simpler words.
Question 11 of 15 · Test level
Passage: “Renting an apartment and buying a house both give you a place to live, but they ask different things of you. A renter pays each month and calls the landlord when the heater breaks. An owner pays for repairs, but each payment builds value in the home. A renter can move when the lease ends; an owner must sell first. Because buying costs more at the start, many young workers rent for a few years.” The author develops this passage mainly by…
Show the answer
D. “Both,” “but” and the side-by-side sentences (a renter… an owner…) compare renting and buying from start to end. The last sentence has a cause (“because buying costs more”), but it is one piece, and it says nothing about prices rising. No steps are given, and no one person’s story is told. The passage is built by Comparing two ways to have a place to live.
Question 12 of 15 · Test level
Passage: “For years, the soldiers at Camp Ridge waited up to an hour for lunch, because every unit was released at noon. Last spring, the base tried a simple change: units now go to the dining hall in three groups, fifteen minutes apart. The line that once wrapped around the building is gone, and most soldiers now eat within ten minutes of arriving.” Why does the author mention the line that “once wrapped around the building”?
Show the answer
C. The passage is a problem (an hour-long wait), then a solution (three groups). The line that “once wrapped around the building” and now “is gone” sets before against after: it is proof the change worked. The building is the detail’s topic, not its job. The steps of the plan are in the sentence before, and the passage never says why lunch is at noon. The answer is To show that the change worked.
Question 13 of 15 · Test level
Passage: “Last July, Mr. Okafor’s corner grocery lost power for two days, and he threw away hundreds of dollars of milk and meat that spoiled. Small shops like his cannot afford losses like that. The city should help small businesses buy backup generators, and it should start before next summer.” What kind of text is this?
Show the answer
A. It opens like a story, with Mr. Okafor’s store, and that is the trap: the story is only the opening. The last sentence says twice what the city “should” do, and the story is there to give a reason. A narrative would only tell what happened, a report would not take a side, and no steps are given to the reader. It is An argument.
Question 14 of 15 · Test level
Passage: “The smoke alarm in Dee’s kitchen went off at 3 a.m., and it saved her family. Smoke alarms are cheap and easy to put up, yet many homes have one with a dead battery or none at all. Test each alarm once a month, and change the battery as soon as it starts to chirp.” Why does the author begin with the story about Dee?
Show the answer
B. The passage is about keeping a working smoke alarm at home, and it ends by telling you what to do. The opening story is one real moment: it catches your interest and shows what is at stake, because the alarm saved a family. It does not prove how many homes have a dead battery; that claim is in the next sentence, and one story cannot prove it. It is not the main story either: the passage moves on to facts and then advice. And it never says what a smoke alarm is. The answer is To show why a working alarm matters.
Question 15 of 15 · Test level
Passage: “When a city paves over fields with roads and parking lots, rain can no longer soak into the ground. The water runs off the hard surfaces into storm drains instead. In a big storm the drains fill quickly, and streets on low ground flood. That is why some cities now build parks that hold rainwater like a sponge.” The author develops this passage mainly by…
Show the answer
D. Each sentence leads to the next: paving stops the rain from soaking in, so the water runs off, so the drains fill, so streets flood. Even the last sentence is a result (“that is why”). Fields and parking lots are named once, not compared point by point; “storm drain” is used but never defined; and the passage gives no steps for the reader to follow. It is built by Showing a chain of causes and effects.
In the course, every topic is drawn step by step on a whiteboard while a voice explains it, with timed practice tests and a plan for your test date. The first lessons of every module are free.
