Think for a minute about one of the most important things you’re learning about the ACT: It is predictable. You can prepare and know what to expect on test day precisely because the ACT is a standardized test. You’ve learned that the format is always the same and the question types are predictable. Now we’ll look at how you can even know what to expect when it comes to incorrect answer choices! The test maker uses several types of wrong answer choices. We call these wrong answer traps. If you know what kinds of traps to expect, you’ll be better prepared to avoid falling for them. We call these wrong answer traps misused details, distortions, extremes, contradictions, and out-of-scope answers.
A misused detail refers to a detail that actually is used in the passage. When you spot a misused detail among the answer choices, it may jump out at you and look very tempting because it concerns something you remember reading about in the passage. If it’s used in the passage, then why is it wrong? Remember that you have to choose the best answer to the question posed in this particular question stem. If a detail doesn’t directly answer the question you’re dealing with, it can’t be the best answer to this question, even though it may be a true statement according to the passage. Remember Step 2 of the Kaplan Method for ACT Reading: Predict the answer in your own words before you look at the answer choices. Predicting, along with reading the question stem carefully, is your best defense against falling for misused details.
The distortion is a wrong answer choice that uses a detail from the passage but phrases the detail in such a way that it’s distorted, or twisted, into something that doesn’t match what’s in the passage. A distortion may combine two details from the passage in an inaccurate way, or it may combine a detail from the passage with something else that doesn’t appear in the passage at all. As with misused details, it’s much easier to avoid falling for a distortion if you make a prediction about the best answer to the question before you even read the answer choices.
The distortion trap is similar in some ways to the misused detail trap. You may be wondering how to tell the difference between these two. That’s a good question, but you shouldn’t worry if you can’t identify a particular wrong answer as either a distortion or a misused detail. Remember, on the ACT, you don’t score points for correctly labeling the kinds of wrong answer traps. You score points for identifying the correct answer!
As its name suggests, an extreme answer choice uses language that’s too extreme. This means that the answer choice may be something that is along the right lines to answer the question but is worded in a way that goes too far. Certain kinds of words appear frequently in extreme answer traps. Here are some words and phrasings that can indicate extreme answer traps:
An answer choice that contains words or phrases such as those listed is not necessarily the wrong answer. However, if an answer choice does contain extreme language, you should consider it a trap unless the extreme language is also used in the passage. For example, suppose a writer says, “Isaac Newton was one of the one most brilliant scientists of his time,” and you encounter a question that asks about the writer’s opinion of Newton. Consider the following answer choices. Circle any extreme words you notice, and see if you can pick out which one is correct and which are extreme:
What did you identify for extreme language? You should have spotted the following words:
If you noticed the extreme language, it should be easy to see that choice (B) is the correct choice.
A contradiction is a wrong answer trap that goes against what’s stated in the passage. We sometimes call this an opposite answer trap. Think about why an opposite trap would be a tempting answer choice. It addresses something that is indeed found in the passage, so it will contain words that may tempt you much as a misused detail or distortion does. A contradiction trap doesn’t come out of left field; it’s clearly related to the topic of the passage. The problem with a contradiction is that it completely turns around what is stated in the passage. To avoid contradiction traps, read carefully both in the passage as you make your prediction and in the answer choices when you look for a match for your prediction. Little words such as no and not are sometimes the keys to spotting a contradiction. They reverse the meaning of a sentence, giving it a 180-degree turn.
The scope of a passage refers to the information that is covered in the passage. A passage that touches on a few key aspects of a large topic has a scope that is broad. A passage that treats a smaller topic in greater depth and detail has a scope that is narrow. Because the correct answer to an ACT Reading question is always based on what is in the passage, you should pay close attention to the scope of the passage when you’re considering answer choices and looking for the one that best matches your prediction.
An out-of-scope trap goes beyond what is stated in the passage. If you see an answer choice that brings up something you don’t even remember seeing in the passage, you can usually eliminate that as an out-of-scope trap. Occasionally, the best answer to a Big Picture question may appear to bring up something that isn’t directly in the passage. Remember to read the question carefully to determine what it’s asking. Let’s consider some choices that are wrong because they go beyond the scope of the passage. Big Picture questions that ask about the passage as a whole frequently include this trap among the answer choices. Suppose you see a passage that discusses two medieval philosophers followed by this question:
The primary purpose of this passage is to:
Did you spot three out-of-scope answer traps here? Choice A is out-of-scope because it’s too broad. A passage that discusses only two philosophers can’t be an overview of all medieval philosophy. On the other hand, B is too narrow. While one or more paragraphs does concern a single medieval philosopher, B addresses only part of the passage and so is out-of-scope. Choice C cannot be correct because the passage discusses only medieval philosophy, not ancient Greek philosophy. Because Greek philosophy isn’t addressed at all in the passage, it can’t be part of the best answer for this question. Choice (D) is the best answer here.