On the left, we’ve shown how keywords help you to identify the major elements of the passage and its structure and what you could skim over. On the right, we’ve shown what you might be thinking as you read the passage strategically.
Passage for Questions 1–3
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PASSAGE |
ANALYSIS |
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Due to the laws and mechanics of the American presidential election system, the plurality winner of a state’s popular vote generally gains that state’s entire electoral vote. Thus, the winner of the national election is not necessarily the most popular candidate. In the 30 presidential elections from 1880 to 2000, there were two occasions in which the winner of the presidential election did not win a plurality of the popular votes and ten occasions in which the president chosen by this system did not receive the majority of votes cast. Some critics believe that the electoral process should be replaced by a system that might better choose a president who is the most popular candidate among voters. Proposed alternatives include multiple rounds of elections, “approval voting,” and “rank voting.” |
The topic, the American presidential election system, is announced in the first sentence. A quirky effect of the current system: the winner isn’t necessarily the most popular candidate. This leads the critics to suggest that a different system might be better. Because the author enumerates the possible alternative systems at the end of the opening paragraph, expect to see at least some of them discussed in later paragraphs. |
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In the approval voting system, each voter can cast votes for as many candidates as he or she wishes. A voter can select one candidate whom he or she favors, or a voter who disapproves of certain candidates can vote for every candidate except the ones whom he or she opposes. The Secretary General of the United Nations is elected using approval voting, and, in a 1990 statewide referendum using the approval voting system, Oregon voters chose from five options for school financing. The approval voting system, however, can be confusing, and it can, theoretically, work against candidates who take strong stands on the issues and therefore attract disapproval. |
Indeed, here’s the first alternative the author will discuss: approval voting, which seems to be a system allowing voters to cast votes for multiple candidates they approve of. The author gives a couple of examples of elections run according to approval voting. The word “however” indicates contrast. Although approval voting is in use, the author believes that it has a couple of drawbacks. |
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Rank voting is known more formally as “Borda voting” after its first known proponent, Jean Charles Borda. In this scheme, each voter can rank candidates from first to last. Depending on the number of candidates, each position would represent a number of points. For instance, if there were five candidates, the candidate ranked first would get five points, the candidate ranked second would get four points, and so on. The candidate with the most points in the end would be the winner. Rank voting is used in the United States by the Associated Press to choose the best college sports teams, and a variant is used in most Australian elections. The rank system is advocated by a number of noted scholars, but it is criticized by some because the candidate ranked first by a majority of voters can still lose. For example, a candidate who is ranked second by 80 percent of the voters could end up with more points than one who is ranked first by 52 percent of the voters. |
Now the author proceeds to discuss a second alternative: rank voting. The words “in this scheme” indicate that you’re about to be given a description of the rank voting method. Here the author gives specific examples of elections using rank voting. Like approval voting, rank voting apparently has its pros and cons. |
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Although alternative voting systems offer noteworthy alternatives to the current process, there is not enough support for an alternative system in the United States to make its adoption likely in the near future on a national scale. |
The keyword “Although” signals a contrast: the author thinks there are “noteworthy” methods that could replace the current one, but they aren’t likely to be put into use anytime soon. |
Passage Map
¶1: American presidential election system = electoral system
Problem: candidate with most popular vote can lose
Critics favor alternatives
¶2: Approval voting: can vote for several candidates
Drawback: can be confusing
¶3: Rank voting: voters rank choices
Drawback: candidate ranked 1st by majority could still lose
¶4: Author likes alternatives, but they probably won’t be adopted soon
Topic: American presidential election system
Scope: Problem with, and alternatives to, the current system
Purpose: Describe problem with current electoral system and two potential alternatives
Because you are asked for the function of a chunk of the passage, this is a Logic question. Specifically, you are asked to deduce the role played by the first paragraph.
A glance at your passage map will suffice in this case. You shouldn’t have to go back to the passage text itself.
The first paragraph, as noted in the passage map, describes the American presidential election system, states that there is a problem with the current system that has caused it to receive some criticism, and lists several proposed alternatives.
(B) matches the prediction and is the correct answer. The fact that the winner of a U.S. presidential election isn’t necessarily the most popular candidate is the “problem” recorded in the passage map. (A) is incorrect because the author takes a very neutral tone. The initial verb, “to lament,” is sufficient to throw this one out. Moreover, the author never describes the U.S. presidential election system as “nondemocratic.” (C) is incorrect because the author does not “advocate” for either of the proposed alternatives. (D) is incorrect because the author does not “attack” election results. (E) is similar to (C); again, the author does not “advocate” making a change to the current system.
The word “inferred” signals that this is an Inference questions. The correct answer must be true based only on information in the passage. Note that the question asks specifically about the selection of the most popular candidate in U.S. presidential elections.
Use your passage map to confirm that the question stem points to the first paragraph, where the author discusses the current practice used in American presidential elections. You read that under the current system, the winner of the popular vote is not necessarily the winner of an election and that critics have proposed alternative systems that would make the winner more likely to be the popular favorite, including multiple rounds of elections, approval voting, and rank voting.
While it is difficult to make a specific prediction because the sentence in the question stem could be completed in multiple ways, the correct answer will be in accord with the information you have gleaned from the first paragraph about the U.S. presidential election system.
(E) is supported by the passage and is correct. It is true, according to the last few lines of the first paragraph, that selecting the most popular candidate “might” be achieved through multiple rounds of elections. (A) cannot be correct because there is nothing in the first paragraph to indicate that electing the most popular candidate is “more important” than any other result of a particular election system. (B) might be tempting, because you read about the possibility of using approval voting in the last sentence of the first paragraph. However, you can throw out this choice as extreme. The author merely states that approval voting is one of the systems that the critics believe “might” better choose the most popular candidate; there is no indication that the approval voting system would definitely have this effect. (C) cannot be correct according to the numbers given in the first paragraph. In 20 of 30 presidential elections, the winner has received the majority of votes cast, and in 28 of 30, the winner has received the plurality of votes cast. Either way, that’s the majority of elections since 1880. (D) is unsupported. There is no mention of anything being “critical to the maintenance of democratic institutions.”
The phrase “primary purpose” indicates that this is a Global question. You need to ascertain the author’s purpose in writing the passage.
The only research you’ll need to do will be to consult your statements of topic, scope, and purpose.
As stated in the passage map, the author’s purpose is to describe a problem with the current U.S. electoral system, as well as two alternatives that have been proposed.
(D) matches the prediction and is the correct answer. (A) is incorrect because the author isn’t “advocating” for anything. The tone of the passage is fairly neutral. (B) is a classic wrong answer type called “faulty use of detail.” The passage definitely discusses how the winner of the popular vote can lose the electoral vote, but it goes on to discuss the two proposed alternative election systems. Watch out for answer choices that, like this one, provide you with only part of the passage when you’re looking for a choice that encompasses the entire thing. (C) is incorrect because the author does not make any recommendations. (E) is incorrect because the passage makes no mention of the idea that the current electoral system is “out-of-date.”
The phrase “primary purpose” signals that this is a Global question. You need the author’s reason for writing the passage.
For this question, simply consult your notes on topic, scope, and purpose. You shouldn’t have to go back to the passage itself.
As noted in the passage map, the author’s purpose in writing the passage is to demonstrate that the economists are wrong in thinking the informal sector of the economy to be “insignificant” compared to the formal sector.
(D) matches the prediction and is correct. The “widely held view” is that of the economists. (A) is unsupported by the passage, which focuses on the economists’ assumptions about the informal sector of the economy. (B) is again unsupported. The author makes no recommendation as to what the economists “should” do. (C) is a classic faulty use of detail. The idea that the informal sector is a Third World phenomenon is certainly mentioned and criticized in the passage (specifically, in paragraph 3), but this isn’t the purpose of the entire passage. (E) is another faulty use of detail. The pay rates of informal- and formal-sector workers are mentioned in the third paragraph, but again, this doesn’t constitute the purpose of the entire passage.
The word “inferred” signals an Inference question. This question stem provides a context clue: “employment opportunities in the informal economy.”
Unless a question specifically mentions a different point of view, it is asking for the author’s perspective. You can safely confine your research to the first and third paragraphs and leave out the second, which describes the economists’ assumptions. In the first paragraph, you learn that informal sector occupations are typically service jobs such as construction, hotel, or restaurant jobs. In the third paragraph, you learn that informal sector jobs are not jobs “of last resort,” because they don’t necessarily pay a great deal less than formal sector jobs and because some workers actually move “voluntarily” from the formal to the informal sector.
While it is difficult to make a precise prediction for this question, the correct answer will follow from your research. Check the answer choices against it one at a time.
(B) paraphrases the last couple of lines of the passage: data support the idea that some workers do voluntarily move from formal sector employment to informal sector employment. This is the correct answer. (A) states the opposite of the wage information found in the third paragraph. (C) is too extreme. You learn in the third paragraph that “informal sector employment rates in many countries have remained constant in the postwar era,” but you have no support for the idea that such employment has remained stable for “centuries.” (C) also confuses employment rates (which are percentages) with the number employed. (D) restates one of the economists’ assumptions. It is the economists, not the author, who believe that the informal sector will disappear with increasing industrialization. (E) is extreme. While the author debunks the economists’ assumption that the informal sector is “limited in function to being an employment alternative of last resort,” she never goes so far as to say that not a single job for an otherwise unemployable person has been created in the informal sector.
This Detail question asks for something the author “states” explicitly. All you need to do is go back to the passage and look up the “activities in the informal economy.”
The “activities” that take place in the informal economy are mentioned at the beginning of the first paragraph. You learn that they are typically “off-the-books” and that they include hiring and cash payments in the construction, hotel, and restaurant industries.
Look for an answer choice that mentions any of the details gleaned from your research. Remember that for a Detail question, the correct answer has to come from the passage nearly verbatim.
(E) restates what you read in the first paragraph and is the correct answer. (A) is incorrect because it is the economists, not the author, who believe that informal sector activities are “insignificant.” (B) is incorrect because, again, it states one of the economists’ assumptions, not the author’s opinion. Similarly, (C) and (D) are incorrect because they present the economists’ beliefs, not the author’s.
The phrase “primarily concerned” in the question stem lets you know that this is a Global question.
Using your passage map—particularly the topic, scope, and purpose—you should be able to predict the correct answer without having to reread any of the passage.
From your scope and purpose notes, you can predict that the correct answer will say that the author is “demonstrating the Big Bang model’s validity.”
(D) is the only choice to mention that the passage addresses how observation supports the model’s propositions. (D) is the correct answer. (A) is a 180 trap; it claims that the Big Bang model isn’t valid. Change incompatible to compatible, and it would be correct. (B) focuses on the details from paragraphs 2 and 3 but does not address how those details fit within the passage as a whole. (C) claims that the passage is focused mainly on helium; the word helium certainly shows up a bit in paragraphs 3 and 4, but it isn’t the scope of the passage as a whole. (E) distorts details given in the passage. The author of the passage uses the ratios of hydrogen and helium to show how well the Big Bang model matches observations.
This is a Logic question, because you are asked why the author used a specific piece of information. The question stem gives you a perfect reference—“the Big Bang model’s prediction for the molecular composition of the universe”—to guide your research.
The reference from the question stem leads to paragraph 4. The passage map paraphrased paragraph 4 as showing that observation confirms the Big Bang model. Note that by doing research in the passage map first, you save yourself from spending time rereading unnecessarily.
From your research you can predict that the correct answer will say that the author included the details of the paragraph in order to “show us why the Big Bang model is valid.”
The prediction matches very nicely with (C); this is the correct answer. The word obviate in (A) means “to avoid or eliminate.” The author believes it’s true that six-sevenths of all protons remained isolated, so (A) doesn’t make sense. (B) mixes things up; the author isn’t using the Big Bang model to prove that the universe is made up of certain kinds of molecules; instead, the author is using the molecular makeup of the universe to argue that the Big Bang model is valid. (D) incorrectly states that the author’s objective in this paragraph is to explain the how of hydrogen nucleus formation. The details of nucleus formation are discussed only to help the author make the case that the Big Bang theory is sound. (E) is wrong because the author, in the fourth paragraph, is not out to predict the results of a Big Bang, but rather to validate the Big Bang model’s predictions.
The phrase “according to” in the stem signals a Detail question. So the right answer must be something that the author explicitly states. Also notice that you’re looking for something that “was true during the first few seconds” of the universe.
Thepassage map focuses your research on paragraph 2, specifically lines 7–10. Notice that this sentence emphasizes temperatures that are “so high” and particles “so abundant” that constant change was the order of the day (or, at least, its first few seconds).
The correct answer will agree with the ideas expressed in lines 7–10. Anything else must be incorrect because that’s the only place you learn about the “first few seconds.”
(C) is the correct answer. For Roman numeral questions, start with the statement that appears most frequently in the answer choices, which in this case is III. Lines 8–10 provide support for Statement III. Each phrase and idea in Statement III matches directly with a phrase or idea from the passage: “vast numbers” matches with “so abundant,” “rapidly metamorphosed” matches with “constantly transmuted,” and “subatomic particles” matches with, well, “subatomic particles.” Since Statement III is correct, eliminate (A) and (B). Next evaluate Statement II, as it appears in two of the remaining three choices. Researching line 7 shows that the temperature was “high” during the first few seconds of the universe’s existence. So, the phrase “not high enough” kills Statement II. That eliminates (D) and (E), leaving only (C).
Note that both Statements I and II refer to details from paragraph 3, which the time/sequence keywords show to describe not the first few seconds of the universe’s existence but rather the few minutes thereafter.
This question stem asks for the purpose not of the whole passage, but of one of its parts. That makes this a Logic question. The stem makes clear reference to the first paragraph.
As the question focuses on the whole of the first paragraph, your research can be focused on the passage map. It states that paragraph 1 tells what the Big Bang model is and that it’s valid, supported by observation of the universe.
A reasonable prediction would be something like this: the author uses the first paragraph to introduce the Big Bang model and claim that it’s valid.
(A) matches the prediction perfectly and is correct. Every other answer choice gets the detail right (“theory” or “model”) but the purpose wrong: “refute,” “undermining,” “discarded,” and “unsupported” are all negative terms, while the author’s only purpose is to be positive.
The word “agree” makes this an Inference question, so the right answer must be true based on the passage but is likely not mentioned explicitly. This stem contains no reference to a particular detail or paragraph.
When the test asks you an Inference question without providing a particular reference to guide your research, prepare yourself to evaluate the answers by refreshing your memory on the topic, scope, and purpose.
You cannot anticipate the exact wording of the correct answer, but since you are asked what the author would agree with, you know the right answer will be in line with “The Big Bang model corresponds well with the observed universe; the model seems valid.”
According to paragraphs 1 and 4, it is the model’s match with observation that demonstrates its validity, as described in (D). The wording of this choice is convoluted and dense, but the passage supports everything here: “statistical evidence at hand” could well refer to “0.01 percent,” “six-sevenths,” or “three-quarters.” The author is indeed “judging the veracity of a scientific model.” The passage discusses the creation of the universe and its behavior, a “process which cannot be repeated in a laboratory.” But, more important than any of that is the fact that if the author didn’t believe (D), there’s no way he could say that the Big Bang model is valid. (D) is correct. (A) can be eliminated for two reasons. First, the passage only mentions the Big Bang model, not any others. So there’s no way you can state with confidence why any of those other models failed. Second, the author only ever uses positive opinion keywords, such as “validity.” So an answer about why something “failed” can’t be correct. (B) is a 180 wrong answer trap. The author gives credence to the Big Bang model, not by “a series of controlled experiments,” but by “matching . . . claims with observations.” (C) is incorrect because although the passage does mention “expansion” in line 17, there is no support for “contraction” or for “a cycle.” (Here is a case of something that is generally believed to be true in the world outside the GMAT but that is not actually supported by the passage.) (E) is a distortion of the last sentence. The author may agree that the Big Bang model is simple but not that this is what “accounts for its accuracy.”
The phrase “according to” announces this as a Detail question, and the question gives a clear reference for your research: “helium nucleus.”
You know that the passage grows increasingly detail oriented in the third and fourth paragraphs. A quick scan reveals mention of the helium nucleus in line 16. The key to researching a detail is its context. Here, the sentence on the helium nucleus (lines 15–16) tells you that it is formed of two deuterons. And the sentence right before that tells you that deuterons are made up of one neutron and one proton.
Your research shows that a good prediction for the correct answer choice is one that says the helium nucleus is made up of two deuterons or two protons and two neutrons.
The correct answer, (E), uses almost exactly the language of the prediction. (A) is too extreme. The passage does say that fusion stopped after the first few minutes. But it doesn’t say that fusion could never happen under any other circumstance. Moreover, (A) distorts the passage, which claims that “fusion into heavier elements” stopped—not that fusion into helium itself stopped. (B) is a tricky distortion. The sentence following the reference to the helium nucleus says, “As the universe continued to expand and cool, its density became too low . . .” But “its” refers to the universe, not the helium nucleus. Both (C) and (D) are mentioned nowhere in the passage. (D), interestingly, happens to be a fact—you may recall from high school chemistry that a helium nucleus has four times the mass of a hydrogen nucleus. However, that fact is not mentioned in this passage, and it is not the correct response to a question asking for what’s true “according to the passage.” This answer is a good example of why it's important not to answer questions based on outside knowledge.
The phrase “According to the passage . . .” indicates that this is a Detail question. The stem gives you a clear reference for your research: “limited time frame in which to paint a prepared rawhide.”
Using your passage map, you can refer to the second sentence of the second paragraph, where the author was discussing the difficulties in creating the parfleche.
The second sentence of paragraph 2 provides everything you need for a prediction of the correct answer: “If painting was attempted while the prepared hide was too moist, the applied paint bled, but if the hide was too dry, the skin did not absorb the pigments.”
(E) agrees perfectly with the first half of this statement and is correct. (A) is unsupported by the passage. (B) and (C) are both 180 wrong answer traps, since the sentence actually said that when the hides are too dry, they would not absorb paint. (D) is a distortion; it reverses the cause-and-effect relationship described in the passage. The reason that the designs had to be visualized in advance was the limited time during which the hides could be painted, not the other way around.
The wording here—“main purpose of the passage”—makes this one of the most common Global question stems that appear on the GMAT.
Since you paraphrased the author’s purpose while creating your passage map, you can simply refer to that; there is no need to go back to the passage itself.
The passage map tells you that the author wrote this passage to explain the parfleche and its “spiritual significance” to certain Indian tribes.
(E) best summarizes this and properly reflects the author’s tone. (E) is the correct answer. Notice that (E) doesn’t use the word “parfleche” but rather its definition. Looking for the right words in Reading Comp answer choices is misguided; always look for the answer choice that matches the meaning or idea that you’ve predicted. (A) is too narrow in scope; it reflects only one detail from the text instead of the passage as a whole. (C) is too broad in scope; the author is focused on one aspect of Cheyenne culture. (B) and (D) are not correct because the author of this passage does not take a stand on or disagree with anyone about the symbolism of the parfleche or the methods used for studying it.
This is another Detail question, again with a clear reference point for research during the upcoming Step 3. Here, you are asked what, in the author’s words, distinguished the Cheyenne women’s society that made the parfleche from medieval guilds.
As expected, the contrast is highlighted by a keyword—in this case “Although”—in the passage. The Cheyenne group was similar to guilds in economic and social importance, but different because the Cheyenne painters’ group was “spiritual or religious.”
The correct answer will highlight the Cheyenne groups’ spiritual side.
Thus, (D) is the correct answer choice. (A) is unsupported by this passage, since while you know that the women’s painting society required application for membership, you do not know that the guilds were any different in their requirements. (B), (C), and (E) all describe ways in which the women’s painting society was similar to the Western European guilds.
The wording of this question stem is a bit unusual, but a moment’s reflection tells you that this is an Inference question. Inference questions ask what must be true based on the passage. In this case, the passage gives you information indicating why the Cheyenne would refer to the women’s painting society members as moneneheo. The question simply wants you to paraphrase that information accurately.
The question stem refers to the word moneneheo in the line 6, where the author tells you that it refers to the members of the women’s painting society and translates as “the Selected Ones.” The author goes on to explain the society’s high importance and the “high artistic and moral standards” required for admission and membership.
Predicting an answer to the question, say that the Cheyenne term reflects respect for the society member’s status, talent, importance, etc. Remember, you aren’t trying to predict the words of the answer but, rather, its meaning.
(A), with its emphasis on status, matches the prediction nicely and is correct. Although you are told that the moneneheo is a shamanistic organization, you learn nothing about its origins, so (B) is unsupported. (C) requires a leap from the use of “selected” to the notion that the gods do the selecting. Nothing the author writes supports this leap. The author mentions no sense in which the term moneneheo refers to anything “self-restrictive” on the part of the women’s painting society; (D) is unsupported. The author draws no association between the term and the skinning tool or “flesher” (which is, in any case, not mentioned until the end of paragraph 2); thus, (E) is also unsupported.
This is an archetypal GMAT Logic question. You are referred to a detail—here, the “diamond shape”—and asked why the author includes it in the passage. Notice that the wording of the question, ending with “in order to . . .” means that the answer choices must begin with verbs.
The diamond shape was among the symbols mentioned in the second paragraph. It is located in a sentence that begins with the illustration keywords “For example.” The sentence goes on to tell you that the diamond represents the grasshopper, which in turn represents the bison, which in turn is sacred, and so on.
Your research tells you that this answer must begin with a verb meaning “illustrate” or “give an example of” and continue by saying something about the symbolic meanings of the parfleche.
(D) matches the prediction and is correct. Given the verbs that begin each answer choice, only (C) and (D) are really in the running. (C) distorts the purpose of the diamond-shape example beyond what you read in the passage. Closer reading shows answers (A), (B), and (E), already suspect for having the wrong purpose verbs, to be even worse. (A) addresses the value of the parfleche to its owner, a topic touched on nowhere in the passage. (B) suggests an unsupported, and rather ridiculous, comparison between the grasshopper and bison as characterized in Cheyenne culture. (E) tries to apply the diamond-shape example to the tool-use example that comes later in the paragraph.
This Global question asks for the primary purpose of the passage as a whole.
There’s no need to go back to the passage itself. Review the purpose in the passage map.
The author discussed one result of the one-child policy (missing girls) and three potential explanations for that result. The correct answer will reflect this.
(D), while phrased in broader terms than the purpose in the passage map, nonetheless encapsulates the passage as a whole and is the correct answer. The author does not criticize any of the potential explanations for the missing girls, so (A) is out. While the author does discuss the fact that more boys than girls apparently are born and survive (lines 8–9), nothing is said about whether the population of males declined. That population may have declined just as predicted, or even more than predicted; all that is known based on the passage is that the policy appears to have impacted women more than men. Eliminate (B). The author does not discuss future birth rates, so eliminate (C). (E) is extreme and has a similar problem as (B): based on the information in the passage, it cannot be said that population decline occurred only because there were fewer women. Moreover, the author is neutral rather than making an argument. So (E), too, can be eliminated.
This is a Detail question. The correct answer will be something discussed in the passage.
The question stem refers to a gender imbalance, which is one result of the one-child policy. According to the passage map, results are discussed in the second paragraph, so research the answer there. The author says that having more men than women of marriageable age is " linked to higher rates of psychological problems" and "increased aggression and violence, both inside and outside a country's borders."
Based on the research, the correct answer will be about psychological problems or increased conflict, or both.
While the author says there is only historical evidence of a correlation between international violence ("violence . . . outside a country's borders") and a society with more men than women, such conflict is a possibility. The qualified language of (B) ("may be") is a match to the text, and this choice is correct. The passage is discussing a potential modern-day example of such a society, proving such societies did not exist only in the past, so (A) can be eliminated. (C) confuses cause and effect. The passage indicates that the psychological damage occurs as a result of the society, not that the society develops as a result of psychological damage. (D) is the reverse of (A) and is also incorrect. While the author is primarily discussing a possible modern example of such a society, potential historical occurrences are also mentioned and so are not unknown. (E) is not supported by the passage. If women disappear from official records, their absence would create the appearance of a society in which men outnumber women, but in no way does such a society cause women to disappear.
This question asks you for the function of the final paragraph and is thus a Logic question. Think of it as being similar to a Global question about the author's purpose, but on a smaller scale. Instead of asking for the primary purpose of the passage as a whole, it asks for the purpose of one paragraph. Keep in mind that each paragraph supports the fulfillment of the author's overall purpose in writing.
Rather than reviewing the entire paragraph, review the passage map for a summary. The final paragraph discusses theories about why there are fewer girls than boys in China. The missing girls are initially discussed in the second paragraph.
The correct answer will summarize that the last paragraph provides explanations without evaluating their relative merits.
(A) matches the prediction and is correct. The “phenomenon described in the second paragraph” is the fact that in China, the number of boys who are born and survive seems to exceed the number of girls. "Present" matches the author's neutral tone. (B), with "offer a critique," misses the mark, as the author of the passage doesn’t evaluate the various explanations other people have put forward. While the author does describe the last explanation given as "less sinister," nowhere is it implied that this makes it more likely to be correct, so (C) is incorrect. The function of the final paragraph is to present several explanations offered by other people that may account for some or all of the missing girls, not to "fully explain" their absence as in (D). Finally, (E) paraphrases one reason discussed in the last paragraph, a strong preference for sons, but the purpose of the paragraph is to offer several reasons, not just this one.
"According to the passage" indicates that this is a Detail question. The "EXCEPT" means that each incorrect answer will be found in the passage, while the correct answer will not.
The third paragraph gives possible reasons for the missing girls: societal preference for boys, disease, or parents' failure to register the births of girls.
For an EXCEPT question, you can't predict what the correct answer will be, but you can predict the incorrect answers. In this case, the incorrect answers that you'll eliminate will reflect the reasons identified in Step 2.
(B) is not mentioned in the passage. While the final paragraph says that it is possible some of the missing girls are not registered, it suggests that parents avoid registering children to deceive the government and thus that parents are in fact supposed to register their daughters. Thus, (B) is the correct answer. (A), (C), (D), and (E) are all stated in the passage and so are incorrect.
This question presents a hypothetical situation and asks you to apply information from the passage to select the most likely outcome from those listed. Thus, this is an Application question. The words "[b]ased on information in the passage" are key: do not imagine what might be true but instead choose an outcome that the passage discusses.
Han Chinese are mentioned in the first paragraph, where the author says that before 2015, some were allowed to have only one child. The rest of the passage discusses various consequences of this law, and actions that parents might take are mentioned in the third paragraph.
As no exact prediction can be made, be prepared to research each choice individually, knowing that the correct answer will most likely be supported by information in the last paragraph.
(E) is supported by the final paragraph, which suggests that some parents indeed fail to register girls in order to have another child. This is the correct choice. The passage never discusses how parents come to feel about their children after the passage of time or whether a dearth of marriageable men is changing attitudes toward having daughters. Therefore, (A) is unsupported and incorrect. (B) is also unsupported, as the passage gives disease as a possible reason for a smaller than expected number of female children, but it does not imply that fear a daughter might die would lead parents to having another child. (C) can be eliminated because the passage provides no information about whether parents may appeal for an exception. (D) distorts the information that disease may cause more boys than girls to be born; it's never suggested that this phenomenon, if it is true, motivates parents to have a second child.
The phrase "in order to" indicates that this is a Logic question. Specifically, the question asks why the author mentions a "marginalized underclass."
The question stem refers to line 13, but the preceding line is also part of the relevant text: "Research has shown that an excess of men of marriageable age is linked to higher rates of psychological problems, as it creates a marginalized underclass . . ."
The phrase appears as part of the evidence of the potential negative impact of having significantly more men than women.
(A) matches the prediction and is the correct answer. For (B), while the passage says that more boys are being born/surviving than girls, it doesn't mention a "marginalized underclass" as a reason for this. This underclass does not cause, but may be caused by, the population discrepancy. (C) is a distortion. The passage says it is possible that violence will rise if there are significantly more men of marriageable age than women, but not that men are innately more violent. Regardless, violence is listed alongside the psychological issues that are caused by a "marginalized underclass" and so is not the reason the author uses that phrase. For (D), the author is not attempting to make an argument at all; the passage is neutral in presentation. At any rate, there is no indication that attitudes toward boys and girls are caused by poverty. (E) is incorrect because while the one-child policy may result in unmarried and thus marginalized men, nothing is said about "average household income" across China.
“Primary purpose” signals that this is a Global question.
No research within the passage is required. You just need to consult the passage map, specifically the statement of the author’s purpose.
The statement of the author’s purpose said that the author was describing the mating behavior of the female collared flycatcher and posing a question about it. Two possible explanations are presented: (1) Interspecies mating brings distinct benefits, and (2) interspecies mating is just an extension of normal behavior. With that background, you’re more than ready to assess the choices.
(D) summarizes the author’s purpose and is correct. (A) is incorrect because the author never takes a stand on either explanation and so does not “criticize” anything. Similarly, (B) and (E) are wrong because the author does not “defend” anything. The author never calls for further research, so (C) is not correct either.
“According to the passage” is a clear indication that this is a Detail question. Just make sure you didn’t miss the “EXCEPT” at the end of the stem. Here, the four wrong answers will all have been cited in the text. The correct answer will not. Remember, the correct answer to a Detail EXCEPT question may contradict the text or not be mentioned in the passage. The right answer might also repeat a piece of information that appears in the text but that has no relevance to the question posed in the stem (i.e., make a faulty use of detail). Here, the wrong answers will give possible explanations for the female collared flycatcher’s unusual mating behavior.
The female collared flycatcher’s nesting and mating behaviors are explained in the second and third paragraphs. While the question asks specifically about explanations for the interspecific mating behaviors, remember that the third paragraph told you that the motivations for intraspecific mating behaviors were similar.
You cannot predict what the correct answer will say, but the four wrong answers will be supported by text from paragraphs 2 or 3. Be prepared to eliminate these; what's left will be correct.
The passage says that pied males mating with collared females father more males than females. Thus, (C) directly contradicts paragraph 2, making (C) the correct answer. The coniferous forests where the pied flycatchers live are indeed richer in food late in the season, as (A) suggests. Females may use the pied males for their help in rearing young—including those sired by other males—as (B) says. (D) and (E) are both supported by paragraph 3.
The language of the question stem indicates that this is a Logic question. This stem goes out of its way to be helpful, though, by telling you that the detail at issue—the predominance of male offspring from male pied and female collared flycatcher mates—is presented as evidence. Your job will simply be to research what it is used as evidence for.
The reference to the offspring of male pied and female collared flycatcher mates leads you to paragraph 2. You’re told that the male offspring are not sterile, thus minimizing a typical downside to interspecies mating.
The correct answer will tell you that the male offspring bias is evidence that a typical disadvantage—sterile offspring—of interspecies mating is not present when female collared flycatchers and male pied flycatchers mate.
(C) matches the prediction nicely. It is correct. (A) is simply not mentioned in the passage; the dominance of offspring is not discussed. (B) is a distortion; it is the interspecific hybrids, not pure collared flycatchers, that show a male bias in their offspring. (D) is incorrect because no argument is ever made about future generations of interspecific breeding. And (E) is incorrect because the passage does not comment on the regularity of interspecific breeding by any bird other than the female collared flycatcher.
Here’s an open-ended Inference question. The stem references no specific detail or part of the passage. Begin your evaluation of the answers with reference to what you know about the topic, scope, and purpose overall.
Given that there is no reference to guide your research within the passage, simply review your topic, scope, and purpose summaries. You may have to do further research choice by choice.
Lacking a point of reference in the passage, you cannot make a prediction beyond saying that the correct answer will follow from the passage and agree with the author. That should be enough to help you find the correct answer or, at least, eliminate one or more of the wrong ones.
The second paragraph points out that the greater abundance of food in pied flycatcher habitats late in the mating season is a mechanism that makes interspecies pairings reproductively beneficial. If food were not relevant to the success of raising offspring, it could not be a mechanism to make interspecific mating reproductively beneficial. So (A) is true based on the passage; this is the exact criterion for the correct answer in an Inference question.
All four wrong answers are either unsupported by anything addressed by the passage or out-and-out contradict the passage. (B) is not mentioned—the percentage of male offspring is discussed only in relation to interspecific pairs. Mating for life is never mentioned either, so (C) is incorrect. The fact that females do choose males on the basis of reproductive benefits makes (D) incorrect; it contradicts what the passage implies. Lastly, you have no basis for knowing the proportion of females that engage in extra-pair matings, so (E) is unsupported.
This is also an Inference question, as signaled by the phrase “most likely agree with . . .” The key is to spot that it is Professor Rowher’s opinion that you are drawing your inference from.
Rohwer’s opinion is discussed in the third paragraph, where the passage demonstrates the similarities between the female collared flycatcher’s interspecies and intraspecies mating behavior. Rowher’s point is that pair-bonding is essential to the female collared flycatcher’s success in rearing young. The implication is that the female collared flycatcher will nest with one male and mate with others regardless of whether she is engaged in intra- or interspecies mating.
The correct answer will have to address the context in which the author cites Rowher. The point is that it may be the necessity of pair-bonding, rather than an adaptation that favors interspecific mating, that drives the birds’ behavior.
The prediction supports (C) as the correct answer. (B) and (E) are unsupported: the relative benefits of studying flycatchers rather than other birds is not discussed, nor is Rohwer’s opinion on the benefits of hybridization. (A) and (D) contradict, at least by implication, the message of the passage; they also include the phrases “all traits” and “played no role,” which flag extreme statements.
Here is another Logic question. Like all Logic stems, this one gives you a clear reference to guide your research. The female collared flycatchers that pair with subordinates are mentioned in the third paragraph. Remember that Logic questions ask why the author included the detail, not what she said about it.
The third paragraph is about the female collared flycatcher’s intraspecies nesting and mating behaviors. The specific fact highlighted by the author was that the female collared flycatcher behaves similarly when mating with male collared flycatchers as it does when mating with pied males. The author’s point is that the female collared flycatcher’s behavior may not have evolved exclusively in support of interspecies mating.
While you don’t know the wording that the correct answer will use, you can anticipate that it will address the position that the female collared flycatcher’s behavior is possibly explained by more than just adaptation to interspecific mating.
The prediction leads to (B), which is the correct answer. Paragraph 2 had explained how the female collared flycatcher’s behavior is well adapted to the special problems of interspecies mating, so paragraph 3 qualifies as an “alternative explanation.” Stated evidence can never be an assumption (which is unstated), so (A) is incorrect. The evidence in question does not support the adaptive explanation for interspecies breeding—in fact, it does just the opposite—so (C) is a wrong answer choice. This evidence is also not an explanation for why hybridization is a dead end; thus, (D) is wrong. Lastly, that the collared and pied flycatchers are separate species is a given in the passage; otherwise, the pairing of pied males and collared females could not be called interspecific. Moreover, this evidence has nothing to do with this issue, making (E) incorrect.
This is a Logic question that asks why the author included information about the angle of light leaving water droplets.
The cited lines are in the last paragraph. First consult the passage map to review the main point of the paragraph, which is to explain why lots of droplets are needed for someone to see a rainbow. Then review the text, including a little above and below the cited lines. The author says that light emerges from a droplet at various angles, but light from that droplet only strikes the human eye at one angle, and this is why light from many droplets is needed for a rainbow to appear.
The correct answer will associate the information about angles with the way light is perceived by the human observer.
(D) matches the prediction and is thus the correct answer. (A) relates to the discussion of refraction in the third paragraph, and dispersion of light is associated with the angles at which light leaves the water droplet. However, describing refraction is not why the author mentions the angle of light in the fourth paragraph. (B) is also found in the passage: later in the same paragraph, the author says that different angles of light are associated with different colors of the rainbow, but showing this to be true is not why the author discusses the angle of light in the cited lines. (C) misstates information in the passage; light's wavelength affects its angle of refraction, not the other way around. As for (E), based on the passage, refraction is well understood, but even if it weren't, nothing in the passage implies that the angle of light is the key to understanding refraction.
This is an Inference question asking what you can reasonably conclude, based on the passage, about the three middle colors of the rainbow.
The middle colors of yellow, green, and blue are not directly mentioned in the passage, but what colors are mentioned? The final sentence says that red and orange have the longest wavelengths and refract at the sharpest angles, and they appear at the top of the rainbow; by contrast, indigo and violet have the shortest wavelengths and refract at the shallowest angles, and they appear at the bottom of the rainbow.
Based on the research, you can infer that the colors in the middle of the rainbow are also in the middle when it comes to wavelengths and angles of refraction. The correct answer should include one or both of these ideas.
(E) matches the prediction and is correct: the three middle colors can be inferred to have wavelengths that are shorter than those of orange and red and longer than those of indigo and violet. (A) is not supported by the passage, which never indicates that some colors' wavelengths do not disperse. (B) is a 180. The passage indicates that longer wavelengths are associated with higher positions on the rainbow, so the middle colors cannot have longer wavelengths than do red or orange. (C) also contradicts what the passage implies, which is that light of different colors refracts at different angles. (D), like (B), is a 180. The passage indicates that shallower angles are associated with lower positions on the rainbow, so the middle colors cannot have shallower angles than do indigo and violet.
The phrase "[a]ccording to the passage" indicates this is a Detail question. Here you are asked for something the passage says about refraction.
Refraction is defined in the third paragraph as the changing of direction of a light wave upon entering or leaving a droplet of water. How much the light changes direction depends on its wavelength. White light consists of different wavelengths, so it is broken up, or dispersed, by refraction, and light at different wavelengths is seen as different colors.
As discovered in Step 3, the passage presents several facts about refraction, and the correct answer will match one or more of these.
(C) paraphrases the last sentence of the third paragraph and is correct. (A) is half right, but it says that refraction changes the light's wavelength. In fact, the light's wavelength affects the angle of refraction, so (A) can be eliminated. Some light is reflected in the droplet, and while this allows the light to be refracted a second time, it is not caused by refraction, nor is anything said about "intensifying" the light. Eliminate (B). As for (D), the light wave does slow down when it hits a water droplet, and this is also when refraction occurs, but it's not said whether one causes the other. And finally, while refraction separates light according to its wavelengths, nothing is said about wavelengths being altered, and certainly refraction is not said to make invisible light visible. Eliminate (E).
This is a Global question, asking for the primary purpose of the passage as a whole.
There's no need to review the whole passage. Use the passage map to find the purpose: "To describe explanations for rainbows (mythology/science)."
The correct answer will reflect the purpose in your passage map.
(B) matches the prediction and is correct. Whether or not rainbows are rare is not mentioned in the passage, so (A) is incorrect. (C) is a 180, as the author confirms that the two historical explanations discussed are borne out by modern physics. (D) can be eliminated because this is merely a detail from the passage; the author is interested in explaining rainbows, not the refraction of light. Finally, (E) only addresses the last two paragraphs and is not the purpose of the passage as a whole.
This is an Inference question, asking for the statement with which the author would most likely agree.
This is a very broad question stem about "the study of rainbows." Since most of the passage is about the study of rainbows, review the passage map to have the structure of the passage fresh in your mind as you review the answer choices. Plan to research each choice as needed to accept or eliminate it.
No precise prediction of the correct answer is possible here. However, based on the passage map, you know that humans have observed rainbows for a long time and come up with various ideas about them, at least two medieval scholars conducted scientific experiments to understand rainbows, and modern physics—which explains rainbows in terms of light wavelengths and their refraction—validates the medieval research. The correct answer will align with one or more of these key ideas, and it will not contradict them.
(A) is supported by the passage and is correct. Fourteenth-century science is first mentioned in the first paragraph and elaborated on in the second. Then, at the beginning of the third paragraph, the author says that modern physics has shown the findings of Theodoric and al-Farisi to be accurate. Thus, the author would agree that some experiments performed hundreds of years ago produced accurate results.
(B) can be researched in the first paragraph, where such cultures are discussed. While some of the ideas seem unscientific, the author never says that such peoples did not approve of scientific studies. (C) is not supported. The passage only discusses these researchers' work with water droplets, so whether they studied larger volumes of water is unknown. (D) is similar to (B) in that the author never implies that a scientific understanding of rainbows voids a belief in their spiritual significance. (E) is a 180. The author specifically mentions the accuracy of Theodoric and al-Farisi's work, thereby implying its value.
This Logic question asks for the purpose of the second paragraph.
Since the question asks about the second paragraph, review it in the passage map. The second paragraph is concerned with "medieval studies of rainbows by Theodoric & al-Farisi—different methods/same conclusion."
The correct answer will align with the summary of the second paragraph in the passage map.
(E) matches the prediction and is the correct answer. (A) might be a tempting choice, since Theodoric and al-Farisi and their scientific approach to rainbows are introduced in the first paragraph with the contrast keyword "[b]ut." However, while the author indicates their approach differed from a religious or mythological approach, the passage never goes so far as to imply they sought to purge the use of rainbows as a symbol in their religions. The author does evaluate the two scholars' methods in a general way but at the beginning of the third paragraph, which states that the researchers' findings agree with those of modern physics. This is not the function of the second paragraph, so eliminate (B). Nothing is said about any difficulties Theodoric or al-Farisi may have faced, so (C) can be eliminated. (D) is extreme. While the author indicates that in this case, findings from the fourteenth century agree with those of modern physicists, the passage in no way implies that medieval science as a whole is similar in value to modern science.