What the exam asks
| Stem (typical wording) | Type | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Which choice best states the main idea of the text? | Main idea | Find the point the whole text supports |
| According to the text, what is true about X? / why did X happen? | Detail | Locate the sentence and pick its paraphrase |
| Based on the text, how does [character] feel / why does [character] do X? | Literary detail | Infer from actions, speech and narration |
| According to the text, how does view A differ from view B? | Comparison detail | Find what the views share, then where they differ |
Literary passages open with a one-line introduction (“The following text is from a short story. Priya has just arrived at a new school.”). It tells you who is who, so never skip it.
Core ideas
Main idea = topic + point
The topic is what the text is about. The point is what the author says about it. The correct choice contains both and covers the whole text. Test each choice: would every sentence support this? Wrong choices fall into six predictable types:
| Trap | What it looks like | Quick test |
|---|---|---|
| Too narrow | A true detail from one sentence | Do the other sentences support it? |
| Too broad | A sweeping claim the text never makes | Does the text really go this far? |
| Distortion | The text’s words in the wrong relationship or degree | Check each key word against the line |
| Old view | The view the text sets up in order to challenge it | Where is the however? |
| Out of scope | Plausible, but never stated | Can you point to the line? |
| Reversal | The opposite of the text | Does the text say the reverse? |
Informational texts: find the pivot
Many SAT science and social-science passages run researchers long believed X; however, new evidence shows Y. The main idea is Y, often with the fact that it overturns X. Pivot words include however, yet, in fact, recently and tidy but misleading. When a text opens with “It is often said…”, the opening claim is usually the one the author rejects. Harder texts survey several explanations and then combine two, and there the main idea is where the text lands, usually its last sentence.
Literary prose: situation, behavior, change
Fix the situation from the introduction, then read behavior as evidence. Rearranging pencils twice signals nerves. Answering in one word and then “wishing she had said more” signals regret, not rudeness. Final clauses often reverse a first impression, so read every sentence to the end.
In older prose, watch for ironic narration. The narrator reports a character’s flattering self-image (“the least curious of women”) and undercuts it with details, often in though clauses. The main idea is the gap between the two.
Poetry: literal, figurative, turn
- Literal: who is speaking, to whom or what, and what is happening.
- Figurative: what the images and metaphors add. A mother who “was not busy. / She was speaking” is expressing herself through her work.
- The turn: Yet, But, Now or at last. The main idea usually follows the turn and accounts for both halves.
Drama: dialogue and stage directions
Italic stage directions show action and tone. When a character contrasts past and present (“I thought I was, at first. But…”), the question almost always wants the present view, and the past view is the planted distractor.
Older language
| Feature | Example | Modern meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Old pronouns | thou, thee, thy, thine | you (subject), you (object), your, yours |
| Old verb endings | tell’st, dost, doth, hath | (you) tell, do, does, has |
| Inverted order | “Nor linger for the sick” | nor do you linger for the sick |
| Long periodic sentences | subject … many clauses … verb | Find the subject and main verb first |
| Shifted meanings | apt to, presently, want | likely to, soon, lack |
Detail questions
“According to the text” means the answer is stated. Use the stem’s key words to find the sentence, read one sentence either side, and choose the paraphrase that adds nothing. Outside knowledge is not evidence.
Worked examples
Exam technique
- Read the intro line first on literary passages.
- Predict in 12 words or fewer before looking at the choices. Every distractor reuses the passage’s words, so recognition alone misleads.
- Check the ending and the pivot. Main-idea keys usually come from the last sentence or the however sentence.
- Go back for details. The traps are built on half-remembered lines.
- Label each wrong choice as narrow, broad, distortion, old view, out of scope or reversal. If you can’t label one, reconsider it.
- Prefer the modest answer. The key usually suggests or challenges; distractors prove or dismiss.
- Timing: 45–70 seconds. Reread short poems rather than guess.
Common mistakes
Quick recap
- Main idea = topic + point, covering the whole text.
- In informational texts, the key usually follows the pivot. In multi-view texts, it is where the text lands.
- In fiction and drama, infer feelings from actions and speech. When “at first… but” appears, the present view wins.
- In poems, read literally, then figuratively, then find the turn.
- Detail answers paraphrase a specific line, so go back to it.
- Label wrong choices by trap type: narrow, broad, distortion, old view, out of scope or reversal.