Reading Comprehension - Primary Purpose, Structure, Tone, and Specific Purpose Flashcards
Explain the “Myth” Passage Structure.
The ‘myth’ passage structure is where a group of people (scientists, historians, psychologists, researchers, etc.) believe something. At the same time, the author does not quit agree with with these people. The author develops the passage by highlighting why the viewpoint mentioned is not correct.
What are 3 questions to ask, in relation to the author’s passage, that helps in understanding the big picture?
We ask:
What evidence does the author provide to support his/her viewpoints?
What evidence is offered in support of any opposing viewpoints?
Is the evidence strong (eg a scientific experiment) or weak (someone’s observation)
What is the aim while reading, in understanding the big picture of Explanatory passages (passages explaining in detail how a certain experiment was set up or how a technology works)?
In reading such a passage, our job will be to understand the LOGIC of what’s explained while avoiding getting bogged down in details.
Critically engaging with the passage improves understanding, what are some key questions to ask while reading the passage?
Does the passage present any viewpoints?
Does it provide support for any viewpoints?
Does it describe anything in detail?
Does it explain how something works or worked?
What does the passage accomplish?
How could I explain the passage to a 5 yr old?
How could we summarize the passage in a few sentences?
Our understanding of the passage is based on our ability to summarize a simple story. What are helpful questions to ask in understanding the Simple Story
Why did the author take the time to write this passage?
What is the simple story in this passage?
What is the big picture of this passage?
What is the author’s main conclusion in this passage?
What is the main point of this passage?
What is the central idea of this passage?
How can I summarize this passage?
What is the author attempting to convey in this passage?
What is the primary purpose of this passage?
What is this passage primarily concerned with?
What is the author’s overall message?
What would be the most accurate title for this passage?
Since opinions of the author or others are generally strongly connected to the passage’s main point, how can we often identify the main points of a passage?
By finding opinions.
Opinon markers are statements that include words of a certain kind. What are some of these words?
Argue that, assert, believe, claim, contented, opinion, propose, clearly, should.
Recall that passages often indicate contrasts of opinions or viewpoints. For markers which indicate contrasts of opinions (recall these opinions link to the main point), what are key words indicating that they exist?
However, although, but.
Strong language in a passage. What is a key clue strong language provides us with?
Strong language provides us with valuable clues as to what the main point of a passage is.
The primary purpose of the passage is often alerted by conclusions made by the author. What are key words indicating conclusion markers?
Therefore, thus, in summary, in conclusion, in closing, in essence, in short, in any event, all things considered, all in all, by and large, for this reason.
What signal does a conclusion stated by the last sentence of the passage send?
A conclusion stated by the last sentence of the passage will either be the main point of the entire passage or be strongly connected to the primary purpose of the passage.
The passages’ authors often introduce cause and effects relationships, how does this relate to the Primary Purpose of the passage?
By noticing discussions of causes and effects, we can identify important points of a passage and thus provide ourselves with strong clues about the primary purpose of a passage.
What are come words or phrases which help to spot causation markers?
Caused by, Because, Due to, Attributed to, Explanation, Explained by, Resulted from, As a result of, Consequently, Reason, Thus
When an author asks a rhetorical question then proceeds to answer it in the passage, how do we use this information?
Generally, when an author asks a rhetorical question, that question is strongly connected to the primary purpose of the passage.
If we identify the simple story and how the passage twists and turns, must we expect to see an answer choice represented in a similar manner as how we would explicitly describe the simple story or its twists and turns?
No. The answer will likely be different from what we are expected to see in explicit terms, yet accurately depict a passage’s primary purpose.
If you can’t be absolutely clear about the main idea or primary purpose of the passage, what technique can you employ in identifying the main idea?
If we’re not sure what the primary purpose of the passage is, we can at least find the important points of the passage. Then armed with this information, we can go to the answer choices and find the one that best fits the important points of the passage.
How would you describe incorrect Primary Purpose answer choices that does not summarize ALL of the simple story?
These answer choices describe only a portion of the passage and can be very tempting because they also accurately describe part of the passage. Thus, they may seem to be correct if you aren’t paying close attention.
Does the fact that a concept or idea is mentioned frequently in the passage mean that the Primary Purpose of the Passage is to discuss that concept or idea? Y/N?
No.
A passage whose primary purpose is to discuss the evolution of organized labour could mention working conditions several times to illustrate what occurred. In that case, working conditions would be mentioned frequently even though the primary purpose of the passage is not to describe working conditions.
When something is mentioned frequently, the “Mentioned Frequently” trap choices can be seductive because when something is mentioned frequently in a passage, it can be easy to get the impression that the point of the passage is that thing.
Explain one way in which we can determine whether a Primary Purpose choice is correct by observing one of the two primary verb types used?
One key way in which we can determine whether a Primary Purpose choice is correct is by noticing whether it uses an argumentative verb or a descriptive verb, since passages also are often either clearly argumentative or clearly descriptive.
Name at least 7 Argumentative Verbs.
Argue, Contend, Demonstrate, Suggest, Advocate, Propose, Support, Challenge, Question, Refute, Correct.
Name at least 7 Descriptive Verbs.
Discuss, Present, Describe, Illustrate, Explain, Examine, Identify, Explore.
What is the most important factor when deciding between Argumentative and Descriptive verbs?
We have to consider Argumentative Verbs and Descriptive Verbs in the contexts of the choices in which they appear, because sometimes a descriptive verb can be used in an argumentative choice.
We are aware that we should be on the lookout for verbs in the answer choices which do not indicate what the Primary Purpose does, however, the answer choices may present a Distortion trap. For e.g., the main idea of a passage might say that economic policy in the United States during the Civil War was misguided, but the distorted answer choice may say that economic policy in the United States was “controversial”. How do you pick up on the Distortion trap choice?
To avoid choosing the Distortion choice, we must also check whether noun or modifiers in choices match the passage.
Stretch answer choices are usually wrong and usually places an extreme twist on the correct answer choice. For eg, the primary purpose of a passage could be to demonstrate that a method for generating power is not the best method. Then a Stretch choice in a Primary Purpose question could say that the method used for generating power is useless. How do you spot Stretch answer choices.
To avoid choosing a Stretch choice, we can notice extreme markers, such as “always”, “never”, “best”, “worst”, or “impossible”, or other strong language in a choice. Since Stretched answer choices often use extreme markers or strong language, the presence of an extreme marker or strong language in a choice can serve as a yellow flag warning us that we may be dealing with a Stretch trap choice.
