\u201cWhich of the following\u2026would the author of the passage most likely to agree?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe core concept behind these question stems, and this question type, is that you are looking for something written in the passage.<\/p>\n
Strategy for Detail Questions<\/h2>\n
Our strategy for these question types is not too different than our general strategy for reading comprehension.<\/p>\n
1. Attack the Passage<\/b>
\nPassive reading is for Sunday morning, after breakfast, coffee at your side. Active reading is for the GMAT. When you read on the GMAT imagine that you are a camel, parched from weeks in the desert. You\u2019ve carried slabs of salt across sand dunes until finally coming to a well. You drink deeply to replenish what was lost. You should read the same. Drink in the passage to find the main idea, determine the main flow and structure of a passage, and understand the author\u2019s tone and purpose. Stay out of the details; save them for later. Take notes to activate your mind and track this information.<\/p>\n
2. Rephrase Question<\/b>
\nAfter attacking the passage, time to engulf the question. Read the question and put it in your own words. This will force you to synthesize the prompt and understand what it is asking. Look for hints and clues too. Line numbers, paragraph references, concepts from specific parts of the passage, and any words like \u201cexcept\u201d or \u201cnot\u201d\u2014these clues must be noted to answer the question correctly. And of course, decide what type of question you are dealing with.<\/p>\n
3. Research in the Passage<\/b>
\nOnce you know that you have a Detail Question to answer, you need to return to the passage to find an answer. You might remember the answer from your reading, but you\u2019ll likely need to return to the passage to refresh your memory and confirm your prediction. Use clues in the question to guide your research\u2014for Detail Questions the answer is written in the passage, you just need to find it.<\/p>\n
4. Anticipate an Answer<\/b>
\nAfter and during your research, you should predict an answer. Use what the passage gives you to inform your prediction. You need to think about different phrasing for the sentence you find that answers the question. The correct answer will not be an exact copy of what you find in the passage. It will be a paraphrase and full of synonyms. Predicting prepares you for the right answer.<\/p>\n
5. Eliminate Wrong Answers<\/b>
\nGo through the answer choices more than once. The first time, look out for the common wrong answer types. Narrow down your possibilities. As you go through each answer, make a mental note of answers that match what you anticipated. Then on your second pass, you should have two answer choices left (or one). Pay close attention to what the passage says, not what is implied to make your decision. Each word matters.<\/p>\nCommon Wrong Answers in Detail Questions<\/h2>\n
An Inference<\/b>
\nThis is the unique trap that GMAC uses for Detail Questions. The other common wrong answers appear in all the other question types. <\/p>\n
Since this question type requires us to actually find an answer in the passage, there will be one answer choice that appears like it could be in the passage, but is not actually directly stated anywhere in the passage. The correct answer will always be explicitly mentioned in the passage, so toss out any answer which is not directly written in ink (or light since it\u2019s a computer).<\/p>\n
Distorting the Passage<\/b>
\nDistorting the passage in Detail Questions usually involves stating something from the passage, but tweaking it in some way. GMAC likes to take an idea from the passage and reverse it, making it imply the opposite of what the passage actually is saying. <\/p>\n
Also, this can take the form of distorting the tone and purpose of the passage. If the author was describing a phenomenon or informing the reader about a concept or theory, the answer choice will make it seem like the author was arguing a point or supporting one side over another.<\/p>\n
Extreme Language<\/b>
\n\u201cAlways,\u201d \u201cany,\u201d \u201call,\u201d \u201cnever,\u201d \u201cnone,\u201d\u2014these should be warning signs for a wrong answer. The passages in the GMAT are balanced and thoughtful. Even when the passage is arguing for some idea, the author will include concession points and balanced analysis of their position. So any answer choice that makes a bold claim, a broad generalization, or a simplified statement about a detail in the passage will most likely be wrong.<\/p>\n
Unsupported or New<\/b>
\nAlways be on the look out for new information in an answer choice. Whether it is something related but unsupported by the passage or related but not in the passage at all, these trap answers can be quite tempting. Sometimes GMAC includes an idea that might fit in with the general discussion, but is ultimately outside the scope of the passage. Sometimes they like to talk about actual numbers and values when the passage only mentions percentages. Don\u2019t fall for this trap. Make sure that everything in the answer is actually in the passage.<\/p>\nTakeaway<\/h2>\n
You should now have a better sense of this question type. Return to this article often so that you internalize the information. By test day, all of this should be second nature. Happy studying! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Success comes through preparation. I can see that you want to succeed. You ended up here, looking for more information about a specific type of question in the reading comprehension section of the GMAT. The Detail Question is one of the most common questions that you will see in reading comprehension, making it an important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13211],"class_list":["post-4400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reading-comprehension"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Detail Questions in GMAT Reading Comprehension - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/detail-questions-in-gmat-reading-comprehension\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Detail Questions in GMAT Reading Comprehension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Success comes through preparation. I can see that you want to succeed. You ended up here, looking for more information about a specific type of question in the reading comprehension section of the GMAT. 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He has worked with adults and kids, tutoring the GRE, GMAT, and SAT at Kaplan and teaching English as a Second Language in the JET Programme and at the Intercultural Institute of California. At Magoosh, he expanded beyond teaching, building and managing teams, like Student Help and Content. When he's not Magooshing, you can find him spinning his toddler in circles. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kevinrocci\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/kevinrocci"],"knowsAbout":["GRE","GMAT","SAT","TOEFL","IELTS","ESL"],"jobTitle":"General Manager, TOEFL and IELTS","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13211,"user_id":12,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kevin","display_name":"Kevin Rocci","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f938b61616cc2dd8ae8cd2ab06381f1b8780e3f84546747ac4823074c8e020b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Rocci","first_name":"Kevin","description":"At UC Santa Cruz, Kevin Rocci began a decade of teaching and tutoring with the <a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.ucsc.edu\/en\/Current\/General-Catalog\/Academic-Units\/The-Colleges\/Stevenson-College\" rel=\"noopener\">Stevenson College Junior Fellow and Writing Assistance programs<\/a>. He has worked with adults and kids, tutoring the GRE, GMAT, and SAT at <a href=\"https:\/\/kaplan.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaplan<\/a> and teaching English as a Second Language in the <a href=\"http:\/\/jetprogramme.org\/en\/\" rel=\"noopener\">JET Programme<\/a> and at the <a href=\"https:\/\/iicesl.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Intercultural Institute of California<\/a>. At Magoosh, he expanded beyond teaching, building and managing teams, like Student Help and Content. When he's not Magooshing, you can find him spinning his toddler in circles. Connect with him on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kevinrocci\/\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kevinrocci\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4400"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}