Finding the evidence
A reading question can almost always be answered from the passage in front of you. The skill is not reading faster. It is knowing exactly what the question asks, going back to find the words that answer it, and crossing out the answers that are true but not what was asked.
Why go back to a passage you have already read?
Because memory fills in gaps. After one reading you remember the gist, plus what you expected the passage to say, and wrong answers are written to match that mix. An option that sounds like the passage can feel right even when the passage never says it.
Going back swaps memory for evidence: words on the page you can point to. It turns “I think it's this one” into “it's this one, because of this line.” That is what a teacher means by “support your answer.”
And the hardest wrong answers are true. They say something the passage really does say — just not what the question asked. Only reading the question carefully, and holding each option up against it, catches those.
Where it turns up
- Video review in hockey — when a goal is challenged, the officials decide from what the replay shows, not from what anyone remembers seeing at full speed
- A board game argument — it ends when someone opens the rule book and reads the actual line, which often says something neither player quite remembered
- The learner's licence test — Albertans can take it at 14, and it is a multiple-choice test on the driver's handbook — the same skill, with a car at the end of it
- The Grade 9 achievement test — its reading part is multiple-choice questions on passages, and this method is exactly what it rewards
- 1. The words, first
- 2. Read the question first
- 3. Go back to the passage
- 4. Clue words
- 5. Cross out what is true but not asked
- 6. What costs marks
The words, first
The idea: Evidence is the word the whole page is about.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Option | One of the answers you choose from. |
| Key word | A word in the question that tells you what to look for: why, main idea, as used in, most likely, not. |
| Evidence | Words in the passage you can point to that prove an answer. |
| Clue word | A word in the passage that carries more than its own meaning: a but, an at first, an already. |
| Inference | A conclusion the passage suggests but never states, reached from a clue plus what you know. |
| Outside knowledge | What you know from real life rather than from the passage. It can make a wrong option feel right. |
Read the question first
The idea: Before you look at the options, say in your own words what the question wants: what kind of question it is, where to look, and which word it turns on.
In the second paragraph, why does Ravi most likely leave the party early?
- Where to look: the second paragraph, plus a sentence on either side.
- What kind of question: why asks for a reason.
- The key words: most likely means the passage will not say it straight out. You are making an inference.
| If the question says | It wants | Look at |
|---|---|---|
| mainly about, main idea | The point of the whole passage | Every paragraph, and the title |
| why, most likely, suggests | An inference from clues | The lines named, and what characters do |
| as used in, means | A word's meaning in its sentence | The sentence around the word |
| not, except | The one option that is false | Every option: three will be true |
Watch for not. It flips the whole task, and it is the easiest word to miss when you read quickly.
Go back to the passage
The idea: Answer from the lines, not from your memory of them. Reread the part the question names, and a sentence on each side.
Ravi had been looking forward to the party all week. By eight o'clock he had eaten three slices of pizza and laughed at every joke. Then Maya put on the song from the talent show — the one he had forgotten the words to, in front of the whole school. Ravi said he had a headache and called his mom to pick him up.
The question: why does Ravi most likely leave the party early?
- “He has a headache.” — he says so, which is why it is tempting. But he was fine a moment earlier, and the headache arrives right after the song.
- “He is tired after a long week.” — nothing mentions being tired.
- “He never wanted to come.” — the first sentence says the opposite.
- “The song reminds him of an embarrassing moment.” — the timing proves it: happy until the song, gone right after. The answer.
From memory, “headache” sticks, because it is the last reason the passage gives. Going back shows the order of events, and here the order is the evidence.
Clue words
The idea: Some words carry more than the rest. Contrast words, time words and exact describing words are where answers hide.
At first, Kiona thought the new neighbours were unfriendly. They never waved, and their curtains stayed shut all day. But the morning after the blizzard, she woke up to find that Mr. Haddad had already shovelled her whole driveway.
The question: how does Kiona's view of her neighbours change?
- At first warns you that the first view will not last.
- But marks the turn. What comes after a but usually matters more than what comes before it.
- Already and whole show how much Mr. Haddad did before anyone asked.
So Kiona learns that neighbours who seemed unfriendly are kind, and each part of that answer rests on a word you can point to.
| Clue words | What they signal |
|---|---|
| but, however, yet, still | A turn: what follows usually matters more |
| at first, finally, by the end | A change over time |
| because, so, as a result | A reason or a result |
| always, never, only | A strong claim: an option that uses one needs a passage just as strong |
Cross out what is true but not asked
The idea: An answer has to be true and answer this question. Test each option against the passage, then against the question, then against the whole passage.
The Hendersons' dog, Biscuit, was fourteen, and her walks had grown shorter every year. This summer she stopped at the end of the driveway and lay down in the shade. Owen, who had walked her every day since he was six, sat down on the curb beside her and didn't mention the park.
The question: what does Owen's action at the end mainly show?
- “Old dogs need shorter walks.” — true in real life, but about dogs in general. Outside knowledge.
- “Biscuit is fourteen years old.” — true and in the passage, but not about Owen's action. Wrong question.
- “Owen wants to keep Biscuit company.” — fits the curb, but ignores the shorter walks and the park. Too narrow.
- “Owen accepts that Biscuit is too old for long walks, and stays with her anyway.” — accounts for the shorter walks, the curb and the park he does not mention. The answer.
“Is it true?” is the first check, not the last one.
What costs marks
The idea: All five are fixed by looking again.
- Choosing an option before rereading the lines.
- Stopping at the first option that looks right without reading all four.
- Picking an option because it is true, without checking that it answers this question.
- Choosing an option because it repeats the passage's words. Recognizing the words is not the same as the option being right.
- Missing not, except or most likely in the question.