Information and Ideas (Reading and Writing)

1The main idea is the claim the whole text supports

A central-idea answer names the single claim the entire short passage is built to support. Choices that are true of only one sentence, or that stretch past what the passage argues, fail the whole-text test even when every word looks familiar.

Read for the through-line first. Then reject local truths and overreach before you fall for polished wording.

Figure. The central idea is the single claim the entire short passage supports. True-of-one-sentence and stretch-past-the-text options fail the whole-text test.

Whole-text filter

1. Name the through-lineIn one plain sentence, state what the whole text is arguing or explaining.
2. Strike local truthsDelete options that fit only one clause or example and leave the rest idle.
3. Strike overreachDelete options that add a broader claim, cause, or moral the passage never states.

2Detail answers restate the passage — nothing outside

A correct detail choice restates what the text says about the asked part. It does not import classroom facts, motives, or mechanisms the author never wrote. Familiar science that is not in the lines is still outside information.

When two options recycle passage words, check which one describes the part the question actually names.

Figure. A detail answer restates what the text says about the asked part. Familiar science the author never wrote is still outside information.

Locate then restate

1. Find the askUnderline which person, result, or sentence the stem points at.
2. Match only that partKeep the option that restates those lines; drop true-elsewhere or outside-knowledge cousins.
3. Ban add-onsReject choices that supply a why, always, or expert fact the passage does not state.

3Passage words can still describe the wrong part

A planted detail distractor lifts vocabulary from the passage but attaches it to the wrong group, time, or relationship — or reverses more/less, before/after, cause/result. Shared wording is not enough; the option must describe the asked slot.

Read the stem's subject and polarity again after you like an option's diction.

Figure. Shared vocabulary is not enough. A planted distractor lifts passage words but attaches them to the wrong group, time, or polarity.

4An inference must be licensed by the text alone

A valid inference is a conclusion the passage forces — usually the completion of a contrast, result, or 'therefore' blank the author set up. If a hostile reader can refuse the option while granting every stated sentence, the option is not licensed.

Do not supply mechanisms, motives, or real-world habits the lines never authorize.

Figure. A valid inference is forced by the stated lines. If a hostile reader can refuse the option while granting every sentence, it is not licensed.

Force the conclusion

1. Isolate the contrastMark the two cases or before/after the stem asks you to complete.
2. Name only what changesState the difference the text establishes — nothing about unstated causes.
3. Pick the forced finishChoose the option a denier cannot reject without rejecting the given lines.

5Most-supported blanks reward the safest option

Stems that ask what is most strongly supported, most logical, or best completes the text usually key a conservative conclusion: same subject, same direction, no extreme always/never and no unstated cause. Extreme options often feel insightful and still overclaim.

When two options seem possible, keep the narrower one the passage actually earns.

Figure. Most-supported stems reward the safest completion: same subject, same direction, no extreme always/never and no unstated cause.

Prefer the narrow finish

1. Restate the givenList only the facts the short text states.
2. Drop extremesCut always/never, all/none, and prove/cause wording the passage does not earn.
3. Keep the safe finishChoose the option that stays inside the stated subject and polarity.

6Textual evidence must match the claim's scope and polarity

When the stem gives a claim and asks which quotation or finding supports it, the winner shares the claim's subject, breadth, and direction. A quote about a related topic, a weaker or stronger claim, or evidence that cuts the other way is not support — even if it comes from the same passage.

Deeper evidence drills also live under Command of Evidence; here the Information and Ideas move is the scope-and-polarity match.

Figure. The winning quotation shares the claim's subject, breadth, and direction. Related-topic or polarity-reversing lines fail even when they are from the passage.

7Read the data point before you trust the comparison word

Graph and table items are won by locating the exact row, column, or axis value the claim needs, then checking that the sentence's comparison word — more, fewer, least, increased — matches that number. Impressionistic trend reading without the point is how reverse-comparison traps land.

Answer from the data first; only then test the wording of the options.

Figure. For graph and table items, find the exact value first, then check that the comparison word matches. Impressionistic trends lose to the cell.

Claim → cell → word

1. Read the claimNote which quantity, group, and comparison (least, most, increase) the stem requires.
2. Locate the cellFind the matching row/column or labeled value; confirm units match across compared figures.
3. Match the wordKeep the option whose comparison word agrees with that value; drop reverses and wrong groups.