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Reading Comprehension

The reading section measures how well you understand written passages, a skill essential for following patient charts and medical instructions. You will identify the main idea, locate supporting details, make inferences, and judge an author's tone and purpose. This chapter explains each strategy and how to apply it under time pressure.

Finding the Main Idea

The main idea is the central point a passage develops, often stated in a topic sentence at the beginning or end. Everything else in the passage should support this idea. Distinguishing the main idea from smaller details is one of the most tested skills.

Ask what the passage is mostly about
Summarize the paragraph in one sentence; that summary usually captures the main idea.
Look at the first and last sentences
Topic sentences frequently appear at the start or end of a paragraph and state the central point.
Separate main idea from details
A detail explains or supports the main idea; it is narrower and more specific than the central point.
Avoid answers that are too broad or too narrow
The correct main idea covers the whole passage without going beyond what the text actually says.

Supporting Details and Facts

Supporting details are the facts, examples, and reasons that back up the main idea. Many questions ask you to locate a specific detail stated in the passage. Careful rereading of the relevant sentence prevents careless mistakes.

Scan for key words
Match names, numbers, or terms from the question to the same words in the passage to find the answer quickly.
Choose only what is stated
For fact questions, pick the option that is directly supported by the text rather than what seems likely.
Watch for negative questions
When a question asks what is NOT true or what you should NOT do, eliminate the options the passage supports.
Beware of close distractors
Wrong answers often change one word or number from the passage, so read each option carefully.

Making Inferences

An inference is a logical conclusion based on evidence in the text combined with reasoning, even when the point is not stated outright. Good inferences stay close to the clues the author provides. Overreaching beyond the evidence leads to wrong answers.

Base inferences on evidence
Support every conclusion with specific clues from the passage rather than personal opinion or outside knowledge.
Read between the lines
Notice what the details imply about a character, situation, or outcome without being directly stated.
Stay reasonable
The best inference is the one most strongly suggested by the text, not the most dramatic possibility.
Test your conclusion
Ask whether the passage would have to be true for your inference to hold; if not, reconsider.

Author's Purpose and Tone

Authors write to inform, persuade, entertain, or describe, and their word choices reveal an attitude called tone. Recognizing purpose and tone helps you interpret meaning correctly. Emotional or loaded language often signals persuasion or a strong tone.

Identify the purpose
Decide whether the author aims to inform, persuade, entertain, or describe based on the content and style.
Read tone through word choice
Descriptive words reveal the author's attitude, such as critical, cheerful, or eerie.
Spot persuasive language
Words like must, best, or should and emotional appeals usually indicate the author is trying to persuade.
Separate fact from opinion
Facts can be verified, while opinions express judgments and often use comparative or evaluative words.

Text Structure and Relationships

Passages are organized in patterns such as sequence, cause and effect, or compare and contrast. Recognizing these structures helps you follow the logic and answer relationship questions. Signal words are the clearest clues to structure.

Recognize sequence
Words like first, next, then, and finally show that events or steps are listed in order.
Identify cause and effect
Phrases such as because, as a result, and therefore link a cause to its effect.
Notice compare and contrast
Words like while, whereas, and on the other hand show how ideas are similar or different.
Follow problem and solution
Some passages present a problem and then describe one or more ways to solve it.
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Last updated: July 2026

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