Reading Comprehension
🔒 Log in to trackFactual detail questions ('According to the passage…')
🔒 Log in to trackDetail questions ask what the passage says, line by line. The answer is written in the passage. The options paraphrase it, and the wrong options are built around it. Use the method: locate a keyword, read around it, say the answer in your own words, then match.
What a detail question is
A detail (or factual) question asks about something written directly in the passage. It can be a fact, a reason, a number, a name or a feature. The stem often begins "According to the passage..." or "The passage states that...".
These are the easiest marks in reading comprehension. But you must go back and read the line. Memory is not enough, because the options are built to almost match the passage.
The four-step method
- Locate. Pick a keyword from the question: a name, a number or an unusual word (stepwell, fat content, ten days). Find it in the passage.
- Read around. Read that sentence, plus one before and one after. The answer often sits in the next sentence.
- Say it. Put the answer in your own words before you look at the options.
- Match. Choose the option with the same meaning as your words. Options usually paraphrase.
Tip: Cover the options after you locate the line. Answer aloud in your own words, then uncover. This one habit defeats most engineered wrong options.
How wrong options are made
Suppose the passage says "Most varieties need little water".
| Trap | Example option |
|---|---|
| Reversal (opposite meaning) | "Millets need a lot of water" |
| Extreme (changes most to all) | "All millets need no water at all" |
| Not stated (sounds true, never said) | "Millets are grown mainly in Punjab" |
| Wrong part (a true detail from another paragraph) | a reason given for a different fact |
Watch the small words
Qualifiers are words like some, many, most, all, often, always, may, will, more, less, only. One changed qualifier makes an option wrong.
- Passage: "Rich merchants and queens paid for the finest of them."
- Option: "All stepwells were paid for by queens."
- This option is wrong twice: all is too strong, and only queens is not stated.
Reason questions
A "Why...?" question is answered after words like because, since, as, so that, due to, the reason is. The clause after these words is the answer.
- Passage: "Less milk turned sour because it was cooled at once."
- Question: Why did less milk turn sour?
- Answer: It was cooled immediately.
NOT and EXCEPT questions
The stem says "Which of the following is NOT mentioned..." or "...all of the following EXCEPT".
- Circle NOT or EXCEPT so you do not forget it.
- Tick each option you can find in the passage.
- The one you cannot find, or that the passage contradicts, is the answer.
Watch: Three options usually come from the same sentence or list. Find that list and the question is quick.
Numbers and comparisons
Check every number in an option. Take the passage: "twelve households... over two hundred within four years".
A common trap swaps the before and after figures. Another trap drops a word like particularly. If the passage says night-time heat is particularly dangerous, an option saying "day-time heat is the real danger" is reversed.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Direct detail ('According to the passage...')
The stem asks what, when, how often or what happened, usually with 'according to the passage'.
Take the keyword from the question and find it.
Read that sentence and the next one.
Say the answer in your words, then pick the matching paraphrase.
Double-check qualifiers such as some, most, all.
The answer is written in the passage. You only need to find it.
"The library opens at 9 a.m. on weekdays and at noon on Sundays." According to the passage, when does the library open on Sundays?
Show solutionHide solution
The keyword is Sundays.
The line says 'at noon on Sundays'.
At 12 noon
Reason or cause detail ('Why...?')
'Why did...?', 'What was the reason for...?', 'According to the passage, ... because...'.
Find the event the question names.
Look for because, since, as, so that or due to near it.
The clause after that word is the answer.
Match it with the option that gives the same reason, not a related fact.
A cause is always tied to its event by a linking word.
"Travellers rested in the stepwell at noon because the air near the water stayed cool." Why did travellers rest there?
Show solutionHide solution
The event is resting at noon.
The clause after 'because' is: the air near the water stayed cool.
Because it was cool near the water
NOT mentioned or EXCEPT
The stem contains NOT or EXCEPT, often in capitals.
Circle NOT or EXCEPT.
Find the list or sentence the options come from.
Tick each option that is present in the passage.
The one left, absent or contradicted, is the answer.
Three options are true to the passage. Only one is not.
"The kit contains a torch, a whistle and a first-aid box." Which is NOT in the kit? (a) torch (b) whistle (c) rope (d) first-aid box
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Torch, whistle and first-aid box are all listed.
Rope is not listed.
(c) rope
Which statement is true? (qualifiers and numbers)
'Which of the following is true or correct according to the passage?' with four full-sentence options.
Test each option against its line.
Look hard at qualifiers such as all, only, every, most, and at numbers.
Treat an option with one wrong word as fully wrong.
Setters make three options false by changing one small word in each.
"The club began with 12 members and had 200 members four years later." Which is true? (a) It began with 200 members (b) It grew from 12 to 200 members in four years (c) It lost members (d) It has 12 members now
Show solutionHide solution
(a) swaps the numbers.
(c) reverses the trend.
(d) uses the old figure.
(b)
Complete the statement using the passage
A sentence with a blank or a dash, such as 'According to the passage, the school garden was started ___'.
Read the start of the sentence and find its keyword in the passage.
Read the line and say the ending in your own words.
Choose the option that finishes the sentence with that meaning and stays grammatical.
The passage supplies the ending. The options only reword it.
"The ferry runs every hour, but it stops when the river is in flood." The ferry service ___ (a) runs only in floods (b) is hourly but stops in floods (c) runs twice a day (d) never stops
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'Every hour' gives hourly.
'Stops when the river is in flood' gives the exception.
(b) is hourly but stops in floods
Shortcuts that save time
After you locate the line, cover the options and answer in your own words. Then uncover and match.
'Why is night-time heat more dangerous than day heat?' (from a passage on heat islands)
Show solutionHide solution
Your own words: the body repairs itself during sleep, so hot nights harm health.
Now match. Any option about air conditioners or daytime labour is off the line.
Hot nights stop the body from recovering during sleep
Before you mark a detail option, check its direction words: only, always, all, may, often, some, can, cannot. Wrong options flip these while keeping the same topic words.
When two options say the same thing in different words, both are wrong. A fact has one meaning. Remove the pair, then judge the other two.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Stopping at the line with the keyword.
Read one sentence before and after. The answer may be in the next sentence.
Choosing an option because it sounds authoritative, such as 'studies show...'.
Pick it only if the passage cites that study.
Missing NOT or EXCEPT in the stem and marking the true statement.
Circle NOT or EXCEPT first. The answer is the odd one out.
Ignoring qualifiers like mainly, only and some.
Compare every qualifier with the passage. Detail questions turn on these words.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Detail answers are written in the passage. Always go back to the line.
Use a keyword to locate. Read one sentence before and after.
Answer in your own words first, then match the paraphrase.
Wrong options: reversal, extreme, not stated, wrong paragraph.
Why questions: look for because, since, so that.
NOT or EXCEPT: tick the three that are present. The leftover is the answer.
Check qualifiers and numbers word by word.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.