Information and Ideas Cheatsheet

12-14 question (~26% of reading and writing section)

Key Concepts

  • understanding

    • Central ideas

    • Important Detail

    • Impilications of passage

  • close reading of

    • main points

    • Supporting evidence

    • Logical inference

  • Key Skills

    • Summarizing

    • Identifying cause and effect relationships

    • Comparing & Contrasting ideas

  • Question may ask

    • overall structure

    • organization of a passage

    • how ideas are INTRODUCED, DEVELOPED, & CONNECTED

  • Understanding context and implications—read the blurbs, footnotes

    • author’s background

    • intended audience

    • historical/cultural context

  • Identifying tone and styles- to help understand attitude and overall message being conveyed

  • Information and questions require distinguishing facts from opinions stated in passage

    • is it objective (verifiable) or subjective (judgements or beliefs)

Reading Strategies

  • Read passages actively—engage w/text

    • asking questions

    • making predictions

    • connecting ideas as you read

  • identify main ideas or thesis statements of the passage (usually in the introduction or conclusion)

  • Annotate the passages—key points, supporting details, and how transition hsow relationship between ideas

  • Pay attention to the use author’s use of language

    • word choice

    • tone

    • rhetorical devices (STUDY!!! IMPORTANT) and how they emphasize certain ideas and points

  • quickly summarize the main ideas (one word of each paragraph or section)

  • Anticipate potential questions by considering what information is most important/ likely tested based on the passage’s content and structure (or looking at questions and answer choices before hand)

  • When answering question refer back to specific evidence from the passage to support (avoid making assumptions or RELYING ON OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE)

Question Types

(Answer easier questions first, than go to the harder questions)

  • Main Idea Question—ask about the central message or primary purpose of a passage as whole

    • phases used are “main idea,” “central claim,” or “primary purpose”

  • Detail questions—ask about specific information stated directly in the passage, often referring to a particular line or paragraph

  • Inference question—require drawing logical conclusions based on evidence from the passage (not explicitly stated)

    • uses phrases like “suggests,” “implies,” or “most likely” to indicate making an educated guess based on info provided

  • Vocabulary-in-Context Question—ask about meaning of a word or phrase as it is used in passage (definition may differ from common definition)

  • Function Questions—ask about the purpose or role of particular word, phrase, ore paragraph in the overall structure of the passage

  • Author Technique Question— focus on how the author uses language, organization, or rhetorical devices to achieve specific effect or convey certain message

Analyzing Information

  • Break down complex passages into SMALLER, MORE MANAGEABLE PARTS like the main ideas of each paragraph or section

  • look for keywords and transitions that shows relationships between ideas like “however, “therefore,” “in contrast,” or “moreover”

  • Identify author’s purpose—to inform, persuade, entertain, or express an opinion

    • author’s purpose influence the content, tone, and structure of the passage

  • Analyze the structure of the passage, noting how ideas are introduced, developed, and connected throughout the text

    • Common organizational patterns include chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and problem-solution

  • Distinguish between facts and opinion in text and consider how they contribute to hte author’s overall message

  • Examine the implications and significance of the information presented considering how it relates to the main idea and the broder context of the passage

Identifying Main Ideas

  • Main Idea = central message or primary purpose of the passage, often expressed in a thesis statement or topic sentence

  • typical broad and overarching—encompassing key points and supporting details of the passage

  • look for main ideas in intro or conclusion of the passage as well as topic sentences of individual paragraphs

  • pay attention to how words and phrases that are repeated throughout the passage, as they often signal the main idea or important themes

  • Consider title of passage relating to the main idea providing clues about overall message or purpose

  • summarize the passage in one to two sentences to identify main ideas focusing on the essential info and leaving out minor details

  • If main ideas isn’t explicitly stated infer based on

    • key points

    • supporting evidence

Supporting Details and Evidence

  • Supporting details are specific—facts, examples, explanations that reinforce the main idea of the passage

  • These details provide evidence for the claims or arguements made in the passage to help the reader understand and remember key points

  • Look for supporting details in body paragraphs introduced in transition like “for example,” “in addition,” or “futhermore”

  • Statistic, data, expert opinions, and anecdotes that are used to support the main idea or persuade the reader

  • Consider how support detail relate to each other and contribut to overall passage structure and coherence

  • when answering detail quesitons— refer back to passage and find specific info by using keywords from the question to locate relevant evidence

    • avoid making ASSUMPTIONS or RELYING on outside knowledge, as the correct answer is based on the info stated in passage directly