ASVAB Test Study Guide Notes

Paragraph Comprehension

  • The test assesses the ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate written passages from various sources and topics.
  • Questions follow each passage, testing comprehension and the ability to draw conclusions.

Strategy 1: Flying Over the Passage

  • Debate exists over whether to read the passage before or after the questions.
  • The "flyover" method is recommended: quickly read the passage to get a general idea of the topic and mindset for the questions.
  • This balances time efficiency with understanding, avoiding focus on details that may be forgotten.

Strategy 2: Creating a Tentative Summary

  • After the flyover, create a brief mental summary of the passage, organizing key details.
  • This helps maintain focus and allows eliminating answer choices that contradict the summary.
  • Be willing to reconsider eliminated answer choices if necessary, as initial summaries may not be infallible.

Strategy 3: Openings and Endings

  • Focus on the opening and ending sentences of each paragraph, as they often contain the main ideas.
  • Mentally tag these ideas for later reference.
  • Always confirm answers by going back to the passage to avoid traps.

Strategy 4: Using Kitchen Logic

  • When identifying the main idea, focus on the opening and ending sentences.
  • If needed, describe the passage in simple terms, as if explaining it to friends or family.
  • This "kitchen logic" approach can simplify identifying the main idea.

Strategy 5: Getting into the Author’s Mind

  • Understand the author's purpose, message, angle, and main point.
  • Adopting the author's perspective can make answering questions easier.

Strategy 6: Emotional Words

  • For questions about the author’s emotions, identify adjectives describing emotions in the passage.
  • Positive or negative attitude can be discerned through words like "brilliant" or "depressive."
  • Listing answer choices from most negative to most positive can help in selection.

Strategy 7: Finding the Key Words

  • Identify key words (nouns or verbs) in the question or answer choices that stand out in the passage.
  • Scan the passage for these words or their synonyms to locate the relevant section.
  • Be cautious of misleading answer choices that use the same wording as the passage but in a deceptive way.
  • Connect the question to the right words in the passage to save time and find the correct answer.

Strategy 8: Making Proper Inferences

  • Inference questions require using personal judgment to deduce what is implied but not directly stated.
  • Understand the main idea of the passage to make proper inferences about the author’s intent.

Strategy 9: Applying Ideas for Generalizations

  • Generalization questions require going beyond what is directly stated and applying the author's ideas to similar situations.
  • Consider how the author would feel about a similar situation and how the information could be applied elsewhere.

Strategy 10: Using Context Clues

  • Context clues help understand difficult words or phrases in the passage.
  • Avoid relying on the first impulse for word definitions; consider the specific context in the passage.
  • Substitute the chosen definition back into the passage to ensure it fits the context.

Example:

  • Passage: “He was notorious for making decisions on the spur of the moment…”

  • Question: Which word, if substituted for “notorious,” would introduce the LEAST change in meaning?

    • A. evil
    • B. disturbed
    • C. famous
    • D. despised

  • Correct Answer: C. famous

Strategy 11: Breaking Down Passage Organization

  • Understand how the passage is organized by noting the relationship between the opening sentence and the rest of the passage.
  • Analyze how the author develops the main idea into supporting ideas and statements.
  • Quiz yourself on each answer choice by finding direct evidence in the passage.

Strategy 12: First Word Analysis

  • When identifying the main idea, look at the first words in each answer choice to make a decision.

Example:

  • Question: Which best explains the author’s primary purpose?

    • A. dispute…
    • B. describe…
    • C. condemn…
    • D. convince…

  • If the passage is neutral, eliminate stronger verbs like