EQV-01-02

Reading Comprehension — Locating Supporting Details

Detail questions are open-book: the answer is printed in the passage. Learn to scan to it in seconds instead of re-reading.

~5 min read•Difficulty 2/5

A detail question asks about something the passage states directly. You are not reasoning — you are finding. The answer is on the page; your job is to land on the right line quickly.

Scan, do not re-read

Re-reading the whole passage for one fact wastes a minute you do not have. Instead:

Pull the keyword from the question. A name, number, date, or unusual noun — something easy to spot.
Sweep the passage for that keyword (or a synonym of it). Your eye is faster than your inner voice.
Read the sentence you land on, plus one before and one after. The answer almost always sits in that window.

Match meaning, not words

The correct choice usually paraphrases the passage; the trap choice often copies its exact words but changes one detail.

Choice that...	Likely verdict
Repeats passage words but flips a number or name	❌ trap
Says the same idea in different words	✅ answer
Is true in real life but never stated	❌ outside knowledge
Combines two separate facts into one false claim	❌ trap

Rule: if you cannot point to the line that proves a choice, it is not the answer — no matter how reasonable it sounds.

Watch the question's exact wording

"According to the passage", "the author states", and "the passage indicates" all mean the same thing: find the printed fact. Negative stems flip the task:

"Which is mentioned?" $\to$ eliminate the three not in the text.
"Which is NOT mentioned?" / "EXCEPT" $\to$ find the three that ARE, and pick the leftover.

Worked examples

Example 1 (difficulty 2/5)

Read this passage: "The Arabian oryx was declared extinct in the wild in 1972. A captive-breeding program, begun with just a handful of animals, slowly rebuilt the population. By 1982, the first oryx were released back into protected reserves, and the species is now classified as vulnerable rather than extinct." According to the passage, the Arabian oryx is currently classified as:

◎ Predict the answer first:

Tips

Numbers, capitalized names, and dates are the fastest anchors to scan for.
If a choice uses a word the passage never used, be suspicious — it may be outside knowledge.
For EXCEPT/NOT questions, lightly check off each choice you can find in the text; the unchecked one wins.

Common mistakes

Choosing the answer that "sounds like the passage"

Why: Trap choices deliberately reuse the passage’s vocabulary while changing one fact.

Fix: Point to the exact line. If the line disagrees on any detail, reject the choice.

Answering from general knowledge

Why: A choice can be true in the real world yet never appear in the passage.

Fix: On detail questions, only what is printed counts — close the door on outside facts.

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