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This Reading Comprehension test would be
better named THE TEST OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. It does not test
your ability to read as much as it tests your ability to UNDERSTAND
AND APPLY the information you read.
All paragraphs on the Accuplacer Reading
Comprehension test are short, usually not more than 4 sentences.
However, there is plenty of information in those few sentences for
you to analyze. Most questions ask you to either:
1.
Determine the MAIN IDEA;
2.
Make an INFERENCE based on the information in the paragraph;
or
3.
Judge the relationship between 2 separate sentences.
One way to prepare is to read newspapers,
magazines, or books that are in your home.
When you have finished a paragraph or an article ask yourself
“what is the point?” If you do not understand, then try to
examine individual paragraphs more closely. Do not get hung up on
individual words that you may not know – look at the big picture.
From the information you read, what
conclusions can you draw? If you read that it was cold when I
shoveled my driveway, you might conclude that there was snow on the
ground.
Another
example:
1.
Cheating is the ultimate trick a student plays on him-herself.
Aside from the primary point of making an absolute mockery of
the purpose of a college education, there is also the fact that
there is no way a student can avoid being found out- there is at
least one person who will always know about it.
With
which of the following statements would the author agree?
a.
Students should not cheat because someone will find out and
report it.
b.
Cheating really hurts the cheater.
c.
Professors should expect students to cheat.
A question
about the main idea:
2.
Many college students do not want to take a math class. When they
learn that math is required these students and hope for a way to go
avoid this requirement. These
students may be suffering from math anxiety, an overwhelming fear of
the subject, rather than an intellectual impairment.
The
main idea of this passage is:
a.
Many students are bad at math
b.
Students who are bad at math can avoid taking it.
c.
Students who hope to avoid math may have math anxiety.
Do not get discouraged
by unfamiliar words. Sometimes
the question is easier than you think.
3.
The protagonist of this popular children’s tale has an aversion to
colored poultry products and smoked meat. His pursuer took
increasingly creative measures to ensure that the protagonist would
consume these victuals here, there or anywhere.
The
author states that:
a.
The pursuer took increasingly creative measures.
b.
The victuals
were virtually real.
c.
The protagonist consumed the pursuer.
Comparing 2 sentences:
The owning of an
automobile allows Americans the opportunity to explore this vast
country.
In
failing to develop a national public transportation system the
ability of Americans to travel is severely limited.
4.
The above 2 sentences:
a.
Contradict each other
b.
The second sentence supports the first
c.
The first sentence introduces the second.
The Midwest is experiencing its worst drought in fifteen years.
Corn and soybean prices are expected to be very high this year.
5.
What does the second sentence do?
a.
It restates the idea found in the first sentence.
b.
It states an effect.
c.
It gives an example.
ANSWERS:
1.b ; 2.c ; 3.a ; 4.a;
5.b
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