Primary purpose, structure, tone & specific purpose Flashcards
"Big picture" thinking
While reading any R.C passage or the first time ,
your 5 primary objectives (to understand the big picture) are …
to identify the author’s;
- simple story/main idea
- primary purpose
- Structure (of passage)
- Opinion (argumentative/descriptive)
- Tone/Feelings
What 3 questions do you ask yourself when learning about evidence provided in a passage?
what evidence does the author provide to support his/her view point?
what evidence is offered in support of an opposing view?
is the evidence provided weak/strong?
you are required to memorize details about evidence provided in a RC passage
True/False?
False
4 basic ingredients found in RC passages are?
- Theories , Opinions or View points (authors’ and opposing)
- Evidence in support of theories, opinions or view points
- Descriptive info
- Explanatory info
The 3-part recipe to finding the main idea (simple story)
- the simple story is specific, not overly broad
- the simple story transforms the authors words into yours via full understanding of the passage
- the simple story is always concise
What’s every authors primary purpose? & How to find it
Is to express the main idea (simple story) of the passage
We find the author’s primary purpose by finding the simple story/main idea of the passage i.e the “big picture”
The main idea in a RC passage is often centered on 3 concepts
They are…?
- cause and effect claims
- opposing viewpoints
- problems and solutions
You can identify the primary purpose of a passage by reading a one important sentences/paragraph
True/False
False
You have to read the whole passage holistically and comprehend it to know the primary purpose of the author.
What questions should you ask yourself when looking for the author’s primary purpose?
- What is the main idea/point in this?
- What is the big picture?
- What is the author’s main conclusion? / How can I summarise this passage?
- What is the author trying to convey?
What 7 CLUES in a passage can you use to help you identify the author’s “primary purpose”?
Seek out;
1- Leading sentences of the paragraph (i.e first 1 or 2 sentences of the 1st paragraph and 1st sentence of other paragraphs following the 1st paragraph)
2 -Opinions of the author and others (via opinion and contrast markers)
3 - Strong language made by the author- tone and attitude (to show what he/she believes)
4 - The Author’s Conclusions via (conclusion markers )
5- The Conclusion stated in the last sentence of a passage (may be it’s main point)
6 - Cause and effect claims/discussions (via causation markers)
7 - Rhetorical questions and its answer.. indicated by “?” in the passage.
Opinion Indicator
indicates that an opinion of the author or someone else is being presented
Clearly
Assert
Argue that
Believe
Claim
Contend
Opinion
Propose
Should
Contrast (counter-premise) indicators
- useful in analysing the structure of a passage
- useful in determining primary purpose of a passage
But
Yet
however
on the other hand
admittedly
in contrast
even so (despite what has just been said)
Although
even though
still
whereas
in spite of
despite
after all
Conclusion markers
Thus
Therefore
Hence
Consequently
As a result
So
Accordingly
Clearly
Must be that
Shows that
Conclude that
Follows that
For this reason
in any event
By and Large
in summary/ in essence
All things considered
Cause-and-effect indicators
Thus
caused by
due to
resulted from
as a result of
consequently
attributed to
reason
explained by
Ways Gmat can make Correct answers to Primary purpose questions tricky
- Presenting the correct answer in a
way you do not expect.* {strategy} - be flexible with your simple story * - By using passages in which the
primary purpose is not obvious*{strategy} - look for the passages' important points, then go to the answer choices and find the one that best fits those important points*
7 Common “primary purpose” incorrect answer Traps
TRAP 1 - Too narrow answer choice
TRAP 2 - Something mentioned frequently yet Not the primary purpose
TRAP 3 - An answer choice that uses the wrong verb.
TRAP 4 - Distortion of the Primary purpose
TRAP 5 - An answer choice that Exaggerates.
TRAP 6 - Opposite choices
TRAP 7 - Half right choices
Strategy to avoid narrow scope answer traps
{Strategy} - choose an answer that captures the primary purpose of the entire passage (and not just a small portion of it)
Strategy to avoid a trap choice that mentions a point frequently mentioned in a passage yet not the primary purpose
{strategy} - consider main points, opinions, contrasts, and conclusions stated in the passage (i.e the author’s overall message), rather than whatever simply appears frequently in the passage.
Strategy to avoid a trap choice that uses the wrong verb
{strategy} - Lookout for wrong verbs in answer choices, is the authors’s tone Argumentative or descriptive?
Strategy to avoid trap choice that distorts the primary purpose
{strategy} - pay attention to each word (esp. verb, nouns & modifiers) in answer choices to see if they match what the passage actually says.
Strategy to avoid a trap choice that exaggerates the primary purpose
strategy} - lookout for “extreme markers” or “strong language” in answer choices and compare with what the passage actually says.
Strategy to avoid a “opposite” trap choices
{strategy} - Compare the direction in which the ans. choice takes things with the direction in which the passage takes things.
Strategy to avoid “half right” trap choices
{strategy} - Read all answer choices in its entirety to the very last word
Argumentative verbs
Argue
Contend
Demonstrate
Suggest
Advocate
Propose
Support
Challenge
Question
Refute
Correct
Descriptive verbs
Discuss
Present
Describe
Illustrate
explain
examine
identify
explore
Sometimes a descriptive verb can be used in an argumentative choice
True or False
True
in considering Primary Purpose answer choices, we have to consider argumentative verbs and descriptive verbs in the CONTEXT of the choices in which they appear, because sometimes a descriptive verb can be used in an argumentative choice. For instance, “discuss” could be used in a choice like the following one:
(Argumentative Choice) discussing reasons why a strategy is likely to be effective
Notice that “discussing reasons why a strategy is likely to be effective” is essentially the same as “demonstrating why a strategy is likely to be effective.”
So, the above choice could describe an argumentative passage whose purpose is “demonstrating” even though the choice uses the descriptive verb “discuss.”
What are Extreme markers?
In a passage …
In an answer choice…
A.K.A Narrow cope indicators
- in a passage; reveals the scope
- In an answer choice; a yellow flag that the answer MAY BE a “trap choice”, so we should crosscheck what the passage actually says.
Narrow scope indicators A.K.A Extreme markers
None
All
Must
Always
Only
Will/ Would
Most
least
Never
Every
Sole
None
Best
Worst
Impossible
agreement markers
Indicates agreement
not only…but also
likewise
in fact
similarly
Premise indicators
- introduces evidence/examples
- useful in discerning relationships between sentences
for instance
in particular
in fact
for example
from the fact that
after all
because
since
as indicated by
due to
for the reason that
given that
this can be seen from
we know this by
the reason is that
as evidenced by
justified by
assuming
Look above marker
indicates that a sentence is referring to something mentioned ‘previously’ in the passage
this X
these X
those X
such X
for example
for instance
also
Other Opposing view indicators
introduces a widely held view that will be discussed, called into question, or disputed
widely held view
common belief
common perception
prevalent perception
many believe
What important question do you ask yourself when analysing the structure of a passage on a sentence level?
Why is this statement here?
Why has the author taken the time to include this sentence or this paragraph?
What method should you use in analysing structure of a passage?
sentence-by-sentence analysis.
THEN,
paragraph -paragraph analysis
this will help you understand the role of each paragraph, then you can analyse the logical relationship between the paragraphs
Strategy for answering specific purpose questions
Step 1 - Find the specified “piece” or “sentence” in the passage and re-read the entire sentence in which it is located.
Step 2 - Read around the piece/sentence for more context. (taking note of markers)
Step 3 - Find the answer choice that best describes the specific purpose of the “piece” or “sentence” specified.
Strategy to identify Author’s Opinion & Tone
By paying close attention to the WORDS and DETAILS __tone clues __he/she uses in the passage.
your ability to DECODE the author’s WORD CHOICES in order to assess what he/she believes/feels in KEY!
How do you tell the difference between the point of view of people being discussed in the passage and the author’s point of view?
There will be a distinction. IF its other peoples opinion, it will be written like…“they assume that”, “the researcher believes that”
However, if its the authors opinion, it will be written as a direct assertion …
“It is obvious both parties are confused”
“Nevertheless, others have termed Jane’s work ‘anecdotal’ because, as diligent as it is, her conclusions are largely based upon a somewhat limited set of observations made by a single person”
No part of this sentence has the authors opinion.
True or false’?
False
Others opinion - her work is anecdotal
the author’s opinion - because, as diligent as it is, her conclusions are largely based upon a somewhat limited set of observations made by a single person
Why?
the author gave us a reason he believes _i.e the reason why others think Jane’s work is anecdotal.
It is not others that gave this reason..if not it would have be written as_because they claim that, as diligent as it is, her conclusions are largely based upon a somewhat limited set of observations made by a single person
The information in this passage suggests that the author would agree with which of the following statements?
What type of question is this?
A Point of view question
It requires you to know the differences between when an author’s opinion vs an opinion expressed by another party in the passage
Approaches for maximizing RC passage comprehension
Read Slow enough for full comprehension but not memorisation
Visualise what you read
Always read passage first, before question
Ignore `technical´words
use context clues to understand`common´words you don’t know
