Primary purpose, structure, tone & specific purpose

Question 1

While reading any R.C passage or the first time ,

your 5 primary objectives (to understand the big picture) are …

Answer 1

to identify the author’s;

• simple story/main idea
• primary purpose
• Structure (of passage)
• Opinion (argumentative/descriptive)
• Tone/Feelings

Question 2

What 3 questions do you ask yourself when learning about evidence provided in a passage?

Answer 2

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?

Question 3

you are required to memorize details about evidence provided in a RC passage

True/False?

Answer 3

False

Question 4

4 basic ingredients found in RC passages are?

Answer 4

• Theories , Opinions or View points (authors’ and opposing)
• Evidence in support of theories, opinions or view points
• Descriptive info
• Explanatory info

Question 5

The 3-part recipe to finding the main idea (simple story)

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

What’s every authors primary purpose? & How to find it

Answer 6

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”

Question 7

The main idea in a RC passage is often centered on 3 concepts

They are…?

Answer 7

• cause and effect claims
• opposing viewpoints
• problems and solutions

Question 8

You can identify the primary purpose of a passage by reading a one important sentences/paragraph

True/False

Answer 8

False

You have to read the whole passage holistically and comprehend it to know the primary purpose of the author.

Question 9

What questions should you ask yourself when looking for the author’s primary purpose?

Answer 9

• 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?

Question 10

What 7 CLUES in a passage can you use to help you identify the author’s “primary purpose”?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Opinion Indicator

Answer 11

indicates that an opinion of the author or someone else is being presented

Clearly
Assert
Argue that
Believe
Claim
Contend
Opinion
Propose
Should

Question 12

Contrast (counter-premise) indicators

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

Conclusion markers

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Cause-and-effect indicators

Answer 14

Thus
caused by
due to
resulted from
as a result of
consequently
attributed to
reason
explained by

Question 15

Ways Gmat can make Correct answers to Primary purpose questions tricky

Answer 15

1. Presenting the correct answer in a
   way you do not expect.

    * {strategy} - be flexible with your   
   simple story  *

2. 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*

Question 16

7 Common “primary purpose” incorrect answer Traps

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Strategy to avoid narrow scope answer traps

Answer 17

{Strategy} - choose an answer that captures the primary purpose of the entire passage (and not just a small portion of it)

Question 18

Strategy to avoid a trap choice that mentions a point frequently mentioned in a passage yet not the primary purpose

Answer 18

{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.

Question 19

Strategy to avoid a trap choice that uses the wrong verb

Answer 19

{strategy} - Lookout for wrong verbs in answer choices, is the authors’s tone Argumentative or descriptive?

Question 20

Strategy to avoid trap choice that distorts the primary purpose

Answer 20

{strategy} - pay attention to each word (esp. verb, nouns & modifiers) in answer choices to see if they match what the passage actually says.

Question 21

Strategy to avoid a trap choice that exaggerates the primary purpose

Answer 21

strategy} - lookout for “extreme markers” or “strong language” in answer choices and compare with what the passage actually says.

Question 22

Strategy to avoid a “opposite” trap choices

Answer 22

{strategy} - Compare the direction in which the ans. choice takes things with the direction in which the passage takes things.

Question 23

Strategy to avoid “half right” trap choices

Answer 23

{strategy} - Read all answer choices in its entirety to the very last word

Question 24

Argumentative verbs

Answer 24

Argue
Contend
Demonstrate
Suggest
Advocate
Propose
Support
Challenge
Question
Refute
Correct

Question 25

Descriptive verbs

Answer 25

Discuss
Present
Describe
Illustrate
explain
examine
identify
explore

Question 26

Sometimes a descriptive verb can be used in an argumentative choice

True or False

Answer 26

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.”

Question 27

What are Extreme markers?

In a passage …
In an answer choice…

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

Narrow scope indicators A.K.A Extreme markers

Answer 28

None
All
Must
Always
Only
Will/ Would
Most
least
Never
Every
Sole
None
Best
Worst
Impossible

Question 29

agreement markers

Answer 29

Indicates agreement

not only…but also
likewise
in fact
similarly

Question 30

Premise indicators

Answer 30

• 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

Question 31

Look above marker

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Other Opposing view indicators

Answer 32

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

Question 33

What important question do you ask yourself when analysing the structure of a passage on a sentence level?

Answer 33

Why is this statement here?

Why has the author taken the time to include this sentence or this paragraph?

Question 34

What method should you use in analysing structure of a passage?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Strategy for answering specific purpose questions

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

Strategy to identify Author’s Opinion & Tone

Answer 36

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!

Question 37

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?

Answer 37

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”

Question 38

“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’?

Answer 38

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

Question 39

The information in this passage suggests that the author would agree with which of the following statements?

What type of question is this?

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Approaches for maximizing RC passage comprehension

Answer 40

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