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Explicit Detail


This is one of my favorite Reading Comprehension questions because it is testing your knowledge of details and spotting which one is out of place! You will know you are being tested on explicit detail when you see questions that use these forms:


You are being tested on your short-term memory by focusing on some of the teeny-tiny details that are mentioned. You cannot possibly remember all the details, but what the test maker does want to know is how quickly can you find the appropriate facts. (See where annotating and outlining can come in handy?)

There is a 50 percent likelihood you will see this type of question in varying sections of a reading comprehension exam.

There are two types of explicit detail questions to be on the lookout for:

  1. All the answer choices are correct EXCEPT… The wrong answers are sometimes clustered together in the same paragraph and the correct answer is somewhere else.

  2. The only correct answer choice is mentioned and all the others are either not mentioned at all in the material, or are in a paragraph that is an argument against which the author positions him/herself.

  3. Please note, the best response is not always repeated word for word the way it is listed in the passage. You may have to interpret it.

  4. Tip for this type of question: Always go back to the material to check your memory.

Wrong answer tricks for this type of question will talk about unrelated details that may be listed somewhere in the passage. Do a quick re-read to make sure you are answering correctly.

Other wrong answer ploys include answers that are not even listed in the passage. They can often be very tempting; a natural reaction on your part may wish to choose that answer, but if it is not listed in the passage, it is a wrong answer.

Consider the following passage and questions that follow. Be on the lookout for Explicit Detail question tricks:

When looking to solve a criminal case, obtaining readable fingerprints is an essential step in the collection of evidence from a major crime scene. Obtaining such evidence requires that proper procedures are followed when collecting fingerprint evidence. In a serious situation, fingerprints should be collected from every individual who may have touched areas associated with a crime scene, so that innocent or non-involved individuals can be eliminated.


Question 1: The main idea of the paragraph is:

  1. The importance of fingerprint evidence, in most cases, is equally important to following proper procedure when collecting them for evidence.

  2. All fingerprints collected at a crime scene should be collected and investigated completely.

  3. Incorrect collection of fingerprints can make the collected fingerprint evidence useless.

  4. The first step in establishing evidence is to eliminate fingerprint evidence of non-suspects.

Question 2: The paragraph best supports the statement that:

  1. Without readable fingerprints, crimes cannot be solved.

  2. If your fingerprints are at a scene you could be considered a suspect.

  3. All fingerprint evidence found at a crime scene will be used as evidence in court.

  4. Any person who may have touched something in a crime scene should be fingerprinted.

The correct answer for Question 1 is A because this idea is stated in several sentences of the passage and best identifies the main point the author is trying to make.

The correct answer for Question 2 is D. This answer is found in the final sentence of the passage. None of the other choices are listed, but could possibly be inferred. Be careful about inferring. Answer A could possibly be true in some circumstances, but it does not best sum up the idea of the passage. Answer B reaches a conclusion that is not reflected in the paragraph, but based on the reader's personal experience might be perceived to be true. Answer C is too broad in scope; never are all fingerprints used as evidence in court, they are used to exclude suspects.



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