Reading Comprehension — Quick Revision

Every rule, test and trap from Passage Types and Question Types, Inference and Assumption and Speed-Reading Strategy on one page, for the last week before Prelims Paper II.

The Golden Rule

The passage is the only source of truth. An option that is true in the real world but not stated or implied in the passage is wrong.

Passage Types

Type	Main idea sits	Typical questions
Factual / expository	First one or two sentences	Detail, sequence
Argumentative / opinion	Last sentence, or after “however”	Main idea, assumption, author’s view
Analytical / abstract	Spread out; build it yourself	Central theme, inference
Narrative / descriptive	The turn or ending	Tone, purpose, moral
Policy / governance	The “but / unless” condition	Assumption, implication, course of action

Question Families: VITAMIN-D

Letter	Family	Key move
V	Vocabulary in context	Meaning in that sentence
I	Inference	Must be true, one short step
T	Tone	Judge adjectives and balance; CSAT tone is rarely extreme
A	Assumption	Negation test
M	Main idea / title	Covers the whole passage, neither too narrow nor too broad
I	Implication / purpose	Why was it written: warn, explain, persuade?
N	NOT / EXCEPT	Three appear in the text, one does not
D	Detail	Find the line and match it. Answer these first

Signal Words

Signal	Meaning
however, but, yet, nevertheless	Contrast. The author’s view follows
therefore, thus, in short, hence	Conclusion
because, since, given that	Premise (never the main idea itself)
for example, such as	Illustration, so skim it
unless, only if, provided that	Condition, the key to policy passages

Inference vs Assumption

$$\boxed{\text{Inference comes OUT of the passage; an assumption lies UNDER the argument}}$$$$\boxed{\text{Assumption test: negate the option} \Rightarrow \text{argument collapses?}}$$

Check	Rule
Strength	“may / fewer / some” cannot support “will / eliminated / all”
Scope	A hamlet is not rural India; some is not all
Causation	“Where X, Y rose” does not mean “X caused Y”
Modesty	Real assumptions and inferences are mild; sweeping options lose
Stated vs assumed	If the author says it openly, it is a premise or conclusion, not an assumption

Timing and Guessing

$$\boxed{120 \text{ min} \div 100 \text{ questions} = 72 \text{ s per question}}$$

Situation	Number
300-word passage, 200 wpm, 4 Qs at 30 s each	52.5 s per question
Marks per Paper II question	2 (200 marks ÷ 100)
Penalty per wrong answer	One-third of marks = \( \frac{2}{3} \)
Expected value of guess, 0 options eliminated	0
1 option eliminated	\( +\frac{2}{9} \approx 0.22 \)
2 options eliminated	\( +\frac{2}{3} \approx 0.67 \)

Order of attack: stems (not options), then first and last lines, then map paragraphs, then detail questions, then main idea, tone, inference and assumption.

Wrong-Option Families: EOOHT

Family	Tell-tale sign
Extreme	always, never, only, all, completely
Out of scope	Topic the passage never touches
Opposite	Reverses the passage
Half-right	Correct start, wrong add-on ("…, so X should end")
True but irrelevant	Correct statement that does not answer this question

Don’t Confuse

This	vs	That
Topic (“forest produce”)		Main idea (“value addition needs markets”)
Inference: follows from the passage		Assumption: needed by the argument, unstated
Critical: finds fault with reasons		Cynical: doubts motives, expects failure
Skimming: structure and main idea		Scanning: one name or number
Blind guess (expected value 0)		Educated guess (positive after one elimination)
Parallel Hindi/English version for one word		Rereading the whole passage twice