Which sentence is the central idea rather than a detail?

• the point the rest backs up
• the sentence with the hardest words
• the first sentence no matter what

What is the three-pass method?

• read once slowly, then twice fast
• read three times, one strand each
• read three different passages once each

Outside knowledge of the topic may overrule what the passage itself says.

The opening sets background and the sharp claim lands halfway down. Where is the central idea?

• always the first sentence
• in the longest sentence
• wherever the passage earns it, even halfway down

One word in line 12 will not fit your reading. What do you do?

• give it weight and test it nearby
• ignore it and keep the smooth reading
• replace it with a simpler synonym permanently

Two readings compete. Reading A fits six details, reading B fits two and needs outside facts. Which wins?

• reading B, since it uses more knowledge
• reading A, for its wider support
• neither, since two readings means failure

A choice about the passage feels relevant but adds one small twist the text never says. How do you treat it?

• accept it for its relevant feel
• keep it if the twist sounds clever
• reject it, since the twist is unsupported by the passage

A student repeats the same strand on all three passes and reports only a first impression. What went wrong?

• the passes repeated one strand instead of tracking several apart
• good readers stop at the first reading
• passages this short hold only one idea