EAP Reading Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When annotating an academic text, which practice is MOST useful for critical reading?
- Highlighting every sentence in the passage
- Writing questions and reactions in the margins (Correct answer)
- Underlining only the topic sentences
- Copying definitions of unfamiliar words only
Correct answer: Writing questions and reactions in the margins
Marginal notes with questions and reactions promote active engagement and deeper comprehension of the text.
Question 2: The phrase 'correlation does not imply causation' is commonly found in academic texts. What does it warn readers about?
- Two variables being related does not mean one causes the other (Correct answer)
- Statistical correlations are always unreliable
- Causation must be proven before correlation is measured
- Only experimental studies can find correlations
Correct answer: Two variables being related does not mean one causes the other
A correlation shows two variables move together, but cannot alone establish that one directly causes the other.
Question 3: Which text structure presents events or ideas in the order they occurred?
- Compare and contrast
- Problem and solution
- Chronological order (Correct answer)
- Cause and effect
Correct answer: Chronological order
Chronological order organizes information sequentially according to time.
Question 4: An EAP student needs to understand the argument of a dense philosophy article. Which approach is best?
- Read it once quickly and move on
- Read the abstract, skim section headings, then read closely with a focus on thesis and evidence (Correct answer)
- Read only the conclusion to get the main point
- Memorize all unfamiliar vocabulary before reading
Correct answer: Read the abstract, skim section headings, then read closely with a focus on thesis and evidence
A layered approach—overview then close reading—builds comprehension of complex academic arguments.
Question 5: What does it mean when an academic author uses passive voice, such as 'the samples were collected'?
- The author is trying to avoid responsibility
- The focus is on the action or process rather than the agent performing it (Correct answer)
- The writing style is informal and conversational
- The sentence contains a grammatical error
Correct answer: The focus is on the action or process rather than the agent performing it
Passive voice in academic writing shifts focus to the process or result, which is common in scientific reporting.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes 'synthesizing' information from multiple sources?
- Quoting each source verbatim in your notes
- Combining ideas from several texts to form a new, unified understanding (Correct answer)
- Summarizing one article at a time independently
- Finding the source with the strongest argument and ignoring others
Correct answer: Combining ideas from several texts to form a new, unified understanding
Synthesis involves integrating ideas from multiple sources to build a more complete picture of a topic.
Question 7: A passage uses the signal phrase 'in contrast.' What type of relationship between ideas does this indicate?
- The second idea elaborates on the first
- The second idea provides an example of the first
- The second idea is different from or opposite to the first (Correct answer)
- The second idea summarizes the first
Correct answer: The second idea is different from or opposite to the first
'In contrast' signals that the following idea differs from or opposes the one just presented.
EAP Reading Skills 3
When annotating an academic text, which practice is MOST useful for critical reading?