EAP Reading Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a text uses enumeration signals such as 'first,' 'second,' and 'finally,' what is the author doing?
- Listing items or steps in a structured sequence (Correct answer)
- Presenting a counterargument
- Providing a cause-and-effect explanation
- Defining a key term
Correct answer: Listing items or steps in a structured sequence
Enumeration signals indicate that the author is presenting a list of points, steps, or reasons in an organized sequence.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes 'critical reading' in an academic context?
- Finding as many errors in the text as possible
- Actively questioning, evaluating, and analyzing the author's arguments and evidence (Correct answer)
- Reading slowly and looking up every unknown word
- Agreeing with the author's conclusions after careful review
Correct answer: Actively questioning, evaluating, and analyzing the author's arguments and evidence
Critical reading involves actively engaging with a text by questioning its assumptions, evaluating its evidence, and analyzing its logic.
Question 3: A student reads a passage and must distinguish between the author's opinion and factual statements. Which of the following is a FACT rather than an opinion?
- The government should invest more in renewable energy
- Wind energy is the most promising solution to climate change
- Global average temperatures rose by approximately 1.1°C between 1850 and 2019 (Correct answer)
- Climate policies have been largely ineffective worldwide
Correct answer: Global average temperatures rose by approximately 1.1°C between 1850 and 2019
The temperature increase figure is a measurable, verifiable datum, while the other options express evaluative judgments.
Question 4: What does 'making inferences' while reading require the reader to do?
- Memorize all stated facts in the text
- Use textual clues combined with prior knowledge to reach conclusions not directly stated (Correct answer)
- Locate the thesis statement and restate it
- Identify and define all technical vocabulary
Correct answer: Use textual clues combined with prior knowledge to reach conclusions not directly stated
Inferencing combines textual evidence with background knowledge to understand meaning beyond what is explicitly written.
Question 5: An academic passage has a section titled 'Limitations.' What does a reader typically expect to find there?
- A list of the study's major findings
- Acknowledgment of weaknesses, constraints, or gaps in the research (Correct answer)
- A restatement of the research question
- Recommendations for future policy
Correct answer: Acknowledgment of weaknesses, constraints, or gaps in the research
The limitations section identifies shortcomings of the study, such as sample size, methodology, or scope constraints.
Question 6: Which sentence structure is typical of an academic topic sentence that introduces a paragraph about evidence?
- Wow, the evidence is really surprising!
- 'Evidence' can mean many different things to many people.
- Several studies support the claim that bilingual education improves cognitive flexibility. (Correct answer)
- Let me tell you about the evidence I found.
Correct answer: Several studies support the claim that bilingual education improves cognitive flexibility.
The third option uses formal register, precise language, and clearly introduces the paragraph's focus on supporting evidence.
Question 7: A student is asked to 'paraphrase' a source rather than quote it directly. What does this require?
- Copying the original text and placing it in quotation marks
- Restating the source's ideas in your own words while preserving the original meaning (Correct answer)
- Summarizing only the most important sentence of the source
- Translating the source into a simpler reading level
Correct answer: Restating the source's ideas in your own words while preserving the original meaning
Paraphrasing means rewriting a source's ideas in your own words and sentence structure while keeping the original meaning intact.
EAP Reading Skills 5
When a text uses enumeration signals such as 'first,' 'second,' and 'finally,' what is the author doing?