Verbal: Reading Comprehension Main Idea and Detail Flashcards

A passage describes a scientific consensus and then introduces one dissenting researcher's findings without endorsing them. The main idea is best stated as:

Answer: There is a consensus, but a dissenting view has emerged worth noting

Presenting dissent without endorsement frames the main idea as consensus plus an emerging challenge.

In answering a detail question, eliminating choices that use 'extreme' language (always, never, all) is useful because:

Answer: Such absolutes often overstate what the passage actually claims

Absolute language frequently overstates the measured claims of GMAT passages.

A passage's concluding sentence often helps with main-idea questions because it typically:

Answer: Restates or crystallizes the author's overall point

Conclusions usually crystallize the author's central point.

If two answer choices both seem to state the main idea, the better choice is usually the one that:

Answer: Most completely reflects the passage's full scope and tone

The choice matching the passage's full scope and tone wins.

A detail question references a comparison the author makes between two cities. The correct answer should:

Answer: Accurately reflect the comparison as stated

Detail answers must faithfully reflect the comparison the passage states.

An author opens neutrally describing a method, then spends the rest of the passage listing its flaws. The main idea is best described as:

Answer: A critique highlighting the method's shortcomings

Devoting most of the passage to flaws signals a critical main idea.

Which question phrasing signals a detail question rather than a main-idea question?

Answer: According to the passage, what specific result did the experiment produce?

Asking for a specific stated result targets a detail, not the overall purpose.