A paragraph map helps you locate evidence; the full statement still needs checking.
A passage can contain the right topic without supporting the statement in a question. Paragraph mapping solves the first problem—where to look—but precise reading solves the second: whether the full claim is actually supported.
Author purpose, text structure, and prediction deepen this approach: they clarify what a paragraph is doing, how its details connect, and which conclusions those details support.
Build a map that is useful under time pressure
Part Three uses four paragraphs, labelled A–D, and statements to match to them. E means that the information is not given in any paragraph. With ten minutes available, efficient searching matters. Passages can describe a process, an animal, a historical development, or how something works; their tone tends to be formal and informational.
Begin with a short summary of each paragraph. Read the topic sentence and scan what follows. A label such as physical features, origins, or processing methods provides a route back to the relevant information. It does not need to be a polished sentence. A label should also be broad enough for the paragraph: choosing one minor detail can hide the rest of its content.
As a practice target, try to build this short map in about one or two minutes, leaving most of the ten-minute section for matching and checking. The aim is a usable overview, not a complete translation before starting.
Next, identify the meaning-bearing words in the statement. Dates, time expressions, technical terms, and names can be useful signposts. A statement about anatomy concerns the body or its structure; one about social interaction concerns behaviour between individuals. Search the most likely paragraph first, then look elsewhere if necessary. A difficult statement should not consume the time available for every other one: move on and return after completing what can be answered.
Some technical terms and proper names are difficult to paraphrase and may therefore recur almost unchanged. People or organizations introduced inside a paragraph can also become question clues, even when they are not the paragraph’s main subject.
Synonyms matter because a question can use different words for the same fact. A noun may become a verb, or a process may be described in another way. Unfamiliar vocabulary is still a learning need, but understanding every word before beginning the questions is not a workable requirement under time pressure.
A keyword is a starting point, not an answer
A paragraph that presents a possible theory with little support does not establish a sound understanding of the subject. The topic may match while the degree of certainty does not. Compare the full claim, including qualifications, scope, and relationships. A broad or surprising statement deserves careful checking, not automatic rejection.
There is no target number of E answers. Choosing E several times does not make another E wrong. Nor must statements follow paragraph order: a later question can return to paragraph A. The map makes that return straightforward.
Reading one paragraph closely and testing every statement against it can work for a reader with strong vocabulary and quick comprehension. A short map is more dependable when a paragraph is unexpectedly difficult. Topic sentences and endings may reveal enough to guide a search even before every detail is understood. When time expires, make the best supported choice rather than leaving an answer blank.
Meaning comes from the links between details, not one familiar word.
Worked example: The Story of Coffee
Reference passage
A. Virtually all coffee traces to just two species, whose cultivation demands and flavour profiles diverge sharply. Arabica accounts for roughly two-thirds of global consumption and yields the smoother, more delicate cup, yet it is a temperamental plant requiring high elevation, moderate temperatures and constant vigilance against insects and disease. Robusta, true to its name, is considerably more resilient: it tolerates low, hot terrain, carries nearly double the caffeine content, and produces a harsher, more bitter beverage. It is that coarser product which eventually finds its way into instant coffee.
B. The most familiar origin story centres on Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd whose animals reportedly grew agitated after grazing on certain red berries. The tale is almost certainly apocryphal, since it did not appear in print until 1671, long after the beverage was demonstrably in circulation among the devout of Yemen. The species itself appears to have originated in the highland forests of Ethiopia, where wild populations still display far greater genetic diversity than anywhere else on earth. In the Yemeni port of Mocha, meanwhile, Sufi mystics brewed the drink to sustain themselves through prolonged nocturnal devotions, making the earliest documented consumption a religious rather than a sociable pursuit.
C. From Yemen the custom spread northward, and by roughly 1555 coffee houses were thriving in Istanbul. Quiet establishments they were not: patrons gathered to argue, to trade and to gather gossip. Venetian merchants, already engaged in commerce with Ottoman ports, are generally credited with introducing the beverage to Europe, and their city opened the continent's first coffeehouse in the mid-seventeenth century. England took up the fashion within a few years, and in London such premises earned the nickname penny universities, since the price of a single cup bought a seat in the conversation. Paris and Vienna followed before the century closed, Vienna not long after the Ottoman siege.
D. Commercial cultivation is confined to a broad tropical band flanking the equator, and within that band growers confront a series of consequential choices. Trees allowed to ripen slowly beneath a forest canopy yield a diminished harvest, whereas trees planted in open sunlight mature faster and generally demand additional fertilizer. Once picked, the berries are either washed, a process that strips away the fruit before the beans are dried, or spread whole in the sun to dry unprocessed. Even the discarded skins are put to use, since in Ethiopia and Yemen they are dried and steeped into a light, fruity infusion called qishr.
A working paragraph map
- Paragraph A: Species and characteristics
- Paragraph B: Origins and earliest use
- Paragraph C: Spread and coffeehouses
- Paragraph D: Cultivation and processing
These labels identify where to begin a search; the statements still require checking against the full passage.
Statements and reasoning
For every statement, the options are A, B, C, D, or E: information not given. Choose the paragraph that supports the complete meaning.
1. It's the harsher-tasting bean that ends up in the instant jar.
Answer: A. Paragraph A ends by sending the coarser of the two products into instant coffee.
Evidence:
It is that coarser product which eventually finds its way into instant coffee
B: Paragraph B is about the goatherd legend and the first recorded drinkers. C: Paragraph C traces the spread of the drink through Europe. D: Paragraph D describes washing and sun-drying, not what is sold as instant. E: The information is given, in paragraph A.
2. Nighttime worship explains why the earliest documented use of the drink wasn't a social occasion.
Answer: B. Paragraph B says mystics in Mocha drank it through long nights of devotion, making the earliest recorded use religious rather than social.
Evidence:
Sufi mystics brewed the drink to sustain themselves through prolonged nocturnal devotions, making the earliest documented consumption a religious rather than a sociable pursuit
A: Paragraph A is about the two modern commercial species and their growing needs. C: Paragraph C begins only after the drink had already left Yemen. D: Paragraph D deals with growing regions and processing methods. E: The information is given, in paragraph B.
3. One processing method takes the flesh off before the seeds are left to dry.
Answer: D. Paragraph D says the washed method removes the fruit before the beans are dried, unlike the method that dries them whole.
Evidence:
washed, a process that strips away the fruit before the beans are dried
A: Paragraph A compares the two species by altitude, caffeine and taste, not by any treatment after picking. B: Paragraph B is about the goatherd story and the mystics of Mocha. C: Paragraph C follows the drink from Istanbul to Venice, London, Paris and Vienna. E: The information is given, in paragraph D.
4. One of the two species places far greater demands on those who cultivate it.
Answer: A. Paragraph A says Arabica is fussy about altitude, warmth and pests, while Robusta is far more resilient.
Evidence:
it is a temperamental plant requiring high elevation, moderate temperatures and constant vigilance against insects and disease
B: Paragraph B is about the origin story and the earliest drinkers. C: Paragraph C describes coffee houses in Istanbul, Venice and London. D: Paragraph D discusses shade, sun and drying, not the differences between the species. E: The information is given, in paragraph A.
5. Coffee grown without direct sun ends up producing a smaller crop.
Answer: D. Paragraph D sets a smaller harvest under a canopy, where sunlight is blocked, against faster growth in open sun.
Evidence:
Trees allowed to ripen slowly beneath a forest canopy yield a diminished harvest, whereas trees planted in open sunlight mature faster
A: Paragraph A contrasts the species by altitude, caffeine and taste, not by yield. B: Paragraph B is about wild populations in Ethiopia, not about managed harvests. C: Paragraph C is about coffee houses in three cities. E: The information is given, in paragraph D.
6. In London, the cost of admission to the conversation was the price of one cup.
Answer: C. Paragraph C explains the London nickname by the low price of admission to the conversation.
Evidence:
in London such premises earned the nickname penny universities, since the price of a single cup bought a seat in the conversation
A: Paragraph A is about species, altitude and caffeine. B: Paragraph B is about Ethiopia, Yemen and a goatherd. D: Paragraph D is about growing and processing the crop. E: The information is given, in paragraph C.
7. The tougher of the two plants produces the milder-tasting cup.
Answer: E. No paragraph credits the hardier plant with a milder taste; paragraph A states the reverse.
A: Paragraph A says the opposite: the tougher species gives the harsher, more bitter drink. B: Paragraph B concerns where the plant came from and who first drank it. C: Paragraph C is about coffee houses and the cities that adopted them. D: Paragraph D covers cultivation choices and what happens after picking.
8. The tale of the goatherd surfaced in writing too late to be credible.
Answer: B. Paragraph B dates the goatherd story's first appearance in print to 1671, well after the drink was already known in Yemen.
Evidence:
The tale is almost certainly apocryphal, since it did not appear in print until 1671, long after the beverage was demonstrably in circulation among the devout of Yemen
A: Paragraph A compares the two commercial species and what each one tastes like. C: Paragraph C follows the drink from Istanbul into Europe. D: Paragraph D is about where and how the crop is grown and processed. E: The information is given, in paragraph B.
9. European coffeehouses were deliberately modelled on their Ottoman counterparts.
Answer: E. Both kinds of establishment are described, yet no paragraph says one copied the other's design.
A: Paragraph A never leaves the two species and their growing conditions. B: Paragraph B stays in Ethiopia and Yemen. C: Paragraph C says Venetian traders dealt with Ottoman ports and later opened the first European house, but never says one was modelled on the other. D: Paragraph D is about farms rather than premises.
Worked example: The History of Glass
Reference passage
A. Glass numbers among humanity's oldest manufactured substances, notwithstanding that no one, by most accounts, ever deliberately set out to produce it. The earliest specimens still extant date to the third millennium BCE and were unearthed in Mesopotamia and Egypt alike. Most probably the substance first appeared as an unintended residue of metalworking, or else of the glazes fired onto pottery. For a considerable stretch thereafter it remained rare and costly, painstakingly fashioned into beads and diminutive trinkets; by roughly 1500 BCE such beads had become coveted emblems of wealth, exchanged along the era's trade routes.
B. Glassblowing overturned that scarcity entirely. An artisan on the Mediterranean's eastern shore, within territory then under Roman dominion, discovered in the first century BCE that molten glass could be inflated by human breath alone, a technique requiring nothing more than a hollow tube and a serviceable pair of lungs. Whereas earlier vessels had to be built up laboriously by hand or cast within moulds, a blown vessel could be finished in a matter of moments, so that glass soon undercut pottery on price. So swiftly did the method propagate that, within a mere century, jars, cups and bottles had become commonplace fixtures in households the length and breadth of the Roman Empire.
C. Flat glass proved far more stubborn to perfect. Sheet glass could already be drawn by machine from the early twentieth century onward, yet material transparent enough for shop windows and mirrors still demanded grinding and polishing on both faces, a labour that kept its price stubbornly out of reach. Resolution arrived only in the 1950s, when Alastair Pilkington — an engineer at the British firm Pilkington Brothers, and, despite the shared surname, no relation whatsoever to its founders — floated molten glass atop a bath of molten tin. Left to itself, the melt spread into a sheet of uniform thickness and immaculate surface, rendering grinding superfluous; although the process was not unveiled publicly until the decade's close, it now underlies nearly all flat glass manufactured anywhere.
D. Because glass bends light, it can be ground into curved lenses, and it was those lenses that made telescopes, microscopes and spectacles possible in the first place. A later refinement drew the material into filaments finer than a human hair, and bundled together, these now ferry the overwhelming bulk of the planet's telephone and internet traffic, with certain of the cables that house them resting on the ocean floor. Commercial optical-fibre links first entered service in the late 1970s. Coarser strands, meanwhile, are spun into insulation or pressed into fibreglass, the reinforced plastic from which boat hulls are built.
A working paragraph map
- Paragraph A: Accidental origins and early luxury objects
- Paragraph B: Glassblowing and affordable vessels
- Paragraph C: Flat glass and the float process
- Paragraph D: Lenses, optical fibres, and other applications
These labels identify where to begin a search; the statements still require checking against the full passage.
Statements and reasoning
For every statement, the options are A, B, C, D, or E: information not given. Choose the paragraph that supports the complete meaning.
1. Nobody appears to have set out on purpose to create this material.
Answer: A. Paragraph A states that glass was most likely never deliberately invented at all.
Evidence:
notwithstanding that no one, by most accounts, ever deliberately set out to produce it
B: Paragraph B is about the deliberate discovery of blowing as a shaping technique. C: Paragraph C is about the deliberate engineering of the float process. D: Paragraph D is about lenses, fibres and their applications. E: The information is given, in paragraph A.
2. Possessing certain small ornaments marked a person as prosperous well before the first millennium BCE.
Answer: A. Paragraph A says that by roughly 1500 BCE, glass beads had become coveted emblems of wealth.
Evidence:
by roughly 1500 BCE such beads had become coveted emblems of wealth
B: Paragraph B describes glass becoming cheap and ordinary, the opposite of a status symbol. C: Paragraph C treats flat glass as an industrial product, not personal adornment. D: Paragraph D is about lenses, fibres and insulation. E: The information is given, in paragraph A.
3. The new shaping method demanded scarcely any equipment beyond a person's own breath.
Answer: B. Paragraph B says the technique required nothing more than a hollow tube and a working pair of lungs.
Evidence:
a technique requiring nothing more than a hollow tube and a serviceable pair of lungs
A: Paragraph A deals with the accidental first appearance of glass, not any shaping method. C: Paragraph C describes an industrial process involving a bath of molten tin. D: Paragraph D describes grinding lenses and drawing fibres. E: The information is given, in paragraph B.
4. The greater part of the planet's telephone and internet traffic now travels along hair-thin strands of this material.
Answer: D. Paragraph D states that bundled hair-thin filaments now carry the bulk of the world's phone and internet traffic.
Evidence:
these now ferry the overwhelming bulk of the planet's telephone and internet traffic
A: Paragraph A is about beads and early ornaments. B: Paragraph B is about blown vessels in the Roman world. C: Paragraph C is about window and shop-front glass. E: The information is given, in paragraph D.
5. An advance from the mid-twentieth century made a laborious surface-finishing step unnecessary.
Answer: C. Paragraph C says the floated melt spread into a smooth, even sheet on its own, so grinding became unnecessary.
Evidence:
Left to itself, the melt spread into a sheet of uniform thickness and immaculate surface, rendering grinding superfluous
A: Paragraph A is about the accidental origin of glass and the beads made from it. B: Paragraph B is about blowing, which shapes hollow vessels rather than flat sheet. D: Paragraph D is about lenses, fibres and fibreglass. E: The information is given, in paragraph C.
6. Machines were already producing sheet glass long before its high cost was finally solved.
Answer: C. Paragraph C places machine-drawn sheet in the early twentieth century and the cure for its cost decades later, in the 1950s.
Evidence:
Sheet glass could already be drawn by machine from the early twentieth century onward, yet material transparent enough for shop windows and mirrors still demanded grinding and polishing on both faces
A: Paragraph A is about scarcity in the ancient world, not about sheet glass. B: Paragraph B is about vessels made by blowing. D: Paragraph D is about optics and communications. E: The information is given, in paragraph C.
7. A coarser version of the same fine strands goes into strengthening the plastic used for boat hulls.
Answer: D. Paragraph D says coarser strands of the fibre described earlier are pressed into fibreglass, the reinforced plastic used for boat hulls.
Evidence:
Coarser strands, meanwhile, are spun into insulation or pressed into fibreglass, the reinforced plastic from which boat hulls are built
A: Paragraph A covers the earliest glass and the beads traded as tokens of wealth. B: Paragraph B is about glassblowing and how cheap vessels became across the Roman Empire. C: Paragraph C follows flat glass up to the float process of the 1950s. E: The use is described in paragraph D.
8. The beads travelled further along the trade routes than any other goods of the period.
Answer: E. The beads' role in trade is mentioned; no comparison with other traded goods is ever made.
A: Paragraph A says the beads were exchanged along trade routes, but it never compares their range to that of other goods. B: Paragraph B tracks the spread of a technique, not the movement of trade goods. C: Paragraph C is about flat glass and the float process. D: Paragraph D is about lenses and fibres.
9. The engineer behind the float process belonged to the family that had founded the company.
Answer: E. The passage states the opposite of this claim, in paragraph C.
A: Paragraph A names no inventor at all. B: Paragraph B leaves the Mediterranean artisan unnamed. C: Paragraph C names Alastair Pilkington as an engineer at Pilkington Brothers and states plainly that he was no relation to its founders. D: Paragraph D names nobody connected to any company.
Recognize how the passage is organized
Common text structures include comparison, chronological order, problem and solution, cause and effect, process, order of importance, and description. Identify how the passage organizes its ideas and claims. Numbered points do not automatically establish chronology: they may list causes.
Physical and chemical changes
All matter, all things can be changed in two ways: chemically and physically. Both chemical and physical changes affect the state of matter. Physical changes are those that do not change the make-up or identity of the matter. For example, clay will bend or flatten if squeezed, but it will still be clay. Changing the shape of clay is a physical change, and does not change the matter's identity. Chemical changes turn the matter into a new kind of matter with different properties. For example, when paper is burnt, it becomes ash and will never be paper again. The difference is that physical changes are temporary or only last for a little while. Chemical changes are permanent, which means they last forever. Physical and chemical changes both affect the state of matter.
Compare and contrast. The paragraph explains two types of change, gives an example of each, and states a difference. Its organizing relationship is comparison. A spatial organization would concern where things are located, which is not the focus of this passage.
The rise of Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago, yet he unlocked the secrets of chess in a Brooklyn apartment right above a candy store. At the age of six, he taught himself to play by following the instruction booklet that came with his chessboard. After spending much of his childhood in chess clubs, Fischer said that one day, he just got good. That may have been a bit of an understatement. At the age of thirteen, he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship. He was the youngest junior champion ever. At the age of fourteen, he won the U.S. Championship, also becoming the youngest U.S. champion in history. Fischer went on to become the world champion of chess, but he would also grow to become his own worst enemy. He forfeited the championship to the next challenger without even making a move. The rise of a chess superstar ended with a fizzle.
Chronological order. Ages six, thirteen, and fourteen mark successive events, followed by later achievements and the final stage of the account. Those time references organize the passage chronologically.
Protecting tigers
Don't let the tigers vanish. These majestic beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate. We should write to our congresspeople. If we let them know that we demand the preservation of this species, maybe we can make a difference. We should also donate some of our money to Save the Tigers. Help support those who fight the hardest to preserve the tigers. We owe it to our grandchildren to do something.
Problem and solution. The disappearance of tigers is the problem. Writing to representatives and donating to conservation efforts are proposed responses. The passage therefore moves from a problem to possible solutions.
The financial crisis
Many people are confused about why our economy went to shambles in 2008. This crisis was actually the result of many complex factors. First, easy credit conditions allowed people who were unworthy of credit to borrow. Even people who had no income were eligible for large loans. Second, banks bundled these toxic loans into packages and sold them. Third, large insurance firms backed these packages. This misrepresented these high-risk loans as safe investments. Fourth, rapid growth in the housing market led to people buying too many houses. All these factors created bubbles of speculation. The bubbles burst, sending the whole market into a downward spiral. Employers lost capital and laid off employees. Consumer spending plummeted, and businesses suffered. The economy is like a big boat, and once it gets moving quickly in the wrong direction, it's hard to turn it around.
Cause and effect. The opening asks why the crisis occurred, and the numbered factors supply causes. Layoffs, reduced spending, and suffering businesses are effects. The words first, second, and third list reasons here; they do not automatically make the organization chronological.
Applying a screen protector
Before applying the screen protector, clean the surface of your phone screen with a soft cloth. Once the surface of your screen is clean, remove the paper backing on the screen protector. Evenly apply the sticky side of the screen protector to your phone screen. Smooth out any air bubbles trapped between the protector and the phone screen. Enjoy its added protection.
Process writing. Cleaning the screen, removing the backing, applying the protector, and smoothing bubbles are ordered instructions. Their function is to explain a process step by step.
Three dinosaur periods
Dinosaurs existed about 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago. This era is broken up into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The Triassic Period lasted for 35 million years from 250 to 205 million years ago. Planet Earth was a very different place back then. All the continents were united and formed one huge land mass known as Pangaea. The Jurassic Period was the second phase. The continents began shifting apart. The time scale for this famous period is from 205 to 138 million years ago. The Cretaceous Period was the last period of the dinosaurs. It spanned a time from 138 million to about 65 million years ago. In this period the continents fully separated. However, Australia and Antarctica were still united.
Chronological order. The account moves from the Triassic to the Jurassic and then the Cretaceous. Dates and expressions such as second phase and last period establish the time sequence.
Two dinosaur predators
The Cretaceous Period was filled with dangerous predators. Two of the most feared hunters were the tyrannosaurus rex and the velociraptor. The tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest carnivores to ever walk the Earth. He was twenty feet tall and weighed seven tons. His jaws could shut with three thousand pounds of force, enough to smash the bones of his prey. The velociraptor was very small compared to rex. Raptors only stood three feet tall and weighed merely thirty-five pounds. But the velociraptor was fast. Scientists think that raptors could run twenty-four miles per hour and turn on a dime. Both dinosaurs had eyes on the front of their heads, which helped them track prey. Both dinosaurs used their jaws to kill prey. The raptor had a secret weapon though: a retractable toe claw that he pulled out like a knife to slash at his prey. If these two dinosaurs had fought, it would be difficult to say which would win. However, the last raptor died ten million years before the first tyrannosaurus was born. So they probably never fought.
Compare and contrast. Size, speed, and hunting features are compared across two predators. The phrase smaller compared with the other dinosaur signals a difference, while shared features add similarities. Those comparisons organize the paragraph.
Making a clay dinosaur
Wouldn't you like a scary dinosaur model on your desk to protect your pencils and textbooks? You can make one by following these simple directions. First, bend your pipe cleaners to make the frame of your dinosaur. I suggest you create a tyrannosaurus frame by using one long pipe cleaner as his neck, spine, and tail. Then bend another into a U shape to make his feet. Wrap the feet around the spine piece. Next, roll out clay to wrap around the pipe cleaners. Let the clay dry overnight. The next day you may want to paint your dinosaur using non-toxic paint. Feel free to colour your dinosaur as you wish. Nobody really knows how dinosaurs were coloured. So don't let anyone tell you that your dinosaur can't be pink. Lastly, put him on your desk and watch as he or she scares away bullies and pencil thieves.
Process writing. The instructions progress through making a frame, adding clay, drying, painting, and placing the model on a desk. Clay is the material being shaped; the sequence of actions is what makes this process writing.
Guarding a fictional village
Our entire village, each and every person, depends on your performing guard duty correctly. If you notice that dinosaurs are about to attack the village, make sure the gate is closed. If the gate is open, the dinosaurs will surely invade. Once you have made sure that the gate is closed, press the alarm. This will alert others that we are under attack. Finally, begin shooting at the dinosaurs. You should be able to kill them or scare them off. Do not attempt to shoot the dinosaurs until you have made sure that the gate is closed and the alarm is activated. You cannot count on your aim to save us. Count on us to save us. Also count on our strong gate.
Order of importance. The repeated insistence on closing the gate before activating the alarm and attempting to shoot establishes priorities. The emphasis on what must take precedence establishes an order of importance.
Inside the cave
The cave was overwhelmingly blue. It was dark except for a few small pinholes of light pouring through the ceiling. The stalactites on the ceiling dripped with humidity. The stalagmites on the floor of the cave glistened sharp and looked like teeth. In the middle of the cave was a lone dinosaur licking his wounds. Blood trailed from where he sat to the mouth of the cave. A drum beat in the distance.
Descriptive writing. Colour, darkness, light, ceiling, floor, and the dinosaur in the middle build a picture of one location. Additional details develop the scene rather than explain a sequence of events.
Predict from the details already present
A prediction must follow the scene rather than an invented continuation. The passages below provide clues in actions, objects, preparation, and physical circumstances. The likely result is explained after each passage.
A motorcycle jump
Vince Thunder waved to the crowd one more time before he put on his motorcycle helmet. The crowd cheered uproariously. Vince looked down the ramp and across the seventeen school buses that he was about to attempt to jump. It was a difficult trick, and everything would need to go right for him to nail it. His cape blew in the wind. As Vince hopped on his motorcycle and started down the ramp, he noticed something that he had not seen before. There was a large oil slick at the end of the ramp. He attempted to stop the bike, but it was too late. He had already built up too much momentum. What's going to happen next?
Predict a crash. Oil on the ramp and the inability to stop in time support a likely crash. A suggested outcome about eating a sandwich has no connection to those details.
Two dogs and a bone
Rex sat at the mouth of the alley and chewed the bone that he had found by the dumpster. It was a meaty bone that had belonged to a larger animal, perhaps a state-fair prize-winning pig. Rex was attracted to the bone by its strong scent. Apparently, he was not the only one who could smell it. He heard the jangle of tags behind him and turned to see a larger dog. Rex released the bone and began growling at the other dog. The other dog began growling at Rex. The two dogs inched towards one another, maintaining eye contact. Each began growling louder as the other approached within striking distance. Which event is most likely to occur?
Predict a fight. The dogs’ staring, growling, and movement towards the same bone suggest a fight. The passage does not support the alternative that they are about to play happily together.
Getting ready for a test
John sat in the classroom and drew pictures of the Tatakai Fighting Warriors in his notebook. His teacher lectured about biology or something; he didn't really know for sure. The last thing he remembered her saying was that there would be a test tomorrow. His heart jumped. He went home to study for the test, but he was soon drawn to his Game Box. He played Tatakai Fighting Warriors long into the night. When his alarm clock rang the next day, he was too tired to hit the snooze button. He let it beep for twenty minutes before he got up and went to school. John looked at his test and scratched his head.
Predict a poor result. John’s inattention in class, lack of study, tiredness, and difficulty answering questions point to a poor result. The prediction follows from his preparation and current behaviour.
Juice on the carpet
Then he kicked over the grape juice and it spilled all over Angela's white carpet. Jason didn't notice. After Angela finished vacuuming the living room, she tied the cord around the vacuum and went to return it to her bedroom. Jason is her son. Which event is most likely to occur next?
Predict Angela’s reaction. Angela has just cleaned the room, and grape juice has been spilled on a white carpet. These two details are enough to support the prediction that she will be upset.
A hot handle
Lance didn't cook much, but he wanted to do something nice for his wife's birthday. He reached into the hot oven, his hand nearing the metal handle. He wrapped his hand around the handle and clenched tightly. What's most likely to occur next? He had thought about using a potholder, but he didn't bother to get one out of the drawer.
Predict a burned hand. Lance reaches for a hot metal handle without a potholder. That combination of material, heat, and action supports the prediction that he will burn his hand.
Review the reason for an error
After a practice attempt, distinguish a careless reading mistake from a missing synonym, an unfamiliar word, or a paragraph that was not understood. Then focus the next practice on that weakness. More vocabulary helps comprehension, but repeating answer letters does not resolve the reason an answer was missed. Check uncertain pronunciations before reading the passage aloud.
Bring the skills together
A useful paragraph map reflects what a paragraph is doing, not just a word it contains. Purpose clarifies the writer’s intention; structure shows how the details connect; prediction draws a supported conclusion from those details. Combined with precise keyword and synonym matching, these skills support the information and viewpoint tasks without replacing textual evidence.