All you have to do is eliminate anything that isn’t right. Sometimes, especially on Reading, it’s easier to
find wrong answers that aren’t supported by the passage rather than trying to find the right answer that
might not look the way you think it should.
The Strategy- Read the Blurb
- Select and Understand a
Question - Read What You Need
- Predict Your Answer
- Process of Elimination
Process of Elimination, or POE, involves two steps. The first step will be the question, “What can I
eliminate that doesn’t match—or is inconsistent with—my prediction?” For many of the easy and medium
questions, this step will be enough to get down to the right answer.
12.The author most likely mentions the Canadian scientist (line 22) and the Utah resident (line
26) in order toRemember, on the previous page, you used the text to predict that the Canadian scientist and Utah resident
are mentioned in order to give examples of some of the theories about the causes of pitting that were
zipping in. Eliminate anything that has nothing to do with that prediction.
Did you eliminate everything except (A)? None of the other answers have anything to do with the
prediction you made. Additionally, once you’re down to an answer that seems to support your prediction,
use the text to make sure you can prove it. What’s the previous statement? Theories coming in quickly.
What’s the support? Examples from Canada and Utah.
POE Criteria
On most of the Easy and Medium questions, you’ll be able to eliminate three of the four answers simply
by using your prediction. On other questions, usually the Hard questions, your prediction will help you get
rid of one or two answers, and then you’ll need to consider the remaining answers a little more carefully.
If you’re down to two answers, and they both seem to make sense, you’re probably down to the right
answer and the trap answer. Luckily, there are some common traps that the test writers will set for you, so
knowing them can help you figure out which is the trap answer and which is the right answer. These traps
include: