If you don’t see an answer choice on the second question offering good
evidence for the answer you provided to the first question, then reconsider your
answer to the first question. (For more on follow-up questions, see page 63.)
Other than the evidence question, most of the questions about the literature
passage will focus on what the text says or implies—and on how the author says
it or implies it. There will certainly be a couple of vocab-in-context questions
that ask what a word means or what effect a word has in a passage. There is
often a symbol or metaphor in these passages, and a few questions will ask if
you understand the metaphor. This can be particularly tough, as metaphors are
often “open to interpretation.” Just remember, the Serpent stays very close to the
text. So don’t get all deep. It is almost never asking about some mystical hidden
meaning. It is asking about things that you can find in the passage if you read it
carefully.
For literary passages, it can be smart to skim the questions first so you know
what parts of the passage you should focus on. Read every word of the passage,
but keep those questions in mind.
PAIRED PASSAGES