Paired Questions
You will notice on every passage, there is at least one set of questions that are paired together. The first
question looks and sounds just like a regular question. It may ask about a detail, it may be an inference
question, or it may be a main idea question. The second question in the pair will always ask, “Which
choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?” There are two types of paired
questions: specific and general.
Specific Paired Questions
The specific paired questions are a fabulous two-for-one deal. If you’re following all the steps of the
Basic Approach, you’ll find when you get to the “best evidence” question of a specific paired set, you’ve
already answered it. This is because you’ve already found the best evidence when you carefully read your
window and underlined your prediction. Let’s take a look at a set.
16.According to the passage, what percent of cars in Washington suffered damage?
A) About 20%
B) Approximately 10%
C) Between 5% and 6%
D) Less than 1%17.Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 6-11 (“The epidemic’s...March.”)
B) Lines 15-18 (“In Canton...April 17.”)
C) Lines 44-48 (“There are...cars.”)
D) Lines 55-57 (“The cause...them.”)Start with the first question. This question is very straightforward to answer by itself. All you need to do
is find out what percent of the cars in Washington were damaged. Although there isn’t a given line
reference, you can still skim through the text looking for the lead words Washington and percent. You’ll