Working with words

A key word is a word or phrase from a statement, question stem or answer choice, that you can search the passage for.

Applying the strategy to True, False, Can’t Tell, you would:

• Select a key word from the statement.
• Search the passage for the key word or related words.
• Check the part of the passage near the key word for relevant information.

Some statements contradict a phrase or idea in the passage.

Often the idea or phrase from the passage will be quite heavily restated in the statement.

At first glance, a statement may seem like a Can’t Tell, but when you look more closely at the ideas involved, you will see it is the opposite of the passage, making it False.

So you must scan for phrases and ideas as well as individual words.
For example, if a statement has a useful key word like ‘juries’ or ‘a jury’s decision’ but these exact words don’t appear in the passage, related words like ‘jurors’ or ‘judges’, or even ‘courts’, ‘verdicts’ or ‘the legal system’, could navigate you to the relevant information.

Remember, though, context is everything. Related words might help direct you to the information you need – but read carefully around the related word or phrase to make sure.

Some words will be difficult or counterproductive to scan for.

Key words to avoid include:

• The passage’s main topic
• Words found in multiple parts of the passage
• Common words that don’t stand out in the text

If a term appears frequently in the passage, it is not useful to scan for as you would end up having to read the entire passage closely.

Usually, there will be other words or phrases you can scan for instead that will be more distinctive.

If a statement makes a comparison, check both parts of the comparison against the passage.

Also confirm whether the same two groups are being compared in the passage as in the statement and that the direction or intensity of the comparison is the same.

Consider the statement: Women are more likely than men to read for pleasure.

Imagine you scanned the passage for the key word ‘read for pleasure’ and located the following sentence: According to a recent study, men read far fewer books as part of their leisure activities than women, with a majority of men reporting they had not read a single book that year whilst all of the women contacted had read at least one book not required for education or employment.

In this example, the wording is different AND the comparison is reversed.
However, the statement is supported by the passage and hence the answer is True.

The best key words are often capitalised, like Marie Curie, Hamburg or the Mesozoic Era – unless they appear multiple times in the passage, making them counterproductive to scan for.

On Test Day, be prepared to encounter statements that make you work harder, or think more laterally, to quickly identify key words and phrases in a statement, question stem or answer choice that are useful to scan for.

When you find the exact key word in a passage, you must read carefully around it to establish the context.

Sometimes, the statement will match the passage.
If this is the case – great! You can quickly answer True and move on.

However, subtle changes in wording can often shift the meaning from the passage to the statement – even if the key word you’re using is the same.

This small shift can turn an apparent True statement into a False or a Can’t Tell.