Paragraph questions make up a large share of the TYT Turkish test. These questions measure reading habits and attention more than memorized knowledge. So if you study with a regular and correct method, you improve quickly.
Read the question stem first
Before reading the paragraph, look at what the question stem asks: the main idea, a supporting idea, an inference, a narrative technique? Reading while knowing what to look for both shortens the time and focuses your attention.
Read the paragraph actively
- Think briefly in your own words about what each sentence says.
- Pay attention to conjunctions and transition phrases (but, however, because, therefore). The direction of the idea changes there.
- The first and last sentence of a paragraph often carry the main idea, but not always. Still, read the whole.
When eliminating options
Options that say something the paragraph does not say, claim more than the paragraph says, or narrow or widen its scope are usually wrong. Watch out for absolute expressions like "always", "never" and "only".
How to practice?
- Solve a set number of paragraph questions every day; regularity matters more than the number.
- In your wrong answers, mark which sentence of the paragraph pointed to the answer.
- Solve against the clock, but focus on accuracy first and then speed.
- Reading texts such as newspapers, articles or books supports your preparation for the questions.
Collecting your mistakes in a mistake notebook lets you see your progress.