Reading and Writing
Reading for clues
Answer what a short passage says outright, and what it only leaves clues about.
A passage answers some questions out loud and leaves others to you. "The lamp was still burning at midnight" is said in so many words. That somebody stayed up very late is not said anywhere — you work it out from the burning lamp. Both are fair answers; they are just found in different ways.
Stated means the words are there
You can put your finger on the line. If somebody asks how you know, you read the sentence back to them and that is the whole answer.
Worked out means you joined two clues
A lamp burning at midnight, and a book lying open on the chair. Neither one says somebody stayed up reading; together they say very little else.
The passage has to back it up
"The shop was already open" is in the passage. "The shopkeeper lives close by" might be true, but nothing in the passage points at it, so it is not an answer — it is a guess.
Name the clue before you answer
Say to yourself: I think this because of that word. If you cannot finish the sentence, choose a different answer.
Worked example
What can you work out from: "The dog's bowl was still full, and its leash still hung by the door, though it was past six"?
Pick out the clues: the food is untouched, and the leash has not moved.
Both are things that should have changed by six o'clock, and neither has.
Try it together
Let us read one short passage closely.
The passage is: "Sameer stared at the empty seat beside him, packed his bag slowly and walked home the long way." Each answer is one word.
1.Is it stated in the passage, or worked out from it, that the seat beside Sameer was empty? Write one word: stated or worked.
Have a go
Read: "Nobody answered the bell, and three days of newspapers lay on the step." What can you work out?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.