Each RC question type requires a specific approach. Knowing what each type asks for — and what traps it uses — dramatically improves accuracy.

A) Primary Purpose / Main Idea

Asks: "What is this passage primarily about?" or "The main purpose of this passage is…"

• Correct answer captures the full scope — not one paragraph, not a peripheral detail.
• Use your structural map: main idea + author's purpose (to argue, describe, analyze, contrast, evaluate?). Verb choice matters: "examines" vs. "argues" vs. "describes" — pick the one that fits the passage's actual mode.
• Trap: Too narrow (only one paragraph's content). Too broad (goes beyond what the passage covers).

B) Inference Questions

Asks: "Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?" or "The author implies that…"

• Must be supportable by specific passage text — not general knowledge or outside reasoning.
• Correct answers are usually paraphrases or logical extensions of passage statements.
• Key technique: for each answer, ask "Where exactly does the passage support this?" If you cannot find the evidence, eliminate it.
• Trap: Extreme language, or information that seems reasonable but isn't in the passage.

C) Detail / Specific Information

Asks: "According to the passage, X is…" or "The passage states that…"

• The answer exists explicitly in the passage — find it, do not infer.
• Navigate to the relevant paragraph using your structural notes before reading answer choices.
• Trap: Answer that changes one key word — "increased" vs. "decreased," "some" vs. "most." Read the passage text literally and precisely.

D) Author's Attitude / Tone

Asks: "The author's tone toward X is…" or "The author views Y as…"

• Look for evaluative language: adjectives, adverbs, verb choices that signal approval or disapproval.
• GMAT authors are rarely extreme. Correct answers use measured tones: "cautiously optimistic," "somewhat skeptical," "critical but sympathetic."
• Trap: Extreme positive ("enthusiastically supportive") or extreme negative ("dismissive") — GMAT authors are almost never that strong.

E) Function / Purpose of a Paragraph or Sentence

Asks: "The second paragraph serves primarily to…" or "The author mentions X in order to…"

• Focus on structural function: does this paragraph introduce, rebut, qualify, exemplify, support, or contrast?
• Connect the paragraph's function to the passage as a whole — what argument does it serve?
• Trap: Answers that describe the content of the paragraph (what it says) rather than its rhetorical function (what it does for the argument).

F) Application / Analogy Questions

Asks: "Which situation below is most analogous to the phenomenon described in the passage?" or "Which of the following would the author most likely agree with?"

• Identify the principle or pattern in the passage, then find the answer that exhibits the same pattern in a new context.
• Do not match surface content — match the underlying logical relationship or principle.
• Trap: Answers that mention specific terms from the passage (shell game) but describe a fundamentally different structure.

G) General RC Trap Patterns

• Half Right: one part of the answer is supported; another part is wrong or unsupported. Eliminate if any component is inaccurate.
• Too Extreme: uses absolute language when the passage is qualified or hedged.
• Out of Scope: plausible but not addressed by the passage.
• Opposite: reverses what the passage actually says.
• Distortion: passage information is present, but its meaning or relationship is misrepresented in the answer.