EIV
IV. Examples 16 through 20
One of these five examples is in the Free Practice Test, here. I have written the others to be like questions on the real test.
EXAMPLE 16
(1) The Material: A vertical bar graph showing the life expectancy of men and women in various countries.
(2) What is Asked: Which statement is supported by the information in the graph?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
(5) Method: Emphasis on a graph suggests the "details" method.
(6) Answer: You scan the table to see if it supports the statements in each choice. A is wrong because both Belgium bars are lower than the Sweden bars. B is wrong because the bar for German women is higher than the one for German men. D looks correct because the women's bar is higher than the men's bar in every country. C is not mentioned at all in the table. So you choose D.
(7) Comment: You should be able to answer a question like this in less than two minutes, so you can pick up time to use on other questions.
(1) The Material: A vertical bar graph showing the life expectancy of men and women in various countries.
(2) What is Asked: Which statement is supported by the information in the graph?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
- A. Belgium has higher life expectancy than Sweden.
- B. German women have lower life expectancy than German men.
- C. Immunizations have an important influence on life expectancy.
- D. Women generally have higher life expectancy than men.
(5) Method: Emphasis on a graph suggests the "details" method.
(6) Answer: You scan the table to see if it supports the statements in each choice. A is wrong because both Belgium bars are lower than the Sweden bars. B is wrong because the bar for German women is higher than the one for German men. D looks correct because the women's bar is higher than the men's bar in every country. C is not mentioned at all in the table. So you choose D.
(7) Comment: You should be able to answer a question like this in less than two minutes, so you can pick up time to use on other questions.
EXAMPLE 17
(1) The Material: A line graph showing average incomes in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 1960-2000.
(2) What is Asked: Based on the graph, which statement is an opinion?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
(5) Method: Because of the graph, you might be tempted to use the "details" method and compare each choice against the details of the graph. That would be a mistake. The key is "which statement is an opinion." That means you should use the "direct" method, comparing each choice directly against what is asked.
(6) Answer: You ignore the graph and compare the four choices to see which one is an opinion. The opinion is clearly D, because the graph tells you nothing about why New Jersey had the highest income (if it does). The other three choices might or might not agree with the graph, but that doesn't matter. They are presented as facts.
(7) Comment: The test will probably have several trick questions like this, designed to lead you to an answering method that doesn't help.
(1) The Material: A line graph showing average incomes in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 1960-2000.
(2) What is Asked: Based on the graph, which statement is an opinion?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
- A. Incomes rose steadily in all three states.
- B. Incomes rose faster in Pennsylvania than in Delaware.
- C. New Jersey had the highest average income in 1980.
- D. New Jersey had the highest income because people there work harder.
(5) Method: Because of the graph, you might be tempted to use the "details" method and compare each choice against the details of the graph. That would be a mistake. The key is "which statement is an opinion." That means you should use the "direct" method, comparing each choice directly against what is asked.
(6) Answer: You ignore the graph and compare the four choices to see which one is an opinion. The opinion is clearly D, because the graph tells you nothing about why New Jersey had the highest income (if it does). The other three choices might or might not agree with the graph, but that doesn't matter. They are presented as facts.
(7) Comment: The test will probably have several trick questions like this, designed to lead you to an answering method that doesn't help.
EXAMPLE 18 (This is Question 3 in the Free Practice Test)
(1) The Material: Two short texts and a table about methods of amending the U.S. Constitution.
(2) What is Asked: What does the word "convention" mean in both the chart and the 17th Amendment passage?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
(5) Method: This is a "word meaning" question, which suggests the "main idea" method. You first skim the table and passage to get the main idea, which is "methods of amending the Constitution." The word is used four times in the table.
(6) Answer: Having found the main idea, you look at the choices to see which one fits. The amendment process uses convention in the sense of a "formal assembly" so B seems correct. The other three choices don't seem to fit as well.
(7) Comment: These questions use elements of the "details" method too, I guess, because you can scan to see exactly where a word is used.
(1) The Material: Two short texts and a table about methods of amending the U.S. Constitution.
(2) What is Asked: What does the word "convention" mean in both the chart and the 17th Amendment passage?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
- A. Cultural Tradition
- B. Formal Assembly
- C. Agreed-Upon Contract
- D. Preferred Writing Style
(5) Method: This is a "word meaning" question, which suggests the "main idea" method. You first skim the table and passage to get the main idea, which is "methods of amending the Constitution." The word is used four times in the table.
(6) Answer: Having found the main idea, you look at the choices to see which one fits. The amendment process uses convention in the sense of a "formal assembly" so B seems correct. The other three choices don't seem to fit as well.
(7) Comment: These questions use elements of the "details" method too, I guess, because you can scan to see exactly where a word is used.
EXAMPLE 19
(1) The Material: A photo of people beside an early automobile. The caption says the photo was taken in 1920.
(2) What is Asked: Which would probably be a concern of the people in the photo?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
(5) Method: The photo suggest the "details" method.
(6) Answer: There is nothing to scan except the photo itself, so you study the details. The people seem to have run out of gas. Either B or D would fit that. Choices A and C probably didn't exist in 1920, but you may or may not know that. You can guess either B or D and move on.
(7) Comment: In a few test questions, the answer may not be clear regardless of how long you study it. It is better to guess one of the two possibilities and move on. You can flag the question to make it easy to return to it later if you have time.
(1) The Material: A photo of people beside an early automobile. The caption says the photo was taken in 1920.
(2) What is Asked: Which would probably be a concern of the people in the photo?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
- A. seat belts
- B. gas stations
- C. catalytic converters
- D. gas mileage
(5) Method: The photo suggest the "details" method.
(6) Answer: There is nothing to scan except the photo itself, so you study the details. The people seem to have run out of gas. Either B or D would fit that. Choices A and C probably didn't exist in 1920, but you may or may not know that. You can guess either B or D and move on.
(7) Comment: In a few test questions, the answer may not be clear regardless of how long you study it. It is better to guess one of the two possibilities and move on. You can flag the question to make it easy to return to it later if you have time.
EXAMPLE 20
(1) The Material: A long paragraph labeled "African-American Migration to the North."
(2) What is Asked: Which statement best explains the historical circumstances which led to the African-American migration in the 1870s?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
(5) Method: The words "historical circumstances" suggest the "main idea" method.
(6) Answer: Skimming the text, you see that the main idea is something like "once Southern whites regained power, racial violence became common and the former slaves were no longer protected." All four of the answers are possible reasons, but B is the only one that fits the main idea you have found. So you choose B.
(7) Comment: You might be tempted to choose any of these answers, because they all seem reasonable. But only one of them fits the text.
(1) The Material: A long paragraph labeled "African-American Migration to the North."
(2) What is Asked: Which statement best explains the historical circumstances which led to the African-American migration in the 1870s?
(3) Format: Multiple Choice
(4) The Choices:
- A. They migrated to find employment.
- B. They migrated because of racial violence against them in the Southern states.
- C. They migrated because they had relatives in the North.
- D. They migrated because of newspaper editorials.
(5) Method: The words "historical circumstances" suggest the "main idea" method.
(6) Answer: Skimming the text, you see that the main idea is something like "once Southern whites regained power, racial violence became common and the former slaves were no longer protected." All four of the answers are possible reasons, but B is the only one that fits the main idea you have found. So you choose B.
(7) Comment: You might be tempted to choose any of these answers, because they all seem reasonable. But only one of them fits the text.
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