Single Answer questions require the best supported option, not merely a statement that repeats words from the passage. Identify exactly what the question asks, then eliminate choices that distort scope, cause or tone.
Current task
Academic and Core include Multiple Choice, Single Answer in Reading. Only one option is correct, and an incorrect or missing response receives no credit. Pearson Academic Reading format Pearson Core Reading format
A four-step method
- Read the question and name its target: main idea, detail, purpose, inference or tone.
- Read the passage without deciding from one keyword.
- Predict a short answer in your own words.
- Compare every option with that prediction and the text.
Original exercise
Passage: Early weather forecasts depended heavily on local observations. The development of telegraph networks allowed measurements from distant locations to reach central offices quickly, making wider weather maps possible. These maps did not eliminate uncertainty, but they helped forecasters track moving pressure systems rather than relying only on conditions visible from one place.
Question: What is the main point of the passage?
A. Telegraph networks made weather forecasts completely accurate.
B. Wider information networks helped forecasting move beyond local observation.
C. Local weather observations became unnecessary after maps appeared.
D. Pressure systems were discovered by central offices.
E. Telegraph networks helped central offices collect distant observations more quickly.
Correct answer: B. It captures the change from local data to wider tracking without exaggerating. A contradicts the explicit uncertainty. C turns “rather than relying only” into total replacement. D invents a discovery claim. E is true but covers only one supporting detail. Because the question asks for the main point, B represents the whole passage more accurately.
When two options seem close
Check breadth. A main-idea answer should cover the passage, while a detail answer may describe only one sentence. Check certainty words such as always, only, proved and completely. Strong language often exceeds the source.
For inference questions, choose what must reasonably follow, not what could be true in the wider world. Your outside knowledge cannot replace textual support.
Use scope to break a tie
Return to the question stem. “Main purpose” needs an option broad enough to cover the whole passage; “according to paragraph two” needs local evidence; “implies” allows a supported inference but not an invented claim.
Between two plausible answers, prefer the one that matches both the requested scope and the writer’s strength of language. An option saying “proves” is wrong when the passage says “suggests”.
Compare this method with PTE Reading Multiple Answers, where more than one choice may be correct and wrong selections can lose points. Continue in Reading Single Answer practice.
