Finding the answer in the words
Some answers are written down and some you work out from clues. Knowing which is which.
Two kinds of answer
Some answers are sitting in the text, in words you can put your finger on.
Others are not written anywhere. Nobody says it is raining — but somebody put on gumboots and splashed down the path, and those are rain clues.
Both are real answers. Knowing which kind you are looking for is what makes them easy to find.
Go back and look
When the answer is written down, do not trust your memory of it. Go back to the text and find the sentence.
It takes a few seconds, and memory is exactly where reading questions are lost.
Read it again before you answer
Short texts are easy to skim and easy to get wrong.
Read once to find out what it is about. Then read again with the question in your head. The second read is where most answers turn up, because now you know what you are looking for.
Match an unusual word to find your place
When a question asks something the text states outright, the answer is a few words sitting on the page waiting to be found. The trick is finding them again quickly.
As you read the question, notice the one or two unusual words in it — a name, a place, a number — and look for those same words in the text.
They are the signpost. The answer is almost always in that sentence, or the one straight after it.
Answer in the words of the text
For this kind of question you do not need to invent anything. The best answer usually reuses the text’s own words.
If the text says Nina looked under her bed, then "under her bed" is the answer. Rewriting it as "in her bedroom" is less exact and can lose the mark.
Copy carefully. Changing one word can change the meaning, and this is the one question type where copying is exactly right.
Worked examples
The text says: Nina looked under her bed, behind the door and inside her bag. What is she doing?
Nobody writes "looking for something". But three places, all being searched, is the clue. This is the work-it-out kind of answer.
Answer: Looking for something
The text says: Tom packed his lunch, his hat and his drink bottle. How many things did Tom pack?
This one is written down — you just have to count it. Lunch, hat, drink bottle: three things. Go back to the sentence and count rather than guessing from memory.
Answer: 3
The text says: Ravi put on his scarf before he opened the door. What can you tell about outside?
It does not say. But a scarf goes on before going out into the cold, so that is the clue. Cold is worked out, not written down.
Answer: It was cold
The text says: The market opens at six on Saturdays. When does the market open on Saturdays?
The unusual word in the question is Saturdays. Find it in the text and the answer is in the same sentence.
Answer: At six
The text says: Tom wore his red jacket because the wind was cold. What colour was the jacket?
Match the word jacket. The sentence gives the colour directly, so answer in the text’s own word.
Answer: Red
Why is "in her room" a weaker answer than "under her bed"?
The text said under her bed. A broader phrase is less exact, and for a question about what the text states outright, exactness is the whole point.
Answer: It is less exact than the text
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