Lessons · Verbal Reasoning
CLT Verbal Reasoning · Lesson
Main idea and purpose
These questions ask what the whole passage is mainly saying, or why the author wrote it. The right answer covers every paragraph, not just the most memorable one.
- After each paragraph, write its job in five words or fewer: "states the problem," "gives an example," "answers an objection."
- Put those jobs together into one sentence. That sentence is your answer before you look at the choices.
- Check the verb in each choice ("argue," "describe," "mock," "warn"). It must match what the author is actually doing.
- Eliminate choices that are true of one paragraph only, or that go further than the author goes.
Q. A passage first praises a city's founders, then lists three ways the city has since abandoned their ideals, then urges a return to them. Its purpose is to...
Answer call the city back to the ideals of its founders.
"Praise the founders" covers only paragraph 1, and "criticize the city" leaves out the call to return. Only the whole arc is the purpose.
- A choice that is true but too narrow is the most common wrong answer.
- A choice with an extreme word ("prove," "condemn," "always") is usually stronger than the author's actual tone.
Every practice question comes with a full explanation, including why each wrong choice is wrong. Free, with no account.