According to the Passage

These questions point you toward a specific piece of information in the passage. The stem always makes the source explicit:

• "According to the passage, why did X happen?"
• "Which of the following is stated in the passage?"
• "According to the passage, what is the main reason for...?"

They're the most straightforward VR question type. The answer sits in the passage, waiting for you to find it. No inference, no author interpretation - just locate and match.

These make up a big chunk of VR questions alongside T/F/CT, and they're reliably fast when you use the right technique.

Same scanning approach you already know, with one critical addition: form your own answer before looking at the options. Five steps, target 20-30 seconds:

1. Read the question. Understand what it's actually asking. Rephrase in your own words: "This is asking me WHY / WHAT / HOW…"
2. Pick your keyword. Same rules as Lesson 1.2. For these questions, keywords are almost always present and distinctive.
3. Scan → find → read 2-3 sentences around the keyword.
4. Form your own answer first. Before looking at the options, think: "Based on what I just read, the answer is roughly…"
5. Now check the options. Select the one that matches what you found - the correct answer will paraphrase the passage.

Why Step 4 matters: If you read the answer options first, they can bias your reading of the passage. You might "see" support for a wrong answer because it's in your head. Understanding the question independently first prevents this.

Question: "Why are election candidates using ghostwriters?"

Step 1: Understand the question

This is asking for the reason (why) candidates hire ghostwriters.

Step 2: Pick keyword

• "Ghostwriters" -> BAD (the passage is about ghostwriters - it's the main topic, appears everywhere)
• "Election candidates" -> GOOD (specific, likely appears once)

Step 3: Scan and read

Find "election candidates" in the passage:

"In several countries, election candidates commission ghostwriters to make autobiographies to get visibility and exposure."

Step 4: Form your own answer

The reason = "to get visibility and exposure."

Step 5: Check options

Answer: B

Notice: All four options sound plausible. But only B is supported by the passage. This is why you form your own answer first - it prevents options A, C, or D from looking "right."

Many According to Passage questions ask why something happened. The trap is that multiple answer options may be true facts from the passage, but only one is the reason.

Worked Example 2: Kohoutek Comet

Question: "According to the passage, Kohoutek was expected to be spectacularly bright because:"

Passage excerpt:

"Astronomers thought if it was visible when it was that far away - 800 million km from the sun - it would probably prove to be spectacular when it passed within 21 million km."

Logic chain: Visible at extreme distance -> must be even brighter up close

Answer: B

The Because/Why trap: All options may be true facts from the passage - but only one answers the question "Why?" For each option, ask: "Does this explain the cause?" - versus "Is this just another fact about the topic?"

Trap 1: All Options Appear in the Passage

The passage might mention all four concepts. The correct answer is the one that specifically answers what the question asks (why, how, what effect, etc.), not just any true fact.

Trap 2: Working Backwards from Answers

If you read the answer options first, you might scan the passage looking for confirmation of option A, find something vaguely related, and select it. This is how wrong answers trap you. Always understand the question independently first.

Trap 3: Matching Words Instead of Meaning

Question: "Why did the programme succeed?"

Wrong approach: Scan for "succeed" -> find sentence with "success" -> pick answer that uses the word "success."

Right approach: Understand that you're looking for the reason/cause of success -> find the sentence explaining what led to the outcome -> match that explanation to an answer.

Next lesson: What happens when the question stem ends with a colon and you need to complete the sentence? That's the Incomplete Statement format - same core technique, slightly different recognition.