Please use the list below to acquaint yourself with common multiple choice question stems and strategies!
Content (including word meanings):
- The speaker’s view of _____ might best be described as…
- The speaker uses “________” as an example to illustrate the idea that…
- Which of the following best paraphrases lines _____? OR …summarizes the main point?
- The excerpt is chiefly concerned with…
- Which of the following is the primary meaning of the word _____ as it is used in the passage?
- In line _____, “_____” refers to … OR is best understood to mean…
- The antecedent of “it” in line ____ is…
Style (including structure and literary devices):
- The primary rhetorical function of lines _____ is…
- The type of argument employed by the speaker is best described as…The shift in point of view from _____ to _____ has the effect of…
- The second sentence is unified by the writer’s use of…
- The structure of this passage is primarily one of…
- In line _____, _____ most probably refer metaphorically to… OR is ironic chiefly because…
- In lines _____, the speaker makes use of all of the following EXCEPT:
- The syntax of the sentence in lines _____ serves to…
Tone (including inferences):
- The tone of the passage is best described as…
- Lines _____ most strongly convey the speaker’s attitude that…
- From the context, the reader can infer that _____ is…
- The speaker assumes that the audience’s attitude will be that of…
- From the passage, we can infer that all of the following would be true EXCEPT…