Study Guide

General Comprehension

General comprehension questions test your ability to understand the overall meaning of a passage — including interpreting data, understanding relationships between ideas, and drawing supported conclusions.

Key Rules

Always base your answer entirely on the passage — never import outside knowledge.
For data interpretation: read chart titles, axis labels, and units before drawing any conclusions.
Correlation ≠ causation: two trends moving together does not mean one causes the other.
When a question asks what is "most supported" by the passage, the correct answer has explicit textual backing.
Extreme language ("proves," "always," "all") is almost always wrong — look for qualified language.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Reading into the passage what isn't there — especially on "suggest" or "imply" questions.
Confusing a detail that is mentioned once with the overall argument.
Drawing conclusions from a graph that go beyond what the data actually shows.
Selecting answers that are true in general but not specifically supported by this passage.

SAT Strategy Tips

→For every answer choice, ask: "Where in the passage does it say this?" If you can't find it, it's wrong.
→For data questions: the answer must match the specific values/trends shown, not your general knowledge of the topic.
→Watch for scope: an answer that's true for one part of the passage may not be true for the whole thing.
→The word "suggest" in a question means the answer must be inferable — not stated outright, but logically implied.

Example Question

Based on the passage, the author's attitude toward urban development can best be described as

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