Remember the following facts about Detail Questions: They make up about 1/3 of all questions on the ACT Reading Test. You should expect to see 13 or 14 of them per test. The following are common phrases indicating detail questions: According to the author… According to the passage… In the passage… In the third paragraph, the author states…

What makes detail questions easy to answer is that the answers to the questions appear directly in the passage. What makes this type of question difficult to answer is that there are lots of details from which to choose in the passage.

Remember the strategy we’ve learned for answering detail questions: Track It Down: Track down and reread the part of the passage that contains the answer. Point out the important information. (You should be able to put your finger on a specific part of the passage that will lead to the correct answer.)

Function questions represent about 1/6 of all questions on the ACT Reading Test. You should expect to see 6 or 7 of them per test.

What makes Function Questions easy to answer is that your notes will help you. What makes this type of question difficult to answer is that you will not be able to put your finger directly on the correct answer in the passage.

Identifying Function Questions Function questions use distinctive phrasing that make them easy to identify. Sometimes they even use the word “function.”

The following are examples of function questions: The phrase xxxx serves to: The placement of xxxx in quotation marks is meant to: Xxxx helps establish that: The primary function of xxxx is most likely to: The author refers to xxxx to illustrate that: The author does xxxx in order to: The function of xxxx in relation to the passage as a whole is to:

Read the sample question stems on your handout. Label each question as to its type, paying close attention to the Function Questions.

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: (Author’s Purpose) 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: (Author’s Purpose) 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: (Vocabulary-in-Context) 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: (Author’s Purpose) 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: (Vocabulary-in-Context) 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: (FUNCTION) 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: (Author’s Purpose) 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: (Vocabulary-in-Context) 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: (FUNCTION) 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: (Detail) 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking:

Sample Question Stems: 1. It is most likely that the author mentions Athena (lines 7-8) in order to demonstrate: (FUNCTION) 2. The central purpose of the passage is to: (Author’s Purpose) 3. As it is used in line 20, secure most nearly means: (Vocabulary-in-Context) 4. The main function of the fourth paragraph (lines 42-44) in relation to the passage as a whole is to indicate that: (FUNCTION) 5. In the second paragraph (lines 16-18), the author states that arms were decorated as a way of: (Detail) 6. The last paragraph mentions famous artists in order to show how armsmaking: (FUNCTION)

For Detail Questions, we use the “Track It Down” strategy: Track down and reread the part of the passage that contains the answer. Point out the important information

For Function Questions, we will use both research and reasoning to Think Like the Author: Find and reread the part of the passage referenced in the question. Ask yourself why the author included this part of the passage. Consider how the part contributes to the whole.

KEEP IN MIND: An “author’s purpose” question asks you why the author wrote the piece. A “function question” asks you why the author included a certain part of the piece.”

Predicting with Function Questions After you use “Think Like the Author,” remember to make a prediction based on your conclusion about why the author did what she did.