VARC1000 (Season 1) RC Lesson #1 How wrong answers are created

Summary

This video script delves into the art of creating reading comprehension questions, focusing on the strategies behind crafting correct and incorrect answer choices. It explains the three components of a reading question: the passage, the question stem, and the answer choices. The presenter, referred to as 'the evil guy,' illustrates how to identify and eliminate wrong choices by recognizing false, uncertain, broad, alien, narrow, and extreme statements. The script advocates for a methodical approach to reading comprehension, emphasizing the importance of understanding the context and details within a passage to discern the correct answer.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script discusses strategies for tackling reading comprehension questions, focusing on how to identify correct and incorrect answer choices.
• 🧩 It breaks down the components of a reading comprehension question: the passage, the question stem, and the answer choices.
• 👤 The script personifies the question setter as an 'evil genius' whose goal is to create confusion among test takers by crafting tricky answer choices.
• 🤔 It emphasizes the importance of understanding how wrong answer choices are created to improve reading comprehension skills.
• ❌ The script explains that wrong answer choices are not just false statements but also include uncertain or irrelevant information.
• 🔍 It teaches a method to evaluate answer choices by looking for contradictions, lack of certainty, or extreme statements.
• 📈 The script provides an example of a pre-session test question and walks through the process of analyzing each answer choice to determine its validity.
• 📝 It highlights that the correct answer must be true and directly supported by the passage, while wrong answers can be false, uncertain, or not mentioned.
• 🚫 The script warns against selecting answer choices that are too broad, alien to the context, narrow, or extreme.
• 💡 It suggests an elimination strategy where one should assume each answer choice is wrong and look for flaws to eliminate it from consideration.

Q & A

What are the three components involved in setting a reading comprehension question?

The three components involved in setting a reading comprehension question are the passage, the question stem, and the answer choices or options.

Who is typically responsible for creating the passage in a reading comprehension test?

The passage in a reading comprehension test is usually written by an author, who is distinct from the person setting the question.

What is the role of the question setter in a reading comprehension test?

The question setter's role is to pick the passage and create the question stem and answer choices for the reading comprehension test.

Why is it challenging for test takers to differentiate between the correct and incorrect answer choices?

It is challenging for test takers to differentiate between the correct and incorrect answer choices because the question setter deliberately creates wrong answers that are either false, extreme, or uncertain to trap the test takers.

What is the significance of the term 'uncertain' in the context of wrong answer choices?

In the context of wrong answer choices, 'uncertain' refers to statements that cannot be confirmed as true based on the information provided in the passage, leaving them open to interpretation and thus not definitively correct.

How does the speaker define a true statement in the context of answer choices?

A true statement in the context of answer choices is one that is 100% true and directly supported by the information in the passage.

What is the strategy suggested by the speaker to evaluate answer choices?

The strategy suggested by the speaker to evaluate answer choices is to break them down into smaller parts, assume they are wrong, and look for flaws such as broad, alien, narrow, or extreme statements.

Why does the speaker advise test takers to assume each answer choice is wrong until proven otherwise?

The speaker advises test takers to assume each answer choice is wrong until proven otherwise because there is a higher probability of an answer choice being wrong (three out of four chances) compared to being right.

What is the main idea the speaker is trying to convey about the process of creating wrong answer choices?

The main idea the speaker is trying to convey is that wrong answer choices are created by making statements that are broad, alien, narrow, or extreme, which deviate from the specific context and information provided in the passage.

How does the speaker explain the difference between a false statement and an uncertain statement in answer choices?

A false statement directly contradicts the information in the passage, while an uncertain statement lacks enough information to be confirmed as true, making it not definitively correct.