HSPT: Explicit detail: find the line that answers
Learn to turn a detail question into a search key, find the exact sentence that answers it, and match that sentence to a choice without falling for passage words used in the wrong place.
How do you answer a detail question quickly without picking a choice that only sounds like the passage?
Short answer
Pick a search key from the question, find the sentence that holds it, and read that whole sentence. Put the answer in your own words, then choose the option that says the same thing.
Know first: Scanning a passage for a word or number, Reading a full sentence carefully
Step 1 of 5
The answer is on the page
An explicit detail is something the passage states directly. Questions often begin According to the passage or ask about a time, a step, a cause or a condition. You don't need to infer. You need to find the right sentence and read it closely.
The HSPT lists main ideas and details among its Reading skills. Detail questions are among the fastest on the section, but only if you go back to the text. The wrong choices are built to catch readers who answer from memory.
| Word | What it limits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| only | Shrinks a rule to one case | open late on Fridays only |
| each | Applies the rule to every one | each team gets one table |
| before / after | Picks one side of a time line | after the bell rings |
| directly / first | Asks for the nearest cause or step, not a related one | what first caused the delay |
Underline these in the question. They often separate the answer from a trap.
Step 2 of 5
Find the sentence, then the choice
A rules notice
The science fair rules have changed this year. Projects must be registered by March 31, and each table may hold no more than two posters2. Students working in pairs need only one registration form, but both names must appear on it3. Judges will visit tables between 10:00 and 11:30.
- A deadline. By means on or before that date.
- A limit on posters per table. It has nothing to do with pairs.
- The sentence about pairs. Two facts: one form, both names.
Worked example: Students in pairs
Using the notice above: According to the rules, what must students working in pairs do?
- AFill out two registration forms
- BList both names on a single form
- CUse only one poster
- DRegister after March 3
- 1
Choose the search key
Pairs. It appears in the third sentence.
- 2
Read the whole sentence
Pairs need only one registration form and both names must appear on it.
- 3
Restate it
One form with both names. That's B.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A reverses the rule by turning the idea of two people into two forms. C borrows a number from the poster rule, which is about tables. D contradicts the deadline, which is by March 3.
Answer
B. List both names on a single form.
Wrong: The answer uses the word poster, and the passage talks about posters, so it must be right.
Right: The answer says what the sentence about pairs says, in any words.
Matching words is not the same as matching meaning. Check that the passage words in a choice come from the sentence that answers this question.
Step 3 of 5
Find it and match it
Check yourself · Question 1
The Elm Street car wash will raise money for the eighth-grade trip. It runs Saturday from 9:00 to 1:00. Cars cost $8 and trucks cost $10. If it rains, the car wash moves to the following Saturday at the same times.
According to the notice, what happens if it rains?
Answer: D
Search key: rains. The last sentence says it moves to the following Saturday at the same times.
Trap answer: The car wash is canceled.
Reasonable but never stated
- Why it looks right
- Lots of outdoor events are canceled for rain, so it sounds like common sense.
- Why it's wrong
- The question says according to the notice. The notice gives a different plan.
- The right answer
- The car wash moves to the next Saturday, as the last sentence states.
Check yourself · Question 2
The greenhouse has a fan in the roof and a heater near the door. The fan turns on whenever the air rises above 85 degrees. On cold nights, the heater runs until the air reaches 50 degrees. Students check both machines each Monday.
According to the passage, what makes the fan turn on?
Answer: B
Search key: fan turns on. The second sentence says it turns on whenever the air rises above 85 degrees.
Common mistake
Answering from memory after one quick read.
- Why it's tempting
- The passage is short, and you feel sure you remember what it said.
- Do this instead
- Always go back to the line. Wrong choices reuse real passage words, so memory alone will often land on one of them.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Turn the question into a search key and find the exact sentence that holds it.
- Restate that sentence in your own words before matching it to a choice.
- Watch for passage words in the wrong place and for small words like only, each and after.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, which sentence holds the answer, and which wrong choice uses words from the passage in the wrong place?