HSPT: Prediction: extend what the passage sets up
Learn to predict what a character will most likely do by following a stated plan, a pattern of behavior and the latest change in the character's attitude.
How do you answer a question about what a character will most likely do next?
Short answer
Find the character's stated plan, the pattern in their actions and the most recent change in attitude. The best answer is a small, ordinary next step that fits all three.
Know first: Character development: before and after, Inference: connecting details
Step 1 of 5
A prediction continues a pattern
A prediction question asks what a character will most likely do next, or which action would fit a plan. It isn't a guess. The passage sets up a plan, an interest or a pattern, and the right answer continues it.
These questions use phrases like most likely or would best fit. The best answer is usually small and ordinary. Wrong answers tend to be dramatic, go back to how the character acted before a change, or ignore the plan entirely.
| Source | What to look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stated plan | Words like decided, planned, next time | Next week she would bring her own racket. |
| Pattern | Something the character does again and again | Every morning he checked the weather first. |
| Latest change | How the character's attitude ends | For the first time, she asked a question in class. |
The strongest prediction fits all three. If they seem to conflict, the latest change wins.
Step 2 of 5
Follow the plan and the change
A short scene
Kiara always sat in the back row of the art club and painted landscapes alone1. One week, the leader asked her to help a new student mix colors2. Kiara showed him how to blend green, and he grinned when his trees finally looked real3. Walking out, Kiara decided that next week she would set up her easel beside the new members' table4.
- The starting pattern: working by herself.
- The turn: she's asked to teach.
- Helping went well.
- Her stated plan for next week.
Worked example: Kiara at art club
Using the scene above: Which action would best fit Kiara's plan for next week?
- AAnswering a new member's question about shading
- BMoving her easel back to the last row
- CQuitting the club to paint at home
- DStarting her own art school
- 1
Find the plan
Set up beside the new members' table.
- 2
Find the change
From painting alone to enjoying helping someone learn.
- 3
Choose a small next step
Answering a new member's question about shading fits both. That's A.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
B goes back to her old habit before the change. C is far too dramatic; nothing suggests she wants to leave. D adds a big new role the story never sets up.
Answer
A. Answering a new member's question about shading
Wrong: She'll probably go back to painting alone, since she always did.
Right: She'll probably help newer students, since that's what she just decided to do.
The first prediction uses the beginning of the story. The second uses the plan and the change at the end.
Step 3 of 5
Predict the next step
Check yourself · Question 1
Luis had skipped breakfast for months, saying he wasn't hungry in the morning. After he nearly fell asleep during a basketball practice, the coach talked to him about eating before school. That night, Luis set out a bowl and a box of cereal on the counter.
What will Luis most likely do the next morning?
Answer: D
His old pattern was skipping breakfast, but the coach's talk and the bowl he set out show a new plan. Eating the cereal is the small, natural next step.
Trap answer: Skip breakfast again
Back to the old pattern
- Why it looks right
- It's what Luis had done for months, so it seems like his normal behavior.
- Why it's wrong
- The story ends with a change: the coach's talk and the bowl set out the night before.
- The right answer
- Eat a bowl of cereal before school, which follows his latest action.
Check yourself · Question 2
Mei used to read only mystery novels. When the library's mystery shelf was being repainted, she borrowed a book about deep-sea animals instead. She stayed up late reading about glowing fish, and on Saturday she asked the librarian where the other ocean books were kept.
Which action would best fit what the passage sets up?
Answer: B
Mei's new interest is ocean animals, and she's already looking for more ocean books. A book about coral reefs continues that interest.
Common mistake
Picking the most exciting possible outcome.
- Why it's tempting
- Dramatic events feel like what stories are about, so a big choice seems likely.
- Do this instead
- Prefer the small, ordinary next step that fits the plan, the pattern and the latest change.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Base your prediction on a stated plan, a pattern and the character's latest change.
- When the character has changed, predict from the new attitude.
- The best answer is usually a small, ordinary next step, not a dramatic one.
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, what plan does the character state, and which choice would only fit how she acted before her change?