In this article, we explore another particular Reading Comprehension question type: Title of the Passage.
Before we get to the actual tips and strategies for this question type, consider what ’titles’ are exactly. If you consider a newspaper, how would you analyze the title of an article?
Newspaper titles have the following qualities:
1. They are succinct (brief)
2. On most occasions, they contain the subject of the passage
On other occasions, they might talk about the subject indirectly, implying it rather than stating it. If you consider books, academic journals, and so on, the titles are generally more direct, but they can also have implied titles.
Effectively we have two types of titles:
1. Explicit: containing the subject
2. Implicit: subject not directly stated
The first ones generally don’t post a problem; it is the second one you need to be careful about.
Things to consider for the title question:
In general, you should keep the following things in mind while answering this question type:
1. Identify the subject: As with the main idea question, you need to identify the subject of the passage and make sure it reflects in the answer options (implicit or explicit reference).
2. Don’t focus on the details: Details are not relevant, only key ideas are.
3. Do not obsess with single ‘ideas/points’: Always keep the whole picture in mind, single points cannot form the answer.
How do we reach the final answer?
Keeping the above in mind, ensure that your chosen ‘title’ reflects the main idea and subject of the passage and does not fall outside the scope of the passage. Wait, what does ‘scope’ mean here?
Generally, when we pick an answer option, we are misguided by its construction. We do not realize the options are about another subject or vaguely related to the passage, thus rendering it outside our scope. Ensure you do not fall into the ‘ scope trap,’ and you should do fairly well for this question type.