- A reader wants to find advice about saving money by choosing less expensive product labels at the grocery store. Without reading every word, which heading tells her this section has what she needs?
Answer: Buy Store Brands.
When reading a passage with headings, you don't always need to read every word — you can use headings as signposts to locate the information you need quickly. This skill is called scanning, and it's especially useful on reading exams. The key is matching the meaning of the heading to what the question is asking about.
Here, the reader wants advice about choosing less expensive product labels — meaning cheaper store labels versus pricier name-brand labels. Ask yourself: which heading uses words that signal this topic? "Buy Store Brands" directly points to choosing a different type of label (store brand vs. name brand) to save money. That makes C the correct answer — the heading itself tells you the section is about lower-cost label options, without needing to read the full paragraph.
A is tempting because meal planning does save money, but "Plan Your Meals" says nothing about product labels or brand choices. The heading doesn't match what the reader is looking for. B is a trap — while hungry shoppers may make poor choices, the heading "Avoid Shopping When Hungry" doesn't mention labels or brands at all. The connection is too indirect. D misreads what "labels" means — coupons are not product labels. "Shop Sales and Coupons" is about discounts and flyers, not about choosing cheaper store-brand labels.
Study tip: When a question asks you to use headings to locate information, look for the heading whose words directly match the topic in the question. Don't choose based on a loose connection — the best heading will use language that clearly signals the right content.
- An employee feels sick and has a fever. She wants to know when it is safe to return to work. She decides to skim the headings instead of reading the whole document. Which heading should she go to first to find this specific information?
Answer: Stay Home When Sick.
When you need to find specific information quickly in a document, skimming headings is a powerful strategy — but only if you choose the right heading. The key skill here is matching the topic of your question to the heading that most directly addresses it. Ask yourself: "Which heading uses words closest to what I'm looking for?"
In this case, the employee has a fever and wants to know when it's safe to return to work. The heading "Stay Home When Sick" (D) directly signals this situation. The words "sick" and "stay home" connect immediately to someone with a fever who is deciding whether to go back to work. And the actual content under that heading confirms it — it tells you to stay home until you've been fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
Choice A is a trap because handwashing is about hygiene habits, not about deciding when to return to work. The connection it draws between touching surfaces and returning to work is invented — the passage never makes that link. Choice B misleads you because vaccines prevent the flu; they don't explain recovery timelines or when a sick person is ready to return. Choice C sounds related to workplace safety, but cleaning shared surfaces is about disinfecting objects, not about employee return-to-work conditions.
Study tip: When skimming headings, focus on keywords that match your specific question. If you're looking for information about being sick and returning to work, a heading with "sick" and "home" is almost always your best starting point — don't let broader safety topics distract you.
- A student with a valid school ID wants to know how much she will spend on bus fare for a round trip (going and coming back) on a weekday. She skims the headings and reads only the relevant section. What is the correct total fare for her round trip?
Answer: $1.80.
When you see a question like this, your job is two-part: find the right section of the document quickly, then calculate carefully using the correct numbers. This tests both your skimming skills and your math with real-world information.
The key detail is in the Fares section: students with a valid school ID pay $0.90 per ride. A round trip means two separate rides — one going, one coming back. So the correct calculation is:
0.90+0.90=$1.80
That makes B the correct answer.
Here is why the other choices are wrong: A is incorrect because $1.75 is the adult fare, not the student fare — and no bus system includes a free return trip in a single fare. That is not stated anywhere in the passage. C makes a similar mistake by using the adult price of $1.75 per ride, ignoring the student discount entirely. Always check whether a special fare applies to you before calculating. D gets the per-ride price right ($0.90) but misreads what "round trip" means. A round trip is two rides, not one. There is nothing in the passage suggesting a student ID covers a full round trip in one transaction.
A useful strategy: when a passage has clear headings, go straight to the section that answers your question — here, that is "Fares." Then read carefully for any conditions (like age or ID requirements) before doing any math. Small details like discount eligibility can change your answer completely. - A job seeker reads only the bold headings of this document to decide where to look for advice about what to do on the day of the interview. Which heading should she choose, and why is skimming the headings — rather than reading every word — useful here?
Answer: She should choose The Interview, because that heading directly signals information about what to do during the interview itself, and skimming headings lets her find this section without reading the whole document.
When you need to find specific information in a document quickly, skimming headings is a powerful reading strategy. Headings act like road signs — they tell you what each section contains before you read it. This question tests whether you understand how to use headings efficiently and how to match a heading to your specific need.
Here, the job seeker wants advice about the day of the interview itself. Look at the four bold headings: Your Résumé, Your Cover Letter, The Interview, and After the Interview. The heading "The Interview" directly matches her goal. When you read the section, it confirms this — it tells you to arrive early, bring copies of your résumé, dress professionally, and make eye contact. These are all day-of actions. Answer C is correct because the heading signals exactly the right content, and skimming saved her from reading the whole document unnecessarily.
A is wrong because Your Résumé is about preparing your résumé, not about what to do on interview day. Assuming résumé tips are "always most important" is a trap — your job is to match the heading to the specific question, not make general assumptions. B is wrong because After the Interview covers what to do following the interview, like sending a thank-you email — not what to do on that day. D is wrong because cover letters are submitted before the interview, not on the day of, and that section contains no day-of advice.
Strategy tip: When a question asks you to find specific information, first identify your key need (here: "day of interview"), then scan headings for the closest match — don't read everything first.
- A patient arrives on a Saturday at 4:45 p.m. She wants to be seen for a rash. First, she wants to know two things: Is the clinic open now? Does it treat rashes? Which two headings should she read?
Answer: Hours of Operation and What We Treat
Hours of Operation says the clinic is open until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, so it is open at 4:45. What We Treat lists rashes. Insurance and Payment and Wait Times are useful, but they don't answer her two questions.
- A member has a plot in Row B and wants to know which days her plot is scheduled to be watered. She finds the correct heading but reads the first entry in that section instead of the second. Which answer shows what she mistakenly believes AND what the correct watering days actually are?
Answer: She mistakenly believes Mondays and Thursdays, but the correct days for Row B are Tuesdays and Fridays.
When reading a document with multiple entries under one heading, it's easy to grab the wrong line — especially when you're in a hurry. This question tests whether you can trace a reading mistake and compare it to the correct information.
Here's what happens in the scenario: the member has a Row B plot and turns to the "Watering Schedule" section — the right heading. But instead of reading the second entry (Row B: Tuesdays and Fridays), she reads the first entry (Row A: Mondays and Thursdays). So she walks away believing her plot is watered on Mondays and Thursdays, when the correct days for Row B are actually Tuesdays and Fridays. That matches answer A exactly — it correctly identifies both the mistake and the true information.
B has the two pieces flipped: it says she believes Tuesdays and Fridays, but those are actually the correct days for Row B, not her mistaken belief. C mixes up the days entirely — "Mondays and Fridays" and "Tuesdays and Thursdays" don't appear as any row's schedule in the handbook. D makes the same kind of invented error, listing "Tuesdays and Thursdays" and "Mondays and Fridays," neither of which matches what the document actually says.
A helpful strategy: when a question describes how a mistake was made, retrace the exact steps yourself. Go back to the text, find the heading, then deliberately read the wrong entry — that way you can confirm what the person saw incorrectly before checking what the right answer should be.
- A library user wants to know how much it costs if she returns a book 4 days late. She skims the headings first. Which heading leads her to the correct information, and what will she find there?
Answer: Fines and Fees — she will find that late books cost $0.25 per day, so returning a book 4 days late costs $1.00 total.
When reading a document with headings, a smart strategy is to skim the headings first to find where your specific information is located — this is called scanning for relevance. The question asks about a late fee, so you need to ask yourself: which heading sounds most related to fees and penalties?
The answer is B, Fines and Fees. This heading directly signals information about costs and penalties. Under it, the guide states that late books cost $0.25 per day. To find the total for 4 days late, you multiply:
0.25×4=$1.00
So the user owes exactly $1.00. Answer B states this correctly and completely.
Answer A is tempting because it mentions "Borrowing Books," which does discuss due dates — but due dates and late fees are different things. The borrowing section tells you when a book is due, not what you pay if it's late. Don't confuse related topics with the same topic.
Answer C points to Computer Use, which covers printing costs and session limits. Nothing in that section mentions overdue books — it's a completely unrelated category. The word "cost" in the distractor is meant to trick you.
Answer D points to Children's Programs, which only covers storytime rules. There is no fee information there at all. This option is designed to catch students who don't read carefully.
Study tip: When skimming headings, match the keyword in the question to the keyword in the heading. "Late" and "fee" both point directly to Fines and Fees — trust that match. - A reader is cooking chicken and wants to make sure it is safe to eat. She skims the headings of this document. Two headings seem possibly related to her question. Which heading gives her the most directly useful information, and why?
Answer: Cook to Safe Temperatures is most directly useful, because it tells her the exact internal temperature chicken must reach to be safe to eat.
When you skim headings to find information, your goal is to match your specific question to the heading that answers it most directly. Here, the reader has one clear, immediate need: she is cooking chicken right now and wants to know if it is safe to eat. Ask yourself — which heading speaks to that exact moment?
"Cook to Safe Temperatures" is the best match. It gives her a concrete, actionable answer: chicken must reach 165°F internally. That number tells her precisely when her chicken is safe. This makes D the correct answer.
The other headings address related but less direct concerns. A ("Store Food Properly") is about what happens before cooking — keeping chicken cold in the refrigerator. That step is already done; it does not help her while she is standing at the stove. B ("Handle Food Safely") focuses on preparation steps like washing hands and using separate cutting boards — again, useful earlier in the process, but not the answer to "is my chicken safe to eat now?" C ("When in Doubt, Throw It Out") might seem relevant because it mentions food safety decisions, but it deals with spoiled food that looks or smells bad — not with checking whether cooked chicken has reached a safe temperature. It answers a different version of the question.
A useful strategy: when a passage uses headings, match the reader's specific situation to the heading, not just the general topic. Cooking chicken is not the same as storing it, preparing it, or deciding whether to discard it.
- A prospective tenant who has no pets wants to know the total amount of money she must pay before she can move in. She skims the headings and reads only the most relevant sections. Based on those sections, what is the correct total she must pay before move-in?
Answer: $1,900.
Rent and Payment requires $950 for the first month before move-in. Security Deposit requires another $950 before move-in. $950 + $950 = $1,900, so B is correct. The tenant has no pets, so the pet fee does not apply. No late payment is described, so the late fee is not part of this total.
- A student wants to take Intermediate English but can only attend classes in the morning. She reads the schedule above. Which heading should she look under to find the days and times for her class?
Answer: She should look under Morning Classes.
When a document is organized with headings, each heading acts like a label that tells you what kind of information is in that section. Questions like this one test whether you can use those headings to locate specific information quickly — a key reading skill for everyday life.
In this schedule, the document has four sections: Morning Classes, Evening Classes, Registration, and Important Note. The student needs Intermediate English and can only attend in the morning. If you look under Morning Classes, you'll find exactly this: "Intermediate English: Tuesday, Thursday, 9:00–11:30 a.m." That section lists the class name, days, and times — everything she needs. So B is correct.
Here's why the other choices don't work. A says to look under Evening Classes, but Intermediate English does not appear there at all — only Beginning English and Conversation Practice are listed in the evening. C points to Registration, which tells students how and when to sign up (online by January 15, bring a photo ID), not where or when classes meet. D directs you to Important Note, which explains a rule about class cancellations — it has nothing specific to Intermediate English.
A useful strategy: when a question asks where to find information in a document, match the topic of the question to the heading that describes that topic. The student needs a class schedule → look for a heading about class times. Don't be distracted by sections that sound helpful but actually answer a different question.
