Chapter 2 has more information about military line scores. See Appendix A for more information on the scores you need to get the job you want.
Eyeing the Physique of the Paragraph Comprehension Subtest
When you get to the Paragraph Comprehension subtest, you have several passages to read. Most passages are only one paragraph long, and rarely are they longer than two paragraphs. Each passage contains between 50 and 200 words. (Look at it this way: At least you won’t be required to read War and Peace!)
The ASVAB test authors may ask you to answer only one question about a given reading passage, or they may ask you to answer as many as five questions about one passage. Unfortunately, this subtest doesn’t consist of the most interesting passages you’ll ever read. (You won’t find paragraphs from your favorite sci-fi novel here.) It’s important that you set your attention span dial to the maximum setting.
In order to understand what you read — which is what the Paragraph Comprehension subtest is all about — you need to develop several abilities, which I cover later in this chapter:
Finding the main idea or argument that the author is making
Remembering specific details about the reading
Drawing conclusions from what you’ve read
Understanding relationships between ideas
Paraphrasing or summarizing what you’ve read
Trying the Four Flavors of Comprehension Questions
The Paragraph Comprehension questions on the ASVAB usually take one of four forms:
Finding specific information
Recognizing the main idea
Determining word meaning in context
Drawing an implication from a stated idea
Each type of question asks you to perform a different kind of analysis of the reading passage. If a passage has more than one question associated with it, chances are each question falls under a different category. The following sections spell out the differences among these four types of questions.
Treasure hunt: Finding specific information
This type of Paragraph Comprehension question asks you to pick out (you guessed it) specific information from a passage. Sounds easy, right? Take a look at the following passage, which clearly states the answer to the question that directly follows it:
An industry trade association found that more than 13,000 martial arts schools exist in the United States with nearly 6 million active members. Of the 13,000 schools, nearly 7,000 offered tae kwon do lessons.
(A) 13,000
(B) 7,000
(C) 6 million
(D) It can’t be determined.
The correct answer is Choice (C).
At times, the information that a question asks about isn’t directly stated in the question, but you can infer the information from the text. Remember, in the military, the only easy day was yesterday.
Cutting to the chase: Recognizing the main idea
Sometimes the Paragraph Comprehension questions ask you to identify the main point of a passage. The main point can be directly stated, or it can be implied.
If the shoe fits: Determining word meaning in context
Sometimes the Paragraph Comprehension subtest asks you to determine the meaning of a word when it’s used in a passage. The correct definition that the question is looking for can be the most common meaning of the word, or it can be a less well-known meaning. In either case, you have to read the passage, make sure you understand how the word is being used, and select the answer option that’s closest in meaning to the word as it’s used in the passage. Consider this example:
In the 18th century, it was common for sailors to be pressed into service in Britain. Young men found near seaports could be kidnapped, drugged, or otherwise hauled aboard a ship and made to work doing menial chores. They weren’t paid for their service, and they were given just enough food to keep them alive.
(A) hired.
(B) ironed.
(C) enticed.
(D) forced.
The descriptions of the conditions these sailors found themselves in should help you decide that they weren’t hired or enticed; ironed is one meaning of the word pressed, but it isn’t correct in this context. The correct answer is Choice (D). Here’s another example:
Since the 1980s, computers have become an indispensable part of American business. Computers can be used for thousands of applications, from word processing and running spreadsheets to keeping one’s checkbook updated.
(A) functions.
(B) sizes.
(C) requests.
(D) types.
Try putting the answer choices in this sentence: “Computers can be used for thousands of applications.” You can see that functions is closest in meaning to applications, although in a different context, some of the other answer choices may be correct. The correct answer is Choice (A).
Reading between the lines: Understanding implications
Some Paragraph Comprehension questions ask you to draw an inference from a stated idea. This simply means that you may need to draw a conclusion from what you’ve read. This conclusion should always be based on the reading, not your own particular opinions about a subject.