A Q-stem that asks, 'the passage suggests which of the following?' belongs to which Q-type?

A Q-stem that asks, 'the passage suggests which of the following?' belongs to which Q-type?

• A. Detail
• B. Inference
• C. Main Idea
• D. Vocabulary

Answer: (B)

Inference is what you use when you draw conclusions that aren’t stated outright but are suggested by the text. A stem like “the passage suggests which of the following?” signals this kind of task because you must identify what the author implies from evidence in the passage, not just repeat what’s written. You’re looking for a statement that is supported by the passage’s details, tone, or context but isn’t directly stated. This differs from detail questions, which ask for explicit facts from the text; main idea questions, which seek the overall point the author is making; and vocabulary questions, which test understanding of a word’s meaning in context. So the best answer is the option that the passage implies or hints at, not one that is merely described or asked to summarize.

Inference is what you use when you draw conclusions that aren’t stated outright but are suggested by the text. A stem like “the passage suggests which of the following?” signals this kind of task because you must identify what the author implies from evidence in the passage, not just repeat what’s written. You’re looking for a statement that is supported by the passage’s details, tone, or context but isn’t directly stated.

This differs from detail questions, which ask for explicit facts from the text; main idea questions, which seek the overall point the author is making; and vocabulary questions, which test understanding of a word’s meaning in context. So the best answer is the option that the passage implies or hints at, not one that is merely described or asked to summarize.