Main idea/purpose questions

Question

For these types of questions, do you read the introduction and conclusion to find the main idea and read the entire passage for the purpose questions?

Answer 1

You need to read the entire passage in order to get the main idea--only reading the beginning and ending portions will give you a false idea about the topic. You should skim the passage by spending no more than 1 minute reading it--you will notice that some of the same ideas are mentioned several times--this is a huge hint as to what the main idea is.

When all else fails, remember that general questions will have vague, general answers. The correct answer needs to be one that covers the entire passage, and not just one or two paragraphs of it. Look at the suggested answers, then eliminate anything that is too specific because it relates to only one or two paragraphs.