Science Passages — Don't Panic

You don't need to understand the science. You need to understand the argument.

Science passages typically follow this structure:

Paragraph 1: A phenomenon or problem is described

Paragraph 2: One theory/explanation is presented

Paragraph 3: Evidence for or against that theory

Paragraph 4: Author's assessment or alternative theory

Strategy:

1. Don't get lost in jargon. Mentally replace complex terms with simple placeholders.

2. Focus on the argument structure: What claim is being made? What evidence supports it?

3. Track the author's opinion — do they agree with the theory or not?

Questions about specific details: Go back to the passage. Don't try to remember technical details from a single read-through.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Reading Comprehension

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_comprehension