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    Reading Comprehension
  I: Introduction
  II: The Challenge
III: The Five Steps  
  IV: 11 Question Types
Macro Questions
spacer1: Main Idea
spacer2: Purpose of the Passage
spacer3: Tone
spacer4: Passage Organization
spacer5: Category of Writing
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6: Identity of the Author
Micro Questions
spacer7: Detail of the Passage
spacer8: Definition of a Term
spacer9: Support for a Premise
spacer10: Function of Passage Part
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11: Inference
  V: Tips
  VI: Sample Essays

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IV: Type 6 - Identity of the Author (Advanced)
 
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This question type asks you to identify the type of person who wrote the passage. Don't forget to use some elementary logic. A passage written about the mating habits of the whale will probably not have been written by a senator.

How to identify Identity of Author questions:
Look for questions that ask about the author.

Who is the most likely author of the passage?

Who of the following might have written the passage?


How to tackle them: Use the main idea and purpose. You know what the passage is saying. You know the author’s purpose. So think, who would write such a passage?

Think back to the passage on water management. Government had screwed up water management by having agencies that didn’t coordinate with one another. The author’s purpose was to tell us about these problems. His goal was for us to understand the problems as well as he did. So who could he be? Perhaps he is an academic who studies land management. Perhaps he is a lobbyist for an organization that supports irrigation. He could be a journalist who specializes in these issues. Use the main idea and purpose in conjunction with common sense. Who would be the likely author of a passage describing governmental problems in the management of water resources?
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 Micro Questions: Detail of the passage