TEAS Ready🔎 Reading · Key Ideas and Details · Lesson 2 of 6 · 4 min
Supporting details: find the fact the question asks for
🔍 Detail questions are the most "gettable" points on the reading section: the answer is printed right there in the text, if you know how to scan for it.
💡 Key idea
Scan for a keyword, read around it, and pick the choice that matches the meaning the text states.
🧠 The idea
SUPPORTING DETAILS are the facts, examples, numbers and reasons that prove the main idea. To answer a detail question, pick a KEYWORD from the question (a name, number, date or unusual term), SCAN the passage for it, then read the sentence before and after. The right answer often uses different words than the passage (a paraphrase), so match meaning, not exact wording. Watch for traps: a choice that uses the passage's exact words but answers a different question, a choice that is true in real life but not stated in the text, and a choice that twists a number or qualifier ("some" becomes "all"). Headings, bold words and lists are signposts that tell you where to scan.
✏️ Worked example
A clinic flyer says: "Flu shots are offered Monday through Thursday. Children under 9 who have never had a flu shot may need two doses, given at least four weeks apart." Question: How far apart are a child's two doses? Keyword: "two doses." Scan to that sentence and read it: "at least four weeks apart." A choice saying "exactly one month apart" twists the qualifier; "Monday through Thursday" is in the text but answers a different question. The answer is "no less than four weeks apart."
📌 Takeaways
- Pick a keyword from the question and scan for it.
- Match meaning: the right choice is often a paraphrase.
- Reject choices that are true in life but not in the text.
📖 Terms in this lesson
Supporting detail: A fact, example or reason that backs up the main idea; for example, a statistic about fewer sick days after hand washing.
✅ Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
A question asks what year a hospital opened its first burn unit. What is the best first step?
- Reread the whole passage slowly, word by word.
- Choose the year that seems most likely to be right.
- Read only the first paragraph again.
- Scan the passage for years and the word "burn."
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: D
Scanning for a keyword (a year, the word "burn") finds the answer fastest. Rereading everything wastes time, guessing ignores the text, and the fact may not be in the first paragraph.
Question 2 of 3
A passage says "most adults need seven or more hours of sleep." Which choice restates this detail accurately?
- Some adults need under seven hours of sleep.
- Adults need less sleep than children do.
- The majority of adults need at least seven hours.
- All adults need exactly seven hours of sleep.
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: C
"The majority" means "most" and "at least seven" means "seven or more," so the meaning matches. "All" and "exactly" change the qualifiers, and the other two choices make claims the sentence does not state.
Question 3 of 3
Which choice is a common TRAP on detail questions?
- A choice that matches the sentence the keyword points to
- A choice that repeats a number exactly as the passage gives it
- A choice that is true in life but not stated in the text
- A choice that paraphrases a sentence in the passage
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: C
Detail questions are answered only from the text, so an outside fact that is true in life is a trap. Paraphrases and choices matching the located sentence are usually what correct answers look like.
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