Avoid overgeneralizations or choices requiring unsupported leaps.
Core Idea
Wrong answers often stretch a passage's specific findings into broad claims—recognizing scope words like "all," "never," and "proves" is the fastest way to eliminate them.
Understanding
The SAT loves to test whether you can tell the difference between what a passage actually shows and a bigger, shinier version of that finding. A study of 200 college students becomes "all young adults." A correlation becomes proof of causation. A trend in one city becomes a universal law.
These inflated answers are tempting because they sound confident and important. But confidence isn't the same as accuracy. The correct answer on an inference question almost always feels smaller and more cautious than you'd expect. It uses words like "may," "suggests," "in this context," or "among the studied group."
Train your eye for scope words. When you see "always," "never," "all," "none," "proves," or "guarantees" in an answer choice, treat it as a red flag. Then go back to the passage and check: did the author actually make a claim that absolute? Almost never.
Step by Step
- Read each answer choice and circle any absolute or broad language (all, none, always, never, every, proves, ensures).
- Compare the scope of the answer to the scope of the passage. Does the passage discuss one study? One time period? One group?
- Ask: does this answer go beyond what the passage's evidence can support?
- Prefer the answer with appropriate qualifiers (may, likely, suggests, in some cases) that match the passage's own caution.
- If two answers seem close, pick the narrower one—the SAT almost always rewards precision over ambition.
Misconceptions
- Assuming the most confident-sounding answer is correct—on inference questions, caution usually wins.
- Ignoring the difference between "some" and "all"—a passage about certain species doesn't support claims about all species.
- Treating a single study's results as proof of a universal principle, when the passage only describes one experiment with specific conditions.
Worked Example
Psychologist Elena Ruiz conducted a study in which 150 undergraduate students were asked to memorize a list of 30 words. One group studied the list in a quiet room, while another studied with background music playing. On a recall test given 24 hours later, the quiet-room group remembered an average of 22 words, compared to 17 words for the music group. Based on these results, Ruiz concluded that ______
Select an answer to see the explanation