3.2 RC Multiple-Choice — Select One Answer

3.2 RC Multiple-Choice — Select One Answer Choice

Quick Answer: The standard five-choice RC question gives you five answer choices and asks you to pick exactly one. The correct answer is the most accurate and complete response based on the passage — not merely a true statement. Read all five choices before committing, predict an answer in your own words, eliminate aggressively, and verify every word of your selected choice against the passage.

The Format

Each Multiple-Choice — Select One Answer question presents five labeled options (A through E on paper; clickable options on the computer-delivered test). You select exactly one. There is no partial credit and no penalty for guessing — never leave a question blank.

This format is the most common RC question type and accounts for the majority of passage-based items. Master it first.

ETS's Official Tips (Use Them Verbatim)

ETS publishes four official tips for this question type. Internalize all four:

1. Read all five choices before selecting your answer. A later choice is often more complete than an earlier, tempting one.
2. The correct answer is the most accurate and complete answer based on the passage. Do not be drawn to an answer that is only partially true or true only under a narrow reading.
3. Do not select an answer just because it is true. It must also answer the question asked and be supported by the passage.
4. Check the meaning of each word in the answer choice against the passage. A single word can make an otherwise-true statement wrong.

A Five-Step Strategy

1. Read the question stem first for short passages (one paragraph, one question) — it tells you what to look for. For longer passages, read the passage first, then the questions.
2. Predict an answer in your own words before reading the choices. A pre-formed prediction protects you from seductive wrong answers.
3. Read every choice. Treat each as a true/false/irrelevant judgment, not a beauty contest.
4. Eliminate aggressively. Cross off anything that distorts the passage, overstates it, or answers a different question.
5. Verify the surviving choice against the passage line by line. One unsupported word = wrong.

Common Wrong-Answer Traps

Word-Meaning-in-Context Questions

ETS explicitly calls out "check the meaning of each word" because GRE passages often use ordinary words in technical or unusual ways. When a question asks what a word means "as used in the passage," the dictionary definition is usually a trap. Substitute each answer choice into the passage sentence; only the correct one preserves the sentence's logic and tone.

Example Mini-Passage

"Despite the prevailing view that the recession was triggered by loose monetary policy, the author argues that regulatory failures played the larger role. While central bankers acknowledge the role of interest rates, they understate the consequences of deregulation, which permitted banks to take risks whose magnitude they themselves could not gauge."

Worked Question

The passage suggests which of the following about central bankers?

A. They deny that interest rates had any role in the recession.
B. They attribute the recession entirely to regulatory failures.
C. They recognize interest rates mattered but misjudge the impact of deregulation.
D. They deliberately caused the recession through loose policy.
E. They are unaware that deregulation occurred.

Predict: Central bankers admit interest rates matter but understate deregulation's effects.
Eliminate: A too extreme ("any role" — passage says they acknowledge); B reverses (they understate regulation); D overstates intent; E contradicts ("understate" requires awareness).
Verify: C matches: they acknowledge interest rates AND understate (misjudge) deregulation consequences. Correct answer: C.

Pacing

Five-choice RC questions average 60–90 seconds each. If you spend more than two minutes on a single question, mark it, move on, and return if time allows. The Verbal measure has no penalty for guessing, so a flagged guess is always better than an unanswered question.

Main-Idea vs. Detail Questions: Reading the Stem

Single-answer RC questions come in two broad flavors, and each asks you to read the stem differently:

• Main-idea / primary-purpose / author-attitude questions ask about the passage as a whole. Re-scan the passage's first sentence, last sentence, and any thesis markers ("however," "in contrast," "the author argues"). The correct answer is broad enough to cover the whole passage but narrow enough to exclude supporting details masquerading as the thesis.
• Detail / specific-claim / inference questions ask about a particular sentence or relationship. Treat the stem as a search warrant: underline the noun, verb, or relationship it names, then go back to the passage and find the matching sentence before reading the choices.

Mixing up these two flavors is the most common single-answer mistake: answering a main-idea question with a choice that is true of one detail, or answering a detail question with a broad paraphrase of the thesis. Read the stem, label it main-idea or detail, and answer accordingly. Use the Mark/Review tool on any single-answer RC question where you have narrowed to two choices but cannot decide in under 90 seconds — a previously confusing stem often becomes obvious once you have answered three or four other questions and the passage's overall shape is clearer.