HESI A2 - Reading Comprehension 2023, 2024 Exam Questions and Answers

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Identifying the Main Idea

First identify the topic by asking "What is the passage about?" Once this question is answered, then ask "What point is the author making about this topic?" The majority of paragraphs will include information about the main idea. Stop and summaries, and visualize as you read.

HESI Hint: Main Ideas

Main ideas can be found in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a paragraph or passage. Always check the introduction and conclusion for the main idea.

Topic Sentence

A sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph. Can be stated in one or two sentences, and are often found at the beginning of paragraphs.

Identifying Supporting Details

These are details that the writer uses to give a description, a background, or simply more information to support the main idea. They may be examples, facts, or statistics. Often the author's main idea can be confused with the examples or reasons that support the main idea.

Hint: Identifying Supporting Details

Usually the reader can discover details by the authors use of transition words such as one, next, another, first, or finally, which indicate that a detail is being provided.

Finding the meaning of Words in Context

Identifying the correct meaning of a word or words may be the key to identifying the authors main idea. The reader should use context clues to identify the meaning of a word.

Context Clue

The information provided by the author in the words or sentences surrounding the unknown word or words.