A Tip for Reference and Paraphrased Sentence Questions

SENTENCES that ask you to identify a reference or the best paraphrase for a sentence are testing a similar skill. In both cases, you need to show that you understand what a particular sentence means.

The following strategy will help you pick the correct answer.


First, eliminate any answers that you know are incorrect. Take the remaining choices and place them one at a time into the sentence or paragraph. Does the answer make sense in the context of the sentence or paragraph? If it does not, it is not the correct answer.


For example, notice how this works with the following reference question:

The word they in paragraph 3 refers to:
a. people suffering from bipolar disorder.
b. symptoms of bipolar disorder.
c. family members of people with bipolar disorder.
d. people who have occasional mood swings.

Here's the sentence in which they is used:

They are often greatly relieved to learn that they suffer from a treatable medical condition.

It's clear that 'they' refers to people, not symptoms, so we can immediately rule out answer b. Now, we can begin the process of elimination by replacing 'they' with each of the remaining answers:

a. People who suffer from bipolar disorder are often greatly relieved to learn that they suffer from a treatable medical condition.
c. Family members of people with bipolar disorder are often greatly relieved to learn that they suffer from a treatable medical condition.
d. People who have occasional mood swings are often greatly relieved to learn that they suffer from a treatable medical condition.

This process makes it clear that a is the correct answer.