9 original Central Ideas and Details questions, easiest first. The main idea of a passage, or a detail it actually states. Answer them all, then submit once to see every answer explained.
While employee loyalty to a company is often assumed to depend mainly on salary level, several studies have found that a manager's perceived fairness in resolving workplace conflicts predicts long-term retention far more strongly than salary alone does.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
C — Perceived managerial fairness in resolving conflicts predicts retention more strongly than salary alone.. The passage states managerial fairness 'predicts long-term retention far more strongly than' salary—the main idea is that fairness outweighs salary in determining retention, which is choice C.
A workplace study found that employees who received brief, specific recognition immediately after completing a project reported higher motivation on their next project than employees who received equally positive but vaguer recognition delivered weeks later.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A — Immediate, specific recognition was found to boost motivation more than delayed, vague recognition.. The passage directly states immediate, specific recognition led to higher subsequent motivation 'than employees who received equally positive but vaguer recognition delivered weeks later'—matching choice A; choice C contradicts this finding.
Traditional rammed-earth construction techniques compress layers of moistened soil within a formwork to create dense, load-bearing walls; this method not only uses locally available materials, reducing transportation costs, but also produces walls with excellent thermal mass, keeping interiors cool in hot climates without mechanical cooling.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
B — Rammed-earth construction offers practical advantages in material cost and passive temperature regulation.. The text lists multiple practical benefits (reduced transportation costs, passive cooling) of rammed-earth construction, which choice B accurately summarizes; the other choices are either contradicted or unsupported.
Elephants possess an unusually large hippocampus relative to body size, a brain region associated with memory formation. As a result, elephants can recall the locations of watering holes visited decades earlier and recognize individual elephants and humans they have not encountered in years.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
D — The elephant's enlarged hippocampus is linked to its remarkable long-term memory abilities.. The passage links the large hippocampus (memory-related brain region) to elephants' documented ability to recall distant locations and individuals over long periods—matching choice D directly.
Traditional cob construction techniques mix subsoil, straw, and water into a dense, moldable material shaped by hand into thick walls; this method not only requires minimal specialized equipment but also produces walls with excellent thermal mass, keeping interiors comfortable across seasonal temperature swings.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
D — Cob construction offers practical advantages in equipment needs and passive temperature regulation.. The text lists multiple practical benefits (minimal equipment, passive temperature regulation) of cob construction, which choice D accurately summarizes; the other choices are either contradicted or unsupported.
A study of hybrid work arrangements found that employees who chose their own in-office days reported similar levels of self-rated productivity to employees assigned fixed in-office days, but employees with choice reported significantly higher job satisfaction overall.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
C — Choosing one's own in-office days appears linked to greater job satisfaction but not necessarily higher productivity.. Since productivity was similar between groups but satisfaction differed, schedule choice is linked to one outcome (satisfaction) but not necessarily the other (productivity)—matching choice C, and directly showing choice A is false in this case.
Octopuses possess a decentralized nervous system, with roughly two-thirds of their neurons located not in the brain but distributed throughout their eight arms. As a result, each arm can process sensory information and initiate movement somewhat independently of the central brain, allowing an octopus to explore several different surfaces simultaneously.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A — The distribution of neurons throughout an octopus's arms allows for a degree of independent, simultaneous processing.. The passage describes neurons distributed in the arms enabling semi-independent processing and simultaneous exploration—matching choice A. Choice B overstates the claim (the octopus still has a brain).
Certain species of cuttlefish possess an unusually large concentration of specialized skin cells that respond directly to light, despite these cells being located far from the animal's actual eyes. As a result, cuttlefish may be able to sense changes in their surroundings' brightness and color even across parts of their body that cannot see in the conventional sense.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
B — The cuttlefish's light-responsive skin cells may allow it to sense surroundings beyond what its eyes alone detect.. The passage links the light-responsive skin cells to the possibility that cuttlefish sense brightness/color beyond their eyes' capability—matching choice B directly.
Ancient Polynesian navigators are often remembered primarily for their skill in reading stars, but historical accounts and modern experimental voyages reveal that they also relied heavily on interpreting wave patterns, cloud formations, and the flight paths of land-based birds to locate islands hundreds of miles away.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
B — In addition to reading stars, Polynesian navigators used a range of other environmental cues to navigate.. The passage states navigators are 'often remembered primarily' for star-reading, but evidence reveals they 'also relied heavily' on other cues—matching choice B's emphasis on this expanded skill set.
Score:
Every question above is now marked up: the correct answer is highlighted, any wrong option you picked is flagged, and each explanation is open.
No. Every question here is original, written to the College Board's published Digital SAT Reading & Writing specification for the Central Ideas and Details skill. No retired or copyrighted College Board material appears anywhere on this site.
Central Ideas and Details asks either for the main idea of a short passage or for a specific detail the passage states. Both are answered entirely from the text — nothing is inferred, nothing is brought in from outside — but the main-idea version requires the choice to cover the whole passage rather than one part of it.
For a main-idea question, summarise the passage in one sentence before looking at the choices, then eliminate any choice that is true of only one sentence. For a detail question, find the exact line the question points at and match against it word by word — the correct choice paraphrases it, but it never adds to it.
No, and deliberately so. This drill is 9 Central Ideas and Details questions back to back; a real Reading & Writing module is 27 questions in 32 minutes drawn from all eleven skills. Use a drill to fix one weakness, then take a full module to practice the real thing.
No. The SAT has no penalty for a wrong answer — a blank and a wrong guess both score zero — so answer every question, including the ones you have to guess.