Information and Ideas · ~26% of Reading & Writing
nearly 75 free practice questions, every answer explained.
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.
Choosing a memorable detail as the main idea. The most vivid sentence in a passage is usually an example, not the point. If a choice is supported by one sentence but contradicted or unmentioned by the rest, it is a detail masquerading as the central idea.
Volunteer-run seed libraries, which lend out seeds the way traditional libraries lend books, help preserve genetic diversity among regional plant varieties that commercial seed companies often no longer stock, a benefit frequently cited by advocates seeking municipal support for new seed library branches.
According to the text, why do advocates cite this genetic-diversity benefit?
Answer: A. The text states this benefit is 'frequently cited by advocates seeking municipal support for new seed library branches'—directly supporting choice A.
nearly 75 questions across 8 drills. Each drill is answered as a set — you see every explanation at once, at the end.
9 Central Ideas and Details questions, easiest first, every answer explained.
Start drill 1 → Drill 29 Central Ideas and Details questions, easiest first, every answer explained.
Start drill 2 → Drill 39 Central Ideas and Details questions, easiest first, every answer explained.
Start drill 3 →Drills 4–8 continue from the end of drill 3 — each drill links to the next.
Reading comprehension proper: main ideas, stated details, evidence that supports or weakens a claim, and conclusions the text forces.
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.
Central Ideas and Details sits in the Information and Ideas domain, which is ~26% of the Reading & Writing section — roughly 12–14 of its 54 questions. The College Board publishes weights by domain, not by individual skill, so an exact per-skill count is not something anyone can promise you.
No. Every question is original, written to the College Board's published Digital SAT Reading & Writing specification. No retired or copyrighted College Board material appears anywhere on this site.
nearly 75 questions across 8 drills, all free, no account needed, every answer explained.