TSI Reading Exam | Actual Questions and Answers Latest
Updated 2026/2027 (Graded A+)
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main idea
- ✔✔the author's central thought; what an author wants to say about a topic
•
topic
- ✔✔overall subject of a text
•
compare (verb)
- ✔✔to find similarities
•
contrast (verb)
- ✔✔to find differences
•
context clue
- ✔✔a word, phrase, or sentence in the text around an unfamiliar word that helps you
identify the word's meaning
•
text evidence
- ✔✔evidence from the reading selection that proves the answer to a question about the text
•
author's purpose
- ✔✔the author's intent either to inform, to entertain, or to persuade
•
inference
- ✔✔a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
•
simile
- ✔✔a direct comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"
•
supporting details
- ✔✔facts or details that help develop and support the main idea
•
author's argument
, - ✔✔the position/stance the author puts forward, supported by reasons or assumptions
•
analogous (adj.)
- ✔✔comparable to; like
•
metaphor
- ✔✔a direct comparison that is literally false; does not use "like" or "as"
•
personification
- ✔✔the treatment of something inanimate as if it were alive; giving human qualities to
something or someone non-human
•
hyperbole
- ✔✔deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
•
exaggeration
- ✔✔a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is;
overstatement
•
irony
- ✔✔the use of words to express the opposite of their literal meaning
•
paradox
- ✔✔a seeming contradiction; seems untrue at first, but upon reflection, can be true
•
primary (adj.)
- ✔✔most important
•
author's attitude
- ✔✔how the author feels about their topic
•
mood
- ✔✔how the reader feels about the text while reading
•
author's tone
- ✔✔the author's attitude toward their topic
Updated 2026/2027 (Graded A+)
•
main idea
- ✔✔the author's central thought; what an author wants to say about a topic
•
topic
- ✔✔overall subject of a text
•
compare (verb)
- ✔✔to find similarities
•
contrast (verb)
- ✔✔to find differences
•
context clue
- ✔✔a word, phrase, or sentence in the text around an unfamiliar word that helps you
identify the word's meaning
•
text evidence
- ✔✔evidence from the reading selection that proves the answer to a question about the text
•
author's purpose
- ✔✔the author's intent either to inform, to entertain, or to persuade
•
inference
- ✔✔a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
•
simile
- ✔✔a direct comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"
•
supporting details
- ✔✔facts or details that help develop and support the main idea
•
author's argument
, - ✔✔the position/stance the author puts forward, supported by reasons or assumptions
•
analogous (adj.)
- ✔✔comparable to; like
•
metaphor
- ✔✔a direct comparison that is literally false; does not use "like" or "as"
•
personification
- ✔✔the treatment of something inanimate as if it were alive; giving human qualities to
something or someone non-human
•
hyperbole
- ✔✔deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
•
exaggeration
- ✔✔a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is;
overstatement
•
irony
- ✔✔the use of words to express the opposite of their literal meaning
•
paradox
- ✔✔a seeming contradiction; seems untrue at first, but upon reflection, can be true
•
primary (adj.)
- ✔✔most important
•
author's attitude
- ✔✔how the author feels about their topic
•
mood
- ✔✔how the reader feels about the text while reading
•
author's tone
- ✔✔the author's attitude toward their topic
