Too Narrow, Too Broad, Just Right

Picture the text's actual claim as one circle, drawn from its first and last few sentences, where writers usually put the point. Now size up each answer choice against that circle. A choice can be a small circle sitting entirely inside the text's circle: true, but it only covers one sentence or one piece of evidence, not the whole passage. That is too narrow. A choice can be a large circle that swallows the text's circle and spills past it: it uses bigger, vaguer words than the text earns. That is too broad. The correct choice is the circle that lines up edge to edge with the text.

Test an over-broad choice by asking which of its words the text never actually backs up. If a passage studies one experiment on one bird species and the choice says 'birds navigate by starlight,' ask: does the text say anything about birds in general, or about starlight? It studied reed warblers and a magnetic field. The word 'birds' and the word 'starlight' are both unsupported, so the circle is too big even though it sounds like a reasonable summary of bird navigation research broadly. Mentioning every detail from the text is not the same error in reverse: a choice that lists the experiment, the sample size, and the conclusion can still miss the point if it never says what those details add up to.

This sizing skill sits right next to finding the central idea itself, since you cannot judge a choice's size without first knowing the circle you are measuring it against. It also feeds straight into evidence questions, where the right supporting detail has to fit inside that same circle, neither wandering off topic nor shrinking to a single word.