The Headline List and The Skeletal Sketch

[M.Y]

Hello Instructors,

I do not know what's the difference between The Headline List for short passage and The Skeletal Sketch for long passage.

Is the difference that I should more focus on 1st paragraph in the skeletal sketch than the headline list?

For both, I think I take notes about main idea of each paragraph or summarize, so there is no difference, except how long I can use time to solve problems in the passage, right?

Best regards,
M.Y

[StaceyKoprince]

Honestly - don't worry about it too much. We're going to take that distinction out in the next version of our book because it's really not very different!

Here's what you do: when you start to read *any* passage, pay more attention and read more carefully at first. As you start to understand the topic and context and as you get a sense of the main idea, start to speed up. When examples or details pop up, make a quick note that this example or detail exists in this paragraph, but don't learn all about it. Save that for IF you get a question about that detail.

On the first read-through, look for two things:
(1) the overall purpose / main idea of the passage
(2) contrasts, changes of direction, conflict, or differences of opinion

You'll spend a bit longer reading a longer passage, of course. The amount of time you spend to answer the questions should be similar - about 1 minute for general and 1.5 to 2 for specific / inference.