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Relationship of ideas | Quick guide

How do these ideas relate to one another?

Relationship of Ideas questions ask you to spot the relationships between ideas in a passage or a pair of passages.
Examples
  • "Which best describes the relationship between Passage 1 and Passage 2?"
  • "Which of the following best describes the relationship between the two paragraphs in the passage?"

Strategies

  • Lose the details. The specifics don't matter much in these questions, so try describing the ideas in broad terms. Do the ideas contradict? Does one passage expand on the other passage? Predict the relationship in your own words.
  • Use process of elimination to get rid of choices that don't match the relationship you identified.

Common wrong choices

Wrong choices will sometimes describe the relationship convincingly, but flip the roles played by the passages (e.g., say that Passage 1 does something that Passage 2 actually does). Be sure to double check the passages and make sure you know which one is serving which purpose.

Your turn!

Practice these strategies with the example below!
Example
Despite the prevalence of digital books, some researchers have advocated for the continued use of print books over e-readers. Some studies link late-night reading on screens to overall poor health, including lack of sleep and disturbance of circadian rhythms. Other studies have suggested that the human brain may not retain information from a digital screen as well as information read on paper.
But digital books have some major advantages over print books: ease of acquisition and portability. Isn't access to books more important than the medium in which people read? Furthermore, the portability of digital books makes it easier to snatch extra moments of reading throughout the day. The average person wouldn't lug a physical book with them on an errand, but with e-books, it is possible to immerse oneself in Tolstoy while in line at the grocery store.
Which choice best describes the relationship between the two paragraphs in the passage?
Choose 1 answer:

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