TACHS: Details in a notice: match the rule to the exact question
Learn to find one specific rule in a notice full of times, places and requirements, and to read the small words like must, may, only and but that decide who a rule covers and what it allows.
A notice lists many places, times and rules. How do you find the one that answers the question?
Short answer
Pick out the action and the person in the question, find the sentence about that exact action, and read the sentence after it. Watch must, may, only and but, because a permission and a requirement often sit side by side.
Know first: Scanning a passage for key words, The difference between may and must
Step 1 of 5
A notice is full of real details attached to the wrong question
Some TACHS Reading passages are practical: a notice, a set of rules, a schedule. Detail questions ask what the text says about one specific thing. The answer is usually in a single sentence.
The trouble is that a notice holds many places and times. Wrong answers are often real details from the same notice, attached to the wrong rule. You need the sentence about exactly what was asked.
| Word | What it signals | Example |
|---|---|---|
| may | Permission: you are allowed | You may bring a snack. |
| must | Requirement: you have to | Snacks must stay in your bag. |
| only | The rule covers one group or case | only students on the list |
| but | The real rule often comes right after | may browse, but must pay at the desk |
| will not change | Something stays as it was | The start time will not change. |
When may and must appear together, read both parts and check which one the question asks about.
Step 2 of 5
Separate the permission from the requirement
Book fair notice
The spring book fair runs Monday through Thursday in the gym1. Students may browse during lunch2, but all purchases must be made at the library desk3. Bring cash or a check; the fair cannot accept cards. Classes will visit together with their teachers on Tuesday afternoon4.
- Where the fair is held. A tempting wrong place.
- Permission, and a time, not a place.
- The requirement about paying.
- A separate detail about class visits.
Worked example: Where to pay
According to the book fair notice, where must students pay for books?
- AIn the gym
- BAt the library desk
- CIn the lunchroom
- DIn their classrooms on Tuesday
- 1
Key words
Where and pay.
- 2
Find the sentence
All purchases must be made at the library desk.
- 3
Notice the but
Browsing is allowed in one place. Paying happens in another.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A is where the fair is held, so it's the most tempting. C comes from during lunch, which is a time. D mixes in the class visit, a separate detail.
Answer
At the library desk.
Wrong: Students may browse during lunch, so they pay in the gym at lunch.
Right: Students may browse during lunch, but they must pay at the library desk.
The permission and the requirement are joined by but. The question about paying is answered by the part after it.
Step 3 of 5
Find the rule for the person in the question
Read this notice
The science fair will be held in the gym on Thursday, March 12. Students may set up their boards from 7:30 to 8:15 that morning, but all electrical projects must be checked in Room 104 before setup. Judges will visit tables from 9:00 to 11:00. Only students in grades 7 and 8 will be judged; younger students may display projects without judging. If the gym floor is being repaired, the fair will move to the library, and the times will not change.
Check yourself · Question 1
Where must students take electrical projects before setting them up?
Answer: D
The sentence with must says electrical projects must be checked in Room 104 before setup.
Trap answer: To the gym
Right notice, wrong rule
- Why it looks right
- The gym is the main place in the notice, and setup happens there.
- Why it's wrong
- The question asks where projects go before setup. The but in the second sentence sends electrical projects somewhere else first.
- The right answer
- To Room 104.
Check yourself · Question 2
Jada is in sixth grade and has finished a project. According to the notice, what can she do?
Answer: A
Only limits judging to grades 7 and 8. The same sentence then says younger students may display projects without judging.
Common mistake
I chose the first place the notice mentioned.
- Why it's tempting
- The main location is in the first sentence, so it feels like the answer to any where question.
- Do this instead
- Match the place to the action in the question. Find the sentence about that action, and read past any but.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Find the sentence about the exact action in the question, then read the next sentence too.
- May gives permission and must sets a requirement; the rule after but is often the answer.
- Check who a rule covers: only limits it to one group, and everyone else follows the regular rule.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, which sentence of the notice answers it, and which wrong choice is a real detail from a different rule?