OAR Reading Comprehension: Inference Without a Second Look

What's published, and what isn't

Source: NMOTC ASTB-E pages. The three OAR subtests together take about 1–2 hours in APEX. Our length and clock are our own choices.

Scoring and what's at stake

Reading counts toward the OAR (20–80, in one-point steps), which predicts academic performance at Navy OCS. The formula is proprietary and compensatory, so strong reading can offset weaker math or mechanical work. Our OAR figures are estimates.

Answer too few and a penalty may apply; guess randomly near the end and you'll usually do worse. And since your latest attempt replaces all earlier scores, a retest (after 30 full calendar days, three attempts in total) is a real decision, not a free try.

What it tests

Inference, strictly limited to the text: what the author's sentences force to be true, as opposed to what is plausible, likely or true in the real world.

The technique: the must-be-true test

For each option, ask: if every sentence in the passage is true, must this be true too? Not probably, not usually: must. One option passes; the rest add a cause, stretch an example into a rule, or go a step past the text.

Two worked examples

Passage A. Tides are driven mainly by the Moon's gravity, with a smaller pull from the Sun. When the Sun, Moon and Earth line up, at new and full moon, their effects combine and the range between high and low water is largest; these are spring tides. When the Sun and Moon pull at right angles, near the quarter moons, the range is smallest.

Which can be inferred? A. Spring tides happen only in spring. B. The tidal range is larger at full moon than at a quarter moon. C. The Sun has no effect on tides. D. High tide always comes at noon. E. Tides are caused mainly by wind.

Answer: B. Full moon is a line-up, the largest range; a quarter moon is a right angle, the smallest. A is a name trap, C contradicts the Sun's smaller pull, and D and E bring in claims the passage never makes.

Passage B. Lighthouses once showed steady white lights that sailors could mistake for lights on shore. Many were later given a characteristic: a timed pattern of flashes, such as two flashes every ten seconds, printed on nautical charts. A navigator who times the flashes and checks the chart can tell which lighthouse is in view.

Which can be inferred? A. Every lighthouse flashes twice every ten seconds. B. Steady lights are no longer used anywhere. C. Lighthouses are brighter today than they were. D. A lighthouse's flash pattern helps identify it. E. Charts list every light on shore.

Answer: D, forced by the last sentence. A turns one example into a rule, and B stretches many into all. C and E add facts the passage never states.

Traps

• Plausible isn't proven. An option that's likely in real life fails unless the text forces it.
• The name trap. A term means what the passage says it means; spring tides have nothing to do with spring.
• The example as a rule. Two flashes every ten seconds was one example, not every case.
• Second-guessing after you click. There's no going back, so run the must-be-true test before you answer, not after.

Pacing without a published clock

The time limit isn't published, so pace by routine: one read for the point, then the must-be-true test on each option, going to the sentence each option is about rather than re-reading everything. In our timed set, 27 questions in 25 minutes is just under a minute each.

Practice it here

Our RCT practice doesn't adapt to you: sets are fixed-length, and the timing is ours. Start in practice mode, where each explanation points to the deciding sentence, then the timed set. Our timed sets let you go back; APEX won't, so answer each question as final. Passages are original. Taking the Army's SIFT too? Its reading test is fixed-length with a published clock; see SIFT Reading Comprehension.

How to answer an OAR inference question

1. Read the passage once for its point; you want what can be inferred, not what is true in general.
2. Test each option: if every sentence in the passage is true, must this be true?
3. Strike options that add a cause, a number or a scope the passage doesn't give.
4. Check key terms against the passage's own definitions, not everyday meanings.
5. Choose the one option that must be true, then answer; you can't return to it.

FAQ