Passing the Police Officer Exam: Fact identification questions

This type of question will ask you to identify a specific piece of information that was discussed in the passage or identify an option that clarifies a specific piece of information.  These questions are typically easier to answer than the other reading comprehension questions on the exam as the information you are looking for may not be stated word-for-word, but it will always be stated somewhere in the passage.  However, with this in mind, it is important to note that the potential answers for these questions are designed to trick you.  This means that you will have to avoid a few tricks in order to answer each question correctly.
 
Wording of each option
First, if a question asks you to identify a specific fact from the passage, you should pay close attention to the wording of each option.  An option may identify a fact that appears to be similar to the information included in the passage, but the wording of the option changes the meaning.  
 
Example
A passage states: 'Police officers are required to apprehend criminals whenever possible.' 
 
Option states: 'Police officers are required to apprehend criminals when it is reasonably safe to do so.'
 
These two phrases may sound similar, but the meaning of each phrase is slightly different.  The first phrase makes it clear that a police officer is required to apprehend criminals whenever possible, while the second phrase makes it clear that a police officer is required to apprehend criminals when it is safe to do so.  As a result, the option in this example does not mean the same thing as the information stated in the passage, so the option is incorrect.  With this information in mind, it is important to note that this type of option may be associated with any of the reading comprehension questions on the exam, but these options are especially common for the fact identification questions.  
 
Double-check
Always double-check your answer in the passage before you mark your answer on the answer sheet.  The fact identification questions are design to trick you, and the options for these questions may use a couple of tricks that you won't see used in any of the other questions.  Use the passage to double-check you answer; remember you will always be able to find the answer to the fact identification questions stated somewhere in the passage.
 
Combining information
Some of the options for these questions may combine the information from two separate phrases into one phrase.  This make the option looks familiar, but the information included in the option may have a different meaning.  In other words, some of the options will combine the facts from two sentences together so that the new sentence looks familiar, but means something different from what the original passage stated.  
 
Example
Passage states: 'Police officers are expected to follow orders at all times.  However, a police officer may refuse to carry out his or her orders in any situation in which carrying out those orders would result in serious injury or loss of life.  A police officer may also refuse to carry out his or her orders if carrying out those orders would result in the damage, or theft, of a piece of property as long as the police officer is not currently involved in an emergency situation.'  

An option states: 'A police officer may refuse to carry out his or her orders if carrying out those orders would result in serious injury or loss of life as long as the officer is not currently involved in an emergency situation.'  
 
The information in this option looks familiar because it was all stated in the original passage in a very similar way.  However, this option is incorrect because the passage states that a police officer can refuse to carry out an order in any situation in which there would be serious injury or loss of life, but the option states that the officer can refuse to carry out an order if there would be serious injury or loss of life as long as the officer is not currently involved in an emergency situation.  The option in this example has combined two separate phrases to create a sentence that doesn't state the same thing as the original passage so it is incorrect.
However, with this in mind, it is important to remember that some of the options that combine two sentences may actually be correct.  An option that combines two sentences into one sentence may state the same information as the passage, but the information may be stated in a different way.  
 
Example
The passage from the example above states:'Police officers are expected to follow orders at all times.  However, a police officer may refuse to carry out his or her orders in any situation in which carrying out those orders would result in serious injury or loss of life.  A police officer may also refuse to carry out his or her orders if carrying out those orders would result in the damage, or theft, of a piece of property as long as the police officer is not currently involved in an emergency situation.'  

An option states:'A police officer may refuse to carry out his or her orders if carrying out those orders would result in the damage, or theft, of a piece of property as long as the police officer is not currently involved in an emergency situation or in any situation in which carrying out those orders would result in serious injury or loss of life.'  
 
This option is actually correct even though the information is from two separate sentences because it provides the same facts that the passage describes.
 
Extra information
Some of the options will appear to be accurate, but the information that the option is describing is not included in the passage.  Remember you are being tested on your understanding of the material in the passage - not on what you know about the topic.  If you see an option that describes something that wasn't covered in the passage, it is safe to assume that the option is incorrect.  Some of these questions may have options that seem to be related to the topic, but contain information was not covered in the passage.  In this case, the option is incorrect because the information that you need in order to choose the correct answer will always be discussed somewhere in the passage.