Skip to content
NursePracticeTest.

HESI A2 · Reading Comprehension section

HESI A2 Reading Comprehension Practice Test: Main Ideas, Inferences and Words in Context

Practice set 1 has 20 HESI A2 reading comprehension questions on four short passages about everyday subjects, on an exam-style screen that shows each passage with its questions: the main idea, details, inferences, word meaning, the author's purpose, fact and opinion, and summaries. Check each answer to see the explanation and a note on every option. Schools publish the section's details (Tarrant County College lists 55 reading questions). These questions are free, with no sign-up.

Start practice set 1What the section covers

Practice sets

HESI A2 reading comprehension practice sets

Five sets of reading comprehension questions. Each opens on an exam-style test screen, one question at a time: answer, select Check answer, and see the correct answer, the explanation and a note on every option before you go on. Untimed, and your progress is saved in this browser.

Set 01Free

20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary; inferences and conclusions; words in context; purpose, tone, fact and opinionNot started
Start set
Set 02Free

20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary; inferences and conclusions; words in context; purpose, tone, fact and opinionNot started
Start set
Set 03Free

20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary; inferences and conclusions; words in context; purpose, tone, fact and opinionNot started
Start set
Set 04Free

20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary; inferences and conclusions; words in context; purpose, tone, fact and opinionNot started
Start set
Set 05Free

20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary; inferences and conclusions; words in context; purpose, tone, fact and opinionNot started
Start set

Set 1 spreads its 20 questions over seven topics; the topic cards below show how many fall in each group. The reading comprehension section of Practice Exam 1 suggests about 72 seconds a question; your school or testing site sets the real timing (Quincy College allows 60 minutes for its 55 reading items, and Texas State Technical College's library guide suggests 60 minutes for 50 items plus 5 pilot items). When the sets feel easy, take the full-length HESI A2 Practice Exam 1, with each section on its own clock.

Sample HESI A2 reading comprehension questionFrom practice set 1, with the answer and a note on every option

Mail Across the Inlet

For many years, the villages around the Selwick Inlet sent letters on whichever fishing boat happened to be traveling in the right direction. A letter might reach its destination that afternoon or spend several days in a shop drawer. People knew the boat owners personally, but knowing a carrier was different from knowing when a letter would leave.

In one spring, three shopkeepers agreed to establish a weekly packet route. A packet was a tied bundle of letters for one village. On Tuesday mornings, each shopkeeper placed outgoing letters in a wooden chest by the landing. A hired boat collected the bundles, visited the villages in a fixed order, and returned before evening. The shopkeepers shared the boat's cost through a small charge on each letter. Fishing boats continued to carry urgent messages when their trips were convenient.

The route changed some familiar habits. People who once waited until they happened to see a boat began bringing letters to the shops on Monday evenings. A carpenter could ask about timber before the next market day, and a daughter working inland could expect her family's news at roughly the same point each week. A notice beside each chest listed the collection day. It did not list an exact arrival hour, because wind and tides still affected the journey.

By autumn, two villages had appointed a person to collect the incoming packet and distribute its letters. This spared the boat crew from finding each recipient separately. The chests acquired scratches, and shopkeepers replaced the paper notices with painted boards. One board survives in the village meeting room. Its faded Tuesday lettering recalls a change that was modest in equipment but substantial in everyday planning: a familiar journey had acquired a dependable place in the week.

Which statement best expresses the passage’s main idea?

Answer: A regular mail route gave inlet residents a predictable schedule for exchanging letters.

The passage contrasts irregular carriage with a fixed weekly route and shows how residents planned around it. The boat schedule, collection notices, and changed habits all develop that idea.

Why each option is right or wrong

Fishing boats stopped carrying letters when the villages hired a boat for the weekly packet route.: This overlooks that fishing boats continued to carry urgent messages.

A regular mail route gave inlet residents a predictable schedule for exchanging letters.: Correct. The route’s effect on predictable communication connects the passage’s main details.

Village shopkeepers used painted collection boards to keep wooden mail chests from wearing out.: This turns a later detail about notices into the purpose of the entire route.

Wind and tides made a weekly route less useful than the earlier arrangement with fishing boats.: This reverses the passage’s emphasis on improved planning despite variable arrival hours.

The main idea, the details and the summary · Main idea

Content

What the HESI A2 reading comprehension section covers

Schools describe the A2 reading comprehension section on their own pages, and their lists of question types overlap closely. The practice sets here and the reading section of Practice Exam 1 ask the types below, in four groups.

Questions
50
In Practice Exam 1 here; several schools list 55
Suggested time
60 min
Your school or testing site sets the limit
Per question
72 s
At the suggested time
Calculator
None
In this section of the practice exam
Set 1 here: 8 of 20 questions

The main idea, the details and the summary

What the passage says, at three scales: the one statement that covers the whole passage, a single fact stated in one sentence, and a summary that keeps the main points in order and adds nothing. The wrong options are usually true of one paragraph only, or mix the passage's own words into a claim it never makes.

  • Main idea
  • Supporting details
  • Summarizing
Set 1 here: 3 of 20 questions

Inferences and conclusions

What the passage does not say outright but clearly supports: why a person in it acted as they did, what would follow from a change it describes, or which conclusion two of its facts lead to. In the sets here most of these questions begin with why; the right answer can be traced to particular lines, and the wrong ones go beyond them.

  • Inferences and conclusions
Set 1 here: 3 of 20 questions

Words in context

What a word means in the place where the passage uses it. In the sets here the question prints the word in bold and usually names the paragraph or quotes the phrase it sits in; it is often a word with more than one common meaning, and a few questions ask for its meaning in two different phrases.

  • Meaning of words in context
Set 1 here: 6 of 20 questions

Purpose, tone, fact and opinion

How the passage is written rather than what it reports: why the author includes a detail or ends where they do, what attitude the wording shows, and which statement can be checked and which is someone's judgment or preference. Most purpose questions in the sets here ask why a detail is there; questions on tone and attitude are in Practice Exam 1.

  • Author's purpose and tone
  • Fact and opinion

What schools say about the reading comprehension section

HESI A2 reading comprehension: published facts
SourceWhat its page says
Tarrant County CollegeReading comprehension is one of four sections of 55 questions, with vocabulary, grammar and math; anatomy and physiology has 30. Applicants take every section the college offers, and each program decides which it requires. The exam is computerized and multiple choice and lasts 5 hours. The page names Elsevier's review book, Admission Assessment Exam Review, as a study guide and says the college endorses no particular study materials.
Central New Mexico Community CollegeLists reading comprehension among its six sections, without a question count, and allows 4.5 hours for the whole exam. It hands out a calculator, pencils and paper and allows no outside materials, and applicants to its nursing program need 75% on every sub-test and a 75% composite.
Germanna Community College (Academic Center for Excellence)Its guide (updated January 2023) puts reading comprehension with vocabulary in an English part, 55 questions each. The reading skills it names: main ideas and the details under them, word meanings from context clues, fact versus opinion, a summary of part of a passage, and inferences. It also says students cannot skip a question or return to one already answered.
Texas State Technical College (Library Guides)Its HESI A2 study guide lists reading comprehension at 50 items plus 5 pilot items, with 60 minutes suggested. Its reading topics are the main idea, supporting details, words in context, the author's purpose, fact and opinion, drawing conclusions and making inferences, summarizing, and the author's tone.
Quincy College (Academic Division of Nursing)Its guide (updated December 2024) gives reading comprehension 55 items, 50 scored and 5 pilot, with 60 minutes allowed, and describes passages that test the main idea, the meaning of words in context, comprehension of the passage and logical inferences. It highly recommends Elsevier's review book, Admission Assessment Exam Review (6th edition).
Chamberlain UniversityIts HESI A2 page lists four required exams for its BSN applicants, reading comprehension (55 items) among them, with three hours for the whole exam, breaks included. It describes the reading exam as main ideas, word meaning in context, passage comprehension and logical inferences.
Community College of Rhode Island (Tutoring Center)Describes the section as passages with a group of questions on each, and explains each question type it expects with an example: main idea, supporting details, words in context, the writer's purpose and tone, fact and opinion, and logical inferences. Its tips cover knowing the question types, rereading passages and taking notes.
University of Nevada, Reno (University Writing & Speaking Center)Explains what to look for in the reading passages (the main idea, the author's tone and purpose, supporting details, words in context and inferences) and works through an example passage with questions.

Sources: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Texas State Technical College Library Guides, Study Guide: HESI A2; Quincy College Academic Division of Nursing, Preparing for the HESI A2 Admission Exam (PDF, updated December 2024); Chamberlain University, HESI Admission Assessment (A2) Exam; Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Reading; University of Nevada, Reno, University Writing & Speaking Center, HESI A2: Reading Comprehension

Question formats

How HESI A2 reading comprehension questions work

Each question here is right or wrong, with no partial credit. In Practice Exam 1 you can flag a question, see which are still blank and go back to any question in the section until you end it. Testing sites differ here: Germanna Community College's guide says its students cannot skip a question or go back to one they have already answered.

Reading Comprehension question formats
FormatHow you answerIn set 1 here
Multiple choiceChoose the one correct option of four20 of 20

Every question in set 1 here is multiple choice with four options. The questions come in groups, one group to a passage (set 1 has four passages); the Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center also describes passages with several questions each, and Tarrant County College describes its HESI A2 as a computerized multiple-choice exam. A word-in-context question prints its word in bold, and Practice Exam 1 also includes select-all questions.

Notes on paper: check your testing site's rules

Central New Mexico Community College hands out pencils and paper with its calculator and allows no outside materials, and the Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center suggests trying notes as you read. Rules differ between testing sites, so check yours. The practice sets here keep each passage on screen with its questions, so you can go back to any line while you answer.

Sources: Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Reading; Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023)

Method

How to prepare for HESI A2 reading comprehension

What to study first and how to pace the section, for reading comprehension in particular.

  1. 01Learn the question types before the passagesThe Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center puts understanding each type of question first in its advice. Learn what each type asks and where its answer comes from, using the table further down this page, so that each question tells you what to look for before you go back to the passage.
  2. 02Read the whole passage, then say its pointRead the passage through before its questions, noting in a few words what each paragraph adds; CCRI's tutoring center suggests reading a passage more than once before you answer. Then put the whole passage's point into one sentence of your own. When the main idea or the tone is unclear, the University of Nevada, Reno's writing center suggests jotting a short summary of the main points.
  3. 03Go back to the lines for every detailA detail question has its answer stated in the passage, though usually in other words. Find the sentence before you choose; a wrong option often reuses the passage's own words in a combination the passage never makes, or takes a detail from the wrong paragraph.
  4. 04Make every inference point to the textAn inference is not stated, but the passage has to support it: you should be able to point to the lines that lead to it. Rule out an option that leans on what you know about the world rather than on what the passage says, one that contradicts a detail, and one that overreaches with a word such as always or never.
  5. 05Fit a word's meaning to its sentenceThe words asked about often have several meanings, as the University of Nevada, Reno's writing center notes. Read the sentence and the ones beside it, decide what the word must mean there, then try each option in its place: in set 1, circuit means a walking route around a weather station's grounds, not an electrical path.
  6. 06Sort what can be checked from what someone thinksA fact can be checked: counted, measured, observed or recorded. An opinion is a judgment, a feeling or a preference, often carried by words such as pleasing, cheerful, best or should. A preference stays an opinion when the passage reports whose it is: in set 1, the line saying one observer enjoys the quiet first walk around the grounds reports a preference, not a procedure.
  7. 07Give each reading question about 72 secondsPractice Exam 1 here suggests 60 minutes for 50 reading questions, passage time included; the schools that publish a reading time give about 65 seconds an item. Give each passage a full first reading, then answer its questions from the lines they point to. Some testing sites do not let you return to an answered question (Germanna Community College's guide says so), so settle each answer before you move on.
HESI A2 vocabulary practice test, for the word meanings reading passages take for grantedApplying to TEAS schools too? TEAS reading practice test, with directions, notices and a table among its passages

Question types

HESI A2 reading comprehension question types, and how to answer each

Written for this page from the question types schools list for the section: how each is usually worded, where its answer comes from and the wrong options to rule out. Tone questions are in Practice Exam 1; every other type is in the practice sets here.

HESI A2 reading question types
Question typeHow it is asked and how to answerWrong options to rule out
Main idea"What is the passage mainly about?", or a request for the statement that sums up the whole passage. Before reading the options, say in one sentence what the passage says about its subject; the right option covers every paragraph, not just the firstA true detail from one paragraph; a statement broader than the passage; one that names the subject but not the point the author makes about it
Supporting details"According to the passage..." or a question about one fact, such as how something was paid for or why a step is done. The answer is stated: find the sentence, then pick the option that says the same thing in other wordsThe passage's own words rearranged into a claim it does not make; a detail from another paragraph; something likely but not stated
Words in context"What does [word] mean in the second paragraph?" Read the sentence and the ones around it, decide what the word must mean there, then put each option in its place and keep the one that leaves the meaning unchangedThe word's most familiar meaning when the passage uses another; an option that fits the grammar of the sentence but not its sense
Inferences and conclusions"Why did...?", "What can be inferred...?" or "Which conclusion...?" The answer is not stated, but facts the passage does state lead to it, and you should be able to point to themLeans on general knowledge the passage does not give; overreaches (always, never, all); contradicts a stated detail
Author's purpose"Why does the author mention...?" or "Why did the author write the passage?" For a whole passage, decide whether it mainly informs, persuades or entertains; for one detail, ask what job it does for the point around it: an example, a contrast, a cause or a resultAn option that describes the detail correctly but not why it is there; a purpose stronger than the text, such as arguing or criticizing, for a passage that only informs
Author's tone"Which word best describes the author's tone?" or "What attitude does the passage show toward...?" Judge from the wording: words with a positive or negative feeling, or a plain report of facts, which reads as neutral or objectiveA tone word far stronger than the language (outraged, ecstatic); one person's feeling in the passage given as the author's attitude to the whole subject
Fact and opinion"Which statement is an opinion?" or "Which statement reports an observation rather than a judgment?" A fact can be checked: counted, measured, observed or recorded. An opinion is a judgment, a feeling or a preferenceA factual statement that sounds strong or detailed (still a fact); an opinion reported as someone's view (still an opinion); a judgment word such as best, pleasing or should inside a long sentence
Summarizing"Which summary best...?" The right summary keeps the main points of the passage, or of the part the question names, in their order, and adds nothingA summary with one wrong detail; one that covers only part of the passage; one that keeps a minor detail and drops a main point; one that adds an opinion the passage does not give

FAQ

HESI A2 reading comprehension: questions people ask

How many questions are on the HESI A2 reading comprehension section?
It depends on the school. Tarrant County College, Germanna Community College and Chamberlain University list 55 reading questions; Quincy College counts 55 items, 50 scored and 5 pilot, in 60 minutes; and Texas State Technical College's library guide lists 50 items plus 5 pilot items, with 60 minutes suggested. Practice Exam 1 here gives reading 50 questions and 60 minutes, 72 seconds each with passage time.
What is on the HESI A2 reading comprehension section?
Passages, each followed by its own questions. The Community College of Rhode Island's tutoring center lists the question types: finding the main idea and the details behind it, working out a word from context, the writer's purpose and tone, telling fact from opinion, and logical inference. Texas State Technical College's guide lists the same types plus summarizing, and Germanna Community College's guide names all but purpose and tone and adds summarizing. The passages in the sets here are on everyday subjects, such as a village mail route and a weather station's morning; CCRI's own example questions use health subjects such as hand hygiene.
How do you pass the HESI A2 reading comprehension section?
Find your program's number first, because each program sets its own: Central New Mexico Community College wants 75% on every sub-test. Then practice the way the section works. Learn the question types, read each passage whole before its questions, and answer every question from lines you can point to rather than from memory or outside knowledge. After each practice set, go through the option notes for every miss and name the kind of mistake, such as a detail from the wrong paragraph or an inference that went too far; then take the timed reading section of a full practice exam.
Is the HESI A2 reading comprehension section hard?
The passages in the sets here are not technical, but the section asks for close reading at speed. The wrong options are built to look right at a glance: they borrow the passage's words, describe one paragraph instead of the whole, or say a little more than the text supports. Time adds pressure too: at the schools that publish a reading-section time, it comes to a little over a minute a question with the reading included. Practicing on whole passages against a clock makes both familiar.
What is a 70% on the HESI A2 reading section?
Whether it is enough depends on the program, since each program sets its own minimum. At Central New Mexico Community College, which asks for 75% on each sub-test, a 70% in reading comprehension is below the bar for that sub-test, and a high composite does not make up for it. Look up your program's figure on its admissions page; scoring is covered on the HESI A2 practice test page.
Do all schools require HESI A2 reading comprehension?
Every school on this page that lists its sections includes it, which is not true of chemistry or biology. Tarrant County College has applicants take reading comprehension with its other four sections, though each program chooses which scores it requires; Chamberlain University's four required exams include it; and Central New Mexico Community College, Germanna Community College, Texas State Technical College and Quincy College all list it. Still, check your own program's list; Practice Exam 1 here lets you take reading comprehension on its own.
Is HESI A2 reading comprehension like TEAS reading?
The skills overlap more than the format. The TEAS Reading section has 45 questions in 55 minutes, 39 of them scored, in three areas: key ideas and details; craft and structure; and integration of knowledge and ideas. On the HESI A2, schools that give a count list 55 reading items, all on passages. Practice on the main idea, inferences, word meaning and fact and opinion carries over; the TEAS reading practice test page covers the TEAS side.
Is there a free HESI A2 reading comprehension practice test?
Practice set 1 is free, with no sign-up. HESI A2 Practice Exam 1 is free too: tick only reading comprehension on its start screen to take that section of 50 questions by itself, with 60 minutes suggested. For a book, Quincy College's guide highly recommends Elsevier's Admission Assessment Exam Review (6th edition), which it says covers every area of the A2.
Are these real HESI A2 reading comprehension passages?
No. The passages and questions here are original practice material, built to the question types schools list for the section; none is taken from an Elsevier exam or book, and NursePracticeTest is independent of Elsevier. Set 1 has 20 questions on four passages, each question with an explanation and a note on every option.

Keep practicing

Next practice exercise

HESI A2 Vocabulary, practice set 1: 20 questions on the same screen. Take the sections your school requires first, then come back to the one you find hardest.

Next practice exercise

Other HESI A2 sections

Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Elsevier. HESI® is a trademark of Elsevier and is used here only to name the exam. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC (ATI). ATI TEAS® and TEAS® are trademarks of ATI and are used here only to name the exam.

Pages this page relies on: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Texas State Technical College Library Guides, Study Guide: HESI A2; Quincy College Academic Division of Nursing, Preparing for the HESI A2 Admission Exam (PDF, updated December 2024); Chamberlain University, HESI Admission Assessment (A2) Exam; Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Reading; University of Nevada, Reno, University Writing & Speaking Center, HESI A2: Reading Comprehension; Western Technical College Library, Nursing: TEAS Prep Guide

Checked against the schools' pages and last reviewed November 4, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.