How to follow multi-step written directions
TEAS 7 outline: Understand and follow written directions
- Read the question first so you know what result you need.
- Do the steps in order, one at a time, and number them.
- Before and after can make the real order differ from the listed order.
- Check each if or unless condition against the current situation, not the start.
- Write the result after every step instead of keeping it in your head.
Key facts
- Read the question first so you know what the final result should be: a word, a number, an action, or a time.
- Sequence words such as first, next, then, and finally set the order; before and after can make the order of doing differ from the order of mention.
- A conditional step (if, unless, only if) applies only when its condition is true at that moment.
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- Check every condition against the current word, number, or situation, not the starting one.
- Write the result after every step instead of holding it in your head.
- Instructions often give the general steps first and conditions or exceptions later, so read the whole set before acting.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
Study Room Check-In: Harmon Health Sciences Library
Students may reserve a second-floor study room for up to two hours at a time. Each room is checked in at the door using the room's tablet. Please read all of these directions before you begin.
When you arrive, find the tablet mounted beside the door of the room you reserved. Tap Check In, and then scan your student ID card on the reader below the screen. Before you tap Check In, however, compare the name shown on the screen with the name on your reservation. If the names do not match, you are at the wrong room, so do not check in.
After you scan your card, wait for the light above the tablet. A green light means the room is ready for you. If the light turns red, do not scan your card again. Instead, take your ID card to the front desk on the first floor.
Check-in opens 5 minutes before your reserved start time. If no one has checked in within 15 minutes after the start time, the reservation is canceled and the room becomes available to anyone.
When you are finished, erase the whiteboard and take all of your belongings. Then tap End Session so the next student can use the room.
According to the directions, when is a study room reservation canceled?
Correct answer: C.
Directions often put special conditions, such as deadlines, after the main steps, so read the whole set before you act. The late-arrival paragraph says a reservation is canceled if no one checks in within 15 minutes after the start time. The other numbers in the passage belong to different rules: check-in opens 5 minutes early, and the maximum booking is two hours.
A This misreads the 5-minute rule: check-in opens 5 minutes before the start time, but checking in early is not required.
B A red light sends the student to the front desk; the directions do not say the reservation is canceled.
C Correct: the directions say the reservation is canceled if no one checks in within 15 minutes after the start time.
D Two hours is the longest reservation allowed, not a reason a reservation is canceled.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: To follow written directions, read the question first, then work through the steps in order, one at a time. Number the steps yourself, watch timing words like before and after, and decide whether each if or unless condition is true at that moment. Write the result after every step instead of keeping it in your head.
1 What does a directions question test?A directions question tests whether you do exactly what each step says, in the right order. 1 min
A directions question tests whether you do exactly what each step says, in the right order. The TEAS 7 outline lists comprehension of written directions as its own reading objective. Practice with both of these forms.
| Form | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Real-world procedure | A notice, form, or set of instructions; you decide what someone should do next |
| Step puzzle | You start with a word or number and change it step by step |
2 How do you follow multi-step directions without slipping?You follow directions safely by tracking one step at a time on paper. 1 min
You follow directions safely by tracking one step at a time on paper. Use these five steps.
- Read the question first so you know what the final answer should be: a word, an action, or a time.
- Number the steps yourself when the directions are written as a paragraph.
- Mark every condition. Words like if, unless, only, and except mean a step applies only sometimes, so decide whether the condition is true right now.
- Write the result after every step. Never hold a changing word or number in your head.
- Check the end state against the question before you choose.
3 Which words change the order or the rules?Signal words decide both the order of the steps and whether a step applies at all. 1 min
Signal words decide both the order of the steps and whether a step applies at all. Circle them before you start.
| Word type | Examples | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | first, next, then, afterward, finally | The plain order of steps |
| Timing | before, after, until, once | "Before you tap Start, close the lid" means close the lid first |
| Condition | if, unless, only if, when | A step you skip when the condition is false |
| Exception | except, but not, however | A rule with a carve-out |
The order of mention is not always the order of doing. Plain-language guides tell writers to put general steps first and conditions or exceptions later, so read the whole set before you act.
4 What does a worked step puzzle look like?The safest way to solve a step puzzle is to rewrite the word after every step. 1 min
The safest way to solve a step puzzle is to rewrite the word after every step. Try this one.
Start with the word CARE.
- Add the letter S to the beginning.
- Change the C to a P.
- If the word now ends in E, remove the E.
- If the word has exactly five letters, add S to the end. Otherwise, add K to the end.
| Step | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Start | CARE | |
| 1 | SCARE | S goes at the beginning |
| 2 | SPARE | Change the C, wherever it now sits |
| 3 | SPAR | The condition is true, so the E goes |
| 4 | SPARK | SPAR has four letters, so add K |
The classic slip is testing step 4 against SPARE, the word you had before step 3. That gives SPARES. A condition always applies to the word you have now.
5 Which mistakes cost points on directions items?Most directions errors come from doing what seems normal instead of what the text says. 1 min
Most directions errors come from doing what seems normal instead of what the text says. Check your work against this list.
- Doing steps in the order they are mentioned when before or after says otherwise.
- Applying a conditional step when its condition is false, or skipping it when it is true.
- Testing a condition against an old version of the word or number.
- Adding a step from your own experience that the directions never mention.
- Stopping one step early because the answer looks done.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: Do first the step that before points to, not the step that is mentioned first.
Watch out: Skip a conditional step when its condition is false, not every time it appears.
Watch out: Test a condition against the word you have now, not the word you started with.
Watch out: Follow only what the directions say, not what you would usually do in real life.
Watch out: Finish every step; the answer is the final result, not the one that looks done halfway through.
How to remember it
Remember the rule "one step, one line, check the condition." Every step gets its own line on scratch paper, and every if gets a yes or no before you act.
Self-check:
- Rewrite a recipe or notice as numbered steps, moving every before step to its true place.
- Circle each if, unless, and except, and say when it applies.
- Solve the CARE puzzle again without looking, writing each result on its own line.