Reading passages often seem impossible to tackle for SAT test takers. With limited time and an exhausted brain, students often have difficulty concentrating. Below are some tips and notes on the Critical Reading sections that will help as you dive in.
- Reading questions follow the order of the passage while sentence completion questions increase in difficulty if you answer them in order.
- There is no need to use outside information when answering passage-based questions. All information needed to answer questions is in the reading itself. You should be able to clearly tell yourself why you are choosing the answer based on evidence from the text.
- Passage-based questions often direct you to line numbers in the reading. Read above and below the lines mentioned in order to better understand what is being asked.
- Finish each passage and set of questions before moving to the next. You often have more than one reading and you may be tempted to work on multiple ones at once. Stop and focus on one reading at a time.
- There will likely be words you don’t know the meaning to. Do not let this discourage you. Use the context to find the general meaning of any specific part of the passage.
- Keep in mind that all SAT questions are worth the same number of points. Sentence completion questions tend to take less time than passage-based questions. Work on sentence completion first!
- Passages cover a variety of different topics. You will likely find some of the readings very interesting, and some will not grab your attention. Approach readings with the right mindset, hoping to learn something new.
Last but not least, remember to ask yourself: “What did I just read?” after reading every couple of sentences. It is very important to be alert. Stretch, breath, and relax as you answer critical reading questions.
