How to tackle passage-based reading?

[Xe54]

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I took the SAT once without studying and came out with a 50/50 split:

Half of the passage questions were correct, while the other half were completely wrong (I omitted none). To be frank, I really didn't try whatsoever. Moreover, I went in without any knowledge of the section (how many questions there are, what was being tested, etc.). How can I efficiently tackle the passage-based reading section of Critical Reading? I'd appreciate any strategies/tips. I'd like to score an 800.

 

[Xe54]

bump10char

 

[deleted316655]

Reading a lot really helps. It allows you to become familiar with the English language and grammar so that even if you don't know the reason to an answer, you still know the answer. A lot of SAT prep books have strategies and hints in the beginning of the book that might also help you.

 

[Mue]

I took the SAT once without studying and came out with a 50/50 split:

Half of the passage questions were correct, while the other half were completely wrong (I omitted none). To be frank, I really didn't try whatsoever. Moreover, I went in without any knowledge of the section (how many questions there are, what was being tested, etc.). How can I efficiently tackle the passage-based reading section of Critical Reading? I'd appreciate any strategies/tips. I'd like to score an 800.

My biggest tip would be to not look for "the right answer", but look for all of "the wrong answers". If you look for one right answer initially, you will subconsciously internally concentrate on an initial option and try to make it fit. This also means not over thinking some of the possible answers. After all, if there was more than one like you will start to think after contemplating a question for 4 minutes, the SAT would be up to its ears in lawsuits. Also, try and get genuinely interested in the section you're reading! That will increase your attentiveness. You might also want to skim unmarked sections, and only REALLY analyze the ones that are marked. Then look at the questions and use your judgement as to if there was probably a detail slipped in during an unmarked section that is reasonable.

In the end, your aim is to answer as many questions correctly as possible, not to answer each question on the SAT!

 

[Ischemic]

I took the SAT once without studying and came out with a 50/50 split:

Half of the passage questions were correct, while the other half were completely wrong (I omitted none). To be frank, I really didn't try whatsoever. Moreover, I went in without any knowledge of the section (how many questions there are, what was being tested, etc.). How can I efficiently tackle the passage-based reading section of Critical Reading? I'd appreciate any strategies/tips. I'd like to score an 800.

WTF? You roll in without any prep and you think you can own and then be surprised you failed? Have you tried PRACTICING? You come here asking advice when you yourself clearly stated you haven't even tried? You best get that **** together otherwise you're not gonna make it into med school.

 

[em3761]

The big thing to keep in mind for the passage based stuff is the time constraint. My strategy for these was that I never read the passage all the way through. Sounds crazy but it worked well...skim quickly (spend no more than a minute-ish, ideally less) to get a good grasp on what the passage is talking about, then read the topic sentences of some of the paragraphs. all told, this part should take no more than 2 minutes. then, for each question, find the part of the passage that it's referring to (if i remember right, it usually tells you, as in "in line 25, blah blah blah....") and read the sentences in that area. 99 percent of the time, that'll be all the info you need to answer the question. i also remember that they usually save the hardest questions for last, so don't be surprised if for the final question or two, you have to take a little extra time. don't worry though--that's where the time you saved on the reading will come in handy. i figured out this plan doing practice tests before hand, and it got me an 800 on SAT critical reading (and a 5 on the AP lit exam) so it seems to have worked so far...good luck 🙂