Full SAT Reading Walkthrough
Purpose of a paragraph
1. Focus on end of previous paragraph and the beginning of the paragraph in question 2. If you can't find an answer check the last sentence
Supporting evidence for claim
1. Identify the claim in the question and underline it or rephrase it 2. If possible, determine what sort of information would support the claim 3. Check the answers
Questions without line references
1. Look for obviously right answer1. Underline key terms in the question 2. Skim for that phrase with index finger, paying attention to the first and last sentence of each paragraph 3. Read above and below the key word and move on to other instances of the key phrase if not helpful
Vocabulary in context questions
1. Plug in your own word and find the answer choice that matches 2. Plug each answer choice into the sentence 3. Play +/-
How to answer line reference questions
1. Read question with finger, know exactly what it's asking, jot down if necessary 2. Read line reference with context as necessary (purpose/function). If line reference begins or ends halfway through sentence, read entire sentence. If begins close to beginning of paragraph, start at start of paragraph. 3. Write down answer to question in few words 4. Read answer choices carefully and select answer if it contains same essential idea 5. Cross out clearly wrong answers if no choice selected. If stuck between two look for major transitions or strong language, maybe you were focusing on wrong part of line reference or didn't read enough context 6. If still stuck, reiterate main point of the passage and think which answer is most consistent with it 7. If still stuck, look for strong or limiting language in choices or look for if it refers to the topic in the plural but the passage has a narrow focus. Think about if an answer choice makes sense in the real world 8. Guess and star question
Types of questions
1. Vocabulary in context: test your ability to use context clues to identify alternate meanings of common words 2. Big picture: test your understanding of the passage as a whole. They may ask you to summarize, identify main points, or determine the purpose of a passage 3. Literal comprehension: ask you to identify what the passage directly states 4. Inference: ask you to identify what the passage suggests or indirectly states 5. Supporting evidence (frequently follows literal comprehension and inference questions): require you to identify the specific lines in the passage that provide the answer to the previous question 6. Extended reasoning: ask you to apply ideas discussed in the passage to new situations 7. Function/purpose: ask you to identify the rhetorical role (support, refute, criticize) that various pieces of information play within a passage 8. Rhetorical strategy/passage organization: test your understanding of passage structure and point of view 9. Tone/attitude: test your understanding of how specific words or phrases help establish an authors perspective 10. Paired passage: test your ability to compare texts with different, often conflicting, points of view and to infer how each author would likely react to the other's point of view 11. Data analysis: test your ability to interpret information presented in graph or table form, and to determine whether and how it supports various pieces of information in a passage
Contradicting evidence for claim
1.Identify the claim and underline it 2. add not to the claim 3. check line references
General tips
Answer choices with words with second meanings often but not always signal correct answers
Function/purpose questions
Ask you to identify the point that the information in question supports. Read a sentence or two before or after for context if you need context. Start at beginning of sentence or paragraph. Follow line reference steps: 1. Read question with finger, know exactly what it's asking, jot down if necessary (ask what point does the line reference support? Or why put that?" 2. Read a sentence or two before and after line reference for context. If line reference begins or ends halfway through sentence, read entire sentence. If begins close to beginning of paragraph, start at start of paragraph. 3. Write down answer to question in few words 4. Read answer choices carefully and select answer if it contains same essential idea 5. Cross out clearly wrong answers if no choice selected. If stuck between two look for major transitions or strong language, maybe you were focusing on wrong part of line reference or didn't read enough context 6. If still stuck, reiterate main point of the passage and think which answer is most consistent with it 7. If still stuck, look for strong or limiting language in choices or look for if it refers to the topic in the plural but the passage has a narrow focus. Think about if an answer choice makes sense in the real world 8. Guess and star question
Big picture
Correct answers will refer to the topic. You can find the mp by summing up the first line of each paragraph into a sentence, then deducing the overall main point for big picture questions
Unpaired Literal comprehension questions
If you answer it as you read mark the lines for the next supporting evidence question The answer will be an idea in the passage put into different wording
"According to the passage"
Look for exact or similar wording
Old vs. new idea
New idea will usually be main point. Underline or write new and old points. The transition usually occurs in first or second paragraph, usually no later than the beginning of the third. The new idea (mp) usually comes after contradiction words like "however" and "but".
2.
Read passage and answer bracketed questions and underline or write topic (t) and main point (mp) along the way. Circle words that indicate the author is making a point (the point, goal, intention, important, significant, crucial, key), italicized words, transition words (however, therefore, in fact), unusual punctuation (—, :), strong words (only, never), explanation words (reason). The answer to a line reference question will usually be located close by those elements.
Inference questions
Relatively small inferences, the passage will always have specific wording that clearly corresponds to a particular idea, event, or relationship in the correct answer Wrong answer types: speculation: could be true but isn't supported by the passage Reasoning: "if x is true I'm one case, then x is true in all cases/has always been true" or "if x is true for one member of a group, then it is true for all members of that group". Characterized by extreme words like always,never, all, only 1. (With line reference) read the lines in question making sure you understand them 2. Jot down a 3-4 word summary of the lines 3. Pick answer choice closest to summary
Characterization questions
Review what you know and jot words, pick answer choice that is closest, don't reread unless necessary
when asked to determine a result according to the passage (uworld)
The answer will be in the passage rephrased. Locate the text where the event is mentioned
Paired evidence questions
The first question's answer is a rephrased version of the correct lines cited in the second question. The key to answering paired questions is to plug the answer choices from the second question into the first question, then use that information to answer both questions simultaneously The line references in the second question are very often just off-topic so don't look into the line references too deeply 1. Eliminate obviously wrong answers in the first question 2. If possible make an assumption on whether the author has a positive or negative attitude on the topic of the question and eliminate answers 3. check line references in second question one by one to see if they answer the first question and then to see if they support any of the uneliminated answers
Topic of a passage
The primary subject (a person, thing, or idea) or focus of the passage, appears most frequently including instances in rephrased form, will often be mentioned in first sentence or first few sentences
Analogy questions
These questions ask you to take something in passage and apply it to a new situation. 1. Go back to the passage and read only the exact lines provided 2. Quickly rephrase the scenario (what are the people doing, and what is the outcome) 3. Sum up the scenario in general terms. Write it down 4. Check the answers in order. Think about whether it matches the general template of what's written
Main point
Topic + info about it author wants to convey, you can often eliminate answer choices because they don't make sense in context of it. Sometimes the author will state it on the intro, beginning of second paragraph, and again at the end of the conclusion. Underline immediately once found or state it yourself. You can find it by summing up the first line of each paragraph into a sentence, then deducing the overall main point for big picture questions
Point of a paragraph
Will usually be stated in first and last sentence
how to make two examples consistent
both function or are described in the same way
the author anticipates an objection questions
find the answer choice that has the opposite idea of what the author believes
when asked to reasonably infer something (uworld)
find the subject of the question in the passage and paraphrase the sentence containing the information
finding major theme of a passage
look for a repeated pattern of words or phrases. This strategy might take too long.
determining main point
summarize first and last paragraphs
why dialog is used (uworld)
summarize the details in the specified lines and look for repeated ideas to better understand what the lines are doing.
how specific lines function within a text (uworld)
summarize the specified and surrounding lines and what each does in the text.
1.
t and mp, bracket line references, and mark pairs with dashes
