1. Mrs. Paloti SAT Prep 2014

2.  They are designed to test a student’s ability to comprehend the passage they read and are not intended to test for knowledge, which should already be known.

3.  Short Passages Short passages are in the range of 100 to 200 words and the subjects that are covered in these sections are variable.  Long Passages Long passages, however, can be up to 800 words, and sometimes there are “paired passages”. Paired-passages are double passages that ask how two passages (each can be up to 800 words) interrelate.

4.  Main Idea Question  The author’s primary purpose in the passage. The central idea of the passage or a paragraph within the passage Example: Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?  Specific Detail  The author states all of the following EXCEPT Example: Which of the following statements is (are) best supported by the passage?  Inferences  According to the passage, it is LIKELY that Example: The passage suggests that the author would support which of the following views?  Tone/Attitude  Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in the passage? Example: The passage indicates that the author experiences a feeling of  Vocabulary in Context  The author uses the phrase___________ to describe Example: As it is used in the passage, the term…can be best described as  Technique  In presenting the argument, the author does all of the following EXCEPT Example: The relationship between the second paragraph and the first paragraph can be best described as

5.  Asks about specific details mentioned in the passage  Use the line references or lead words (name, date, term) to find answer  Read lines before and after it  Common phrasing “According to the author”  May also ask you about details the author does NOT mention.

6.  Asks about information that the author does not mention but only hints at  Look for key words “imply,” “infer,” “suggest” in the question  Use lead words in the answer choices to help guide you  Will not take a wild leap of logic to answer question

7.  Asks about the central idea of the passage or a paragraph within the passage  Common phrasing “The primary purpose of the passage…”  Eliminate answers that are too broad or too specific  Read the first and last lines of the paragraph

8.  Asks you how a particular sentence functions in the paragraph  Asks you to infer the author’s purpose for including certain information  If a fact question asks you “ What does the author say?” a style question asks “ Why does the author say it?”

9.  Asks you about how a word is used in the context of the passage.  “In line X, the word _________ most likely means…”  Usually you will see a familiar word that is used in an unexpected way.  Beware of trap answers!

10.  Argument Questions: Require you to strengthen or weaken one of the author’s points. *Argument questions can be tough and are good questions to skip if you can afford to.  POV Questions: Ask about the thoughts or feelings about the author or someone mentioned in the passage.  Many times you will need to infer the point of view.

11.  Try to do all information retrieval, inference, and main idea questions.  Remember to support your answers with information from the passage.  If you can’t point to particular parts of the passages that makes your answers correct, don’t pick them.

12.  Process of elimination is a powerful tool on short reading passages. You should be able to eliminate at least one answer on every question.  Be aggressive; the odds are in your favor if you can get rid of an answer or two.  Eliminate answers that aren’t mentioned in the passage or use extreme language such as “all,” “always,” “never,” “impossible,” and “only.”  No matter how strange the question seems, keep in mind that the answer must be in the passage somewhere. FIND IT!

13.  Read the questions first.  Read very quickly, do not skim the text, but read with a purpose. Purposeful reading means to constantly ask questions to yourself about the author’s goals and the reason for different details. Determining why something is important in the text will often help to determine the best answers. Especially in the paired-passages, determining each author’s main point is critical.