More information than you ever thought you wanted to know! SAT Reading Test More information than you ever thought you wanted to know!

Remember... Basic aim of the SAT Reading Test: comprehend the many types of challenging literary and informational texts you’re likely to encounter in college and career

The passages... Some tell a story, while others share information, explain a process or concept, or try to convince you to accept or do something Cover a wide range of subject Some are particularly challenging, while others are more straightforward Some passages are paired and others are accompanied by one or more informational graphics.

Three Major Subject Areas... U.S. and World Literature Classic and more recent works of fiction History/Social Studies Economics, sociology, and political science U.S. founding documents and similar texts in the Great Global Conversation about civic and political life Science Information, concepts, and experiments in the fields of Earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics

Applying P.O.O.D. to this test... Do you excel at one of the three subjects consistently? Do you struggle with one consistently? P.O.O.D. can affect the amount of time you spend on a given passage, rather than determine the order.

Paired Passages... You will have ONE pair of related passages. They will share a topic and interact with one another in some way. Different perspectives or opinions on a topic Different information on the same topic One a general overview, the other zeroes in on one particular element

Paired Passages Continued... * Questions will ask about each passage separately as well as both passages together * The U.S./World Literature passages will never be paired - only history/social studies or science passages may be paired

Informational Graphics... Two passages will include one or more informational graphics -- tables, graphs, charts. Questions may ask you to locate information in the graphic draw reasonable conclusions about the graphic’s data make connections between the graphic and the passage. * The U.S./World Literature passages will never include graphics - only history/social studies or science passages may include tables, graphs, charts, etc.

Passage Breakdown... A classic or contemporary work of U.S. or World Literature One passage or a pair of passages from either a U.S. founding document (such as an essay by James Madison) or a text in the Great Global Conversation (such as a speech by Nelson Mandela) A social science topic from a field such as economics, psychology, or sociology Two science passages (or one passage and one passage pair) that examine foundational concepts or recent developments in Earth science, biology, chemistry, or physics

Reading Test Questions... There is a natural order passage as a whole (main idea or point of view) will come first specific parts of the passage come later graphics and questions linking paired passages typically come near the end Three general categories Information and Ideas Rhetoric Synthesis

Information and Ideas... Questions focus on the author’s message Locating stated information Making reasonable inferences Applying what you’ve read to another, similar situation Determining central ideas and themes Summarizing important information Understanding relationships (cause-and-effect, comparison-contrast, and sequence) Interpreting the meaning of words and phrases

Rhetoric... Questions focus on HOW the author constructs the text to make its message clear, engaging, informative, or convincing How an author’s word choice shapes meaning, tone, and style How a passage is structured and what purpose its various parts play Author’s point of view and purpose Claims, reasons, evidence, and stylistic and persuasive devices found in arguments

Synthesis... * Unlike questions in the first two categories, synthesis questions only accompany certain passages Two basic forms Drawing connections between a pair of passages (how the author of the first passage would react to a claim by the author of the second passage or how the two passages are similar or different in content, form, style, or perspective) Asking about informational graphics (finding a particular piece of data, figuring out which conclusion is the most reasonable given a certain set of results from a study, or integrating information from a table with the information and ideas found in the passage itself.