Scholastic Aptitude Test Developing Critical Reading Skills Doc Holley

Critical Reading Section What does it test? How well you understand what you read – What do the questions look like? Sentence completion (19 questions) Passage-based reading (48 questions)

Sentence Completions Measure Knowledge of the meanings of words Ability to understand how the different parts of a sentence fit together logically

Sentence Completions Work on these first. They take less time to answer than the passage-based reading questions. The difficulty of sentence completion questions increase as you move through the section.

Sentence Completion Strategies Answer a sentence completion question with two blanks by focusing first on one of the two blanks. If one of the words in answer choice is logically wrong, then you can eliminate the entire choice from consideration.

Sentence Completion Example Hoping to ------ the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ------ to both labor and management. (A) enforce. .useful (B) end. . divisive (C) overcome. . unattractive (D) extend. . satisfactory (E) resolve. . acceptable

Passage-Based Questions Measure your ability to read and think critically about several different passage ranging in length from about 100 to 800 words. Passages are taken from a variety of fields including the humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction. They vary in style and can include narrative, argumentative, and expository elements. Some selections consist of a pair of related passages on a shared issue or theme; in some questions, you are asked to compare and contrast these passages.

Types of Questions about the Passage Vocabulary in context Ask you to determine the meaning of words from their context in the reading

Types of Questions about the Passage Literal comprehension Assess your understanding of significant information directly stated in the passage

Types of Questions about the Passage Extended reasoning Measure your ability to synthesize and analyze information as well as to evaluate the assumptions made and the techniques used by the author Most of the reading questions fall into this category You may be asked to identify cause and effect, make inferences, recognize a main idea or an author’s tone, or follow the logic of an analogy or an argument.

Passage-Based Reading Questions Do not increase in difficulty from easy to hard. Instead, they follow the logic of the passage. Information you need to answer each reading question is ALWAYS in the passage(s). Don’t be misled by an answer that looks correct but is not supported by the actual txt of the passage(s). Reading questions often include line numbers to help direct you to relevant part(s) of the passage. Do not jump from passage to passage. Stay with a passage until you have answered as many questions as you can before you proceed to the next passage.

Critical Reading Test Taking Strategies Critical reading questions can eat up a lot of your time; but, you can use these strategies and techniques to move through this portion faster and more efficiently.

Should you read the passage first or the questions first? If the answer is yes, you should probably read the passage carefully and critically before you read the questions. If the answer is no, you might want to read the questions before you read the passage to get a sense of what to look for.

If you have trouble following the author's argument… You may want to skip the passage, move on, and come back to it later if you have time. But, once the time allowed for a section has ended, you may not return to that section.

If you are running out of time… You should skim the passage quickly, then read the questions and refer back to the passage when appropriate.

Your goal, and only goal, is to answer questions -- correctly. The sooner you start to answer questions, the sooner you start to earn points. It'll be useless if you have thoroughly read the passage but have no time answering the questions. All the tips concerning this section are to teach you how to make the most of your time.

Do the easy passage first. If the subject of a passage interests you or is something you well know about, do it first, even if it's last on the test. If you've always experienced success with natural science passages, and you have trouble with fiction, go first to the natural science passage, even if it's last on the test. You should always lead with your strength.

Concentrate on paragraph opening and closing. Since the SAT passages are generally written in standard English prose, the topic sentence is often located near the beginning of the paragraph. Sometimes, too, the final sentence of the paragraph suggests the main point of the paragraph. When reading quickly for the gist of a passage, focus on paragraph openings and closings. Skim the material in between and come back when you need the details to answer certain questions.

Answer general questions before detail questions. General questions usually ask you to identify the author's point of view or the main idea of the passage. A reader with a good understanding of the passage can often answer general questions without rereading a word. On the contrary, when you're asked for a specific fact or for a word or phrase, you may have to return to the passage to find the answer. That takes time. It makes sense to get the easier questions out of the way before tackling the more time-consuming ones.

All the answers come from the passage. Every single answer can be found in or directly inferred from the passage. Don't add things or make up things. Throw away your previous knowledge about the subject.

Mark the passages or make short notes. Mark important sections or words or sentences. This can help you find needed information quickly. But remember, don't overdo it! It'll be a waste of time and helpless marking too many sentences.

An answer choice can be true but be wrong. The correct choice is the one that best answers the question, not any choice that makes a true statement. A choice may express something that is perfectly true and still be a wrong choice.

Eliminating choices. Compare each choice to the passage and find out the definitely wrong choices. Then choose the correct answer from the remaining choices.

Pace yourself. You'll spend a lot of time reading a passage before you're ready to answer the questions. So, answer as many questions as you can before moving on to next passage or section. Jump around within a set of questions to find the ones you can answer quickly, but don't jump from passage to passage. Don't leave a passage until you are sure you have answered all the questions you can. If you return to the passage later, you'll probably have to reread it.

Whenever there's a choice, Start from the passage that more interest you. Start from the questions that you find easier to handle. This way, you will be able to answer all the questions you can answer, and earn all the points you deserve. Again, we suggest that you improve your critical reading skill through practicing, practicing and more practicing.

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