Critical Reading Long and Short Reading 3 sections of the test (along w/sentence completions in 1st 2 sections) Typical Section Breakdowns for Reading Questions: 12 Long Reading Q, 4 Short Reading Q 15 Long Reading Q, 4 Short Reading Q 13 Long Reading Q

How to Work Through Reading Read the Blurb: italicized blurb w/general info Go straight to Questions: Qs are given in the order the answers appear in passage- so you know where to look for answers Read and Translate Qs: know what they’re looking for Read What you Need from Passage: 5 lines before, 5 lines after Speak for Yourself: compare to the answers Use Process of Elimination: get rid of answers that don’t agree w/your answer or the main idea

Does that mean I don’t have to read the entire passage? That’s right! By the time you answer questions with line references, you get enough info about the passage to answer the rest of the questions. Don’t have to answer all the questions in order. Instead, start with 1st line reference, and work through systematically…more to come on this part!

Question Type: General Main Idea or Purpose Author’s Tone or Opinion Answer that Strengthens or Weakens Author’s Argument These questions are left to the end of the reading- do the specific questions first.

Question Type: Specific Paraphrase part of the passage Purpose of part of a passage Definition of a word as it is used in a passage Inference based on part of the passage Inference- conclusion drawn from evidence in the passage. Stick with what MUST be true.

Specific Question: Line Reference Always read about 5 lines before and after the line reference. Never begin reading in the middle of a sentence, and if close enough, start at the beginning of a paragraph. Don’t have to read the entire passage. Unlike English class, this is not reading for long-term comprehension and analysis!

What to do with the Q Translate into your own words- what does the question mean? What is it asking? Read what you need from the passage. Answer in your own words. Use POE- process of elimination to find the best answer

What you need to know… Trap Answers Extreme Language: wording that can make an answer wrong, such as only, never, always, and must are strong Deceptive Language- paraphrases are not exact phrases repeated word for word! Outside Knowledge- proof must come from the passage; isn’t right just because we know it to be true ½ Right, ½ Wrong: Must be ALL right True, but not the Answer: true statements, even according to passage may not be answer to the Q

Main Idea Traps Too Narrow- only mentioned part of a passage Too Broad- More information than passage discussed

Tone Traps Strong Feelings: authors rarely have strong feelings. They may agree or disagree, but they don’t usually love or hate their topics. Confusion: We might be confused, but the person who wrote the passage is not! Authors are never confused or ambiguous.

Let’s Try It Out… Take a look at Passage 1. What is the first question you’d answer? # 2 because it has a line reference and specific question If question # 3 did not have a line reference, between what lines would you know it would have to fall? Between lines 33 and 51- the line references of the questions before and after

What is the passage about? Often, you can gain this information just by reading the italicized blurb- answers question # 1 By the time you answer 2-5, you should be ready to answer question # 6 The question type of # 6, by the way, is the last type of question you should answer because it takes up most of your time- always answer this type of question last.

Take 6 Minutes to Answer Qs Answers 1. A 2. E 3. D 4. C 5. A 6. B Didn’t finish in time? Practice helps, especially when you’re used to reading everything first. Keep up the good practice!

Other Reading Types Short Passages: might just read the whole thing if it’s just one paragraph! Dual Passages: Answer questions for 1st passage Answer questions for 2nd passage Answer questions that relate to both passages