2.  Main Idea/Point-of-View  Specific Detail  Conclusion/Inference  Extrapolation  Vocabulary in Context

3.  Answer according to your understanding of the topic, scope, and purpose.  Incorrect choices are usually either too broad or too narrow. › Topic – What is the passage about? › Scope – What aspect of the topic does the passage focus on? › Why did the author write the passage?

4.  Refer to the passage to find the answer.  Don’t just choose the answers that contain words that appeared in the passage! Answer choices are often paraphrased to trip you up.  Make sure the choice you select responds to the question being asked.

5.  Put information together as evidence for a conclusion.  Find STRONG evidence for your answers.  If you find yourself creating a long chain of reasoning and including information from outside the passage when “selling” the answer…STOP. Probably not right…

6.  These questions go beyond the passage and find answers that are probably true based on what you know from the passage (usually either author’s tone or detailed information).  Be sensitive to clues about tone or attitude.  Eliminate any choices outside the scope of the passage.

7.  Simple: just read the answer choices back into the sentence mentioned in the question stem and choose the one that changes the meaning of the sentence the least!  Often, the answer to the question is found in the line before or after the referenced line or lines.

9.  Skim, Answer, and be DONE!  75/25  Chunking  Set Up to Paint  Selective Abandonment  Re-order  Annotation

10.  This is pretty much self-explanatory.  Skim over the selection  Answer using your best response  THEN, at the end of the test (once you’ve FINISHED all of the questions), go back and check the ones you weren’t sure about  This method is best for higher level students (like you!) who like the traditional approach to reading

11.  Studies show that students tend to spend about 75% of the time reading the selections and 25% answering questions.  How about doing it the other way around?  You know you have 35 minutes to take the test and there will be four selections, right? So, divide that by 4…then again by 4…leaving you with about 2 minutes per selection to read and 6 to answer questions.

12.  Ever find yourself unable to focus on a reading selection? Here’s a great solution for you! › This has been proven to be VERY effective for students with ADD and ADHD › Also a great option for English Language Learners or anyone who has a hard time retaining large amounts of information  Read the 1 st paragraph  Go to the questions that refer to that paragraph. Answer them.  Read the 2 nd paragraph.  Go to the questions that refer to that paragraph. Answer them.  (Lather, rinse, and) Repeat as needed.

13.  This is an old favorite! Don’t you like to know what to look for when you’re reading? It’s better not to be surprised!  Read all the questions for one selection.  Then, read the selection. › It helps to figure out a sort of coded shorthand for yourself so that… › As you read, make notes in the test book (you can do that, you know!) for each question so you know where to go back to find the answer.

14.  Do you ever just want to go through and answer the ones you know and forget about the rest? This is the one for you!  Here’s how it works!  Read at your own pace for 50% of the readings and spend your time answering those questions as accurately as possible.  Then, make your best guess on the rest  Note: This is a good option if you are a slow reader who answers with accuracy. › Be honest with yourself. › You don’t want to bomb the test, either. That’s not the point!

15.  You know how there are some selections that are SO BORING and others that don’t suck quite as much? (Even though we all know they’re pretty bad…) › This tip is helpful for students who have trouble pacing themselves or are motivated by initial positive reinforcement.  So, start with the ones with subject matter that you like (or the ones you don’t think you’ll hate) or the ones that you think might be easier.  Read those and answer those questions first.  Then, go back and do all the others. › There’s always one narrative/prose fiction, one humanities, one natural science, and one social science selection. › What order would YOU do them in?

16.  You know how to do this already! You’ve had ANOTHER PowerPoint about it! › This can go hand in hand with the “Questions First” method, if you like.  As you read, make notes in the margin of reactions.  You’ll start to know the kinds of questions that will be asked, so you might be able to predict some anyway.  If you are a visual learner or if you like to focus on main ideas over details, this one is for you!

17.  Determine the main idea of the passage  Paraphrase the question stems  Predict answers to questions  Apply logic – is information actually stated in the passage or not? › Inference: conclusion based on what is stated in the passage › Assumption: unstated evidence, the missing link in an author’s argument  PROCESS OF ELIMINATION

18.  Pick the one that you think will work best for you and see if you like it.  Then, for each subsequent test, try another method until you find the one that helps you the most.  You’ll improve your score every time!

20.  Highlight the numbers of the questions you got wrong.  Review the passages and the questions for each incorrect response. › If you understand why the answer you marked is incorrect and can figure out the correct answer, mark the correct answer and explain mistake and correction. › If you don’t understand what the question is asking or anything about the question itself, CIRCLE it. › If you got a question wrong and don’t understand why it’s wrong, mark a !. › If you got a question wrong and don’t understand why the correct one is correct, mark it with a ?. › If you understand why the answer you marked is incorrect and why the correct answer is correct, mark a. › If you just ran out of time, indicate how many you ran out of time for and a reason for why you think you ran out of time.