To Read or Not to Read (the Passage): SAT Reading and Writing Tips
COVID-19 Series The Princeton Review
Hi, everyone.
I’m Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief at The Princeton Review.
If you’re planning to take the SAT this fall, you’re probably prepping right now.
Because you may have just one opportunity to take the test, you’ll want to earn your
highest-possible score.
How do you do that?
For the Reading and Writing/Language parts of the SAT, your score will depend a lot on
how you interact with the passages.
And there’s been a longstanding debate: To read or not to read?
Today I hope to make a definitive case for you about how to handle passages on the Reading
as well as the Writing and Language sections of the SAT.
And, spoiler alert, those strategies are different!
Let’s start with Reading on the SAT.
I’m gonna cut to the chase: You should NOT read the passage up front.
Keep in mind that the type of reading you’re going to do on the SAT Reading section is
different from what you’re accustomed to.
When you read as a hobby, you’re likely reading passively—and when you read for
school, you’re often reading critically, gathering evidence to support an argument.
When you read for the SAT, you’re not doing either of those things: you’re reading actively,
looking for particular answers that are already in the text.
And that scavenger-hunt approach should guide your entire Reading test-taking experience.
For starters, you’ll get all 5 Reading passages at the same time.
So take a quick peek through the whole section, and figure out the best order to tackle the
passages.
Remember, you always want to take the easy test first, and get all the points you KNOW
you can get before spending more time on content that’s challenging, where points are not
assured.
Now, depending on your target score, you may even be able to skip an entire passage or
two.
So you definitely wouldn’t want to start with one of those!
How do you decide which passages to do first?
You’ll do this based on what you know about your own skill levels from taking practice
tests.
If you haven’t taken a practice test yet, sign up for one now!
We offer them for free through our website, PrincetonReview.com.
There will be 1 literature passage, 2 science passages, and 2 history or social studies
passages.
Start with the area you do best in.
Also take a look at the question types.
And ask yourself: Do the questions for a particular passage have line references and lead words?
In other words, will you be able to find the answers quickly?
If so, that might be a good passage to start with.
Next, while you don’t want to start with reading the whole passage, you should start
by reading the blurb—that short paragraph at the beginning that can help you get a handle
on what to expect in the passage.
Then, skip straight to the questions.
Look for a question that asks about a specific part of the passage.
The first few questions are typically about the whole passage, but just because they’re
first doesn’t mean you need to do them first.
So, look for a question that directs you to a particular section of the passage.
Based on what you’re being asked, go to the passage and read what you need.
Use the line references, and then read a window including the key text, plus 5 or 6 lines
above and below that.
As you’re reading, look for the answer to the question in the passage, and underline
it with your pencil.
Based on what you find in the passage, predict what the correct answer will be, then use
Process of Elimination to get rid of any answers that aren’t consistent with your prediction.
Then select the best answer.
If you truly don’t know, guess using your predetermined Letter of the Day, and move
on!
An anecdote we like to cite when talking about this Reading strategy is the legendary answer
that the thief Willie Sutton is said to have given when asked why he robbed banks: “Because
that’s where the money is.”
And while bank robbery is not our aspiration for you, of course, his answer gets at the
heart of what we’re advising: Don’t waste time on parts of the passage that don’t
have the information you need.
Go straight to where the metaphorical money is.
That strategy will enable you to tackle the greatest number of questions, approach each
one strategically, and ultimately maximize the points
you earn.
Now, what about the Writing and Language section of the SAT?
That’s a different story.
For Writing and Language questions, you should read the whole passage, as you go.
Here’s what I mean.
Most of the questions on the Writing and Language part of the SAT aren’t traditional questions—where
the test makers give you some information and then ask you questions about it.
Instead, you’ll get a series of passages with underlined portions, and your job is
to determine whether the underlined portion is correct, or if it should be replaced with
one of the choices.
What you want to do here, my friends, is read as you go.
Look at the question, and then read—carefully—the part of the passage that relates to that question.
Whereas for the Reading section passages, you probably won’t end up reading every
word, for passages on the Writing and Language section, by the end you probably will end
up reading every word.
Even if there’s no underlined portion in a part of the text, the correct answer to
the next question very well may rely on that text.
You don’t need to read slowly and carefully, but you do need to read everything between
each question in Writing and Language.
When you get to a part of the passage with a question, read to the end of the sentence
with an underlined portion before you jump in to answering the question.
After reading to the end of the sentence, the next step for tackling these questions
strategically is always to check and see what’s changing in the answer choices.
This strategy will give you insights into what the question is testing you on, and it
may also help you see mistakes that you might not otherwise have noticed.
From there, use Process of Elimination to narrow down the choices.
If you can’t get the choices narrowed down so there’s just one left, then here’s
a pro tip: Pick the shortest one that’s most consistent with the rest of the sentence.
And remember, keep in mind that not every sentence features an error!
Sometimes, “NO CHANGE” will be the correct answer.
But you won’t be able to discern that unless you read the whole passage, as you go, one
section at a time.
Best of luck with your prep, my friends.
You’re going to be awesome!
Sign up for a free practice test with us, and we’ll give you a detailed score report
that’ll help you focus and sharpen your prep.
Subscribe to our channel for the latest tips and strategies as well as updates about how
the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting exams and admissions.
Know that we are rooting for you here at The Princeton Review.