Two Types of Critical Reading
Questions:
 Sentence Completion – 19 multiple choice
questions that test your vocabulary and your
ability to understand fairly complex
sentences.
 Passage-based reading – 48 questions
based on passages ranging from 100 to 850
words.
Approaches to Critical Reading
Section in General:
 Work on sentence completion questions first.
They require less time to complete.
 Know your speed.
 Mark your test booklet.
 Remember order of difficulty increases in
sentence completion as you move through a
set.
 Use process of elimination.
 Consider related words, familiar phrases,
roots, prefixes and suffixes to decode strange
words.
Approaches to Critical Reading
Section in General:
 Know the directions.
 Mark skipped questions on answer key and
booklet. X vs. ?
Sentence Completion
 Test ability to read carefully and think
logically.
 Test knowledge of college-level vocabulary.
 The content will be politically correct.
Example
Today’s small, portable computers contrast
markedly with the earliest electronic
computers, which were -----.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
effective
invented
useful
destructive
enormous
Approaches for Sentence Completion:
 Read the sentence carefully, substituting the
word blank for the blank(s).
 Keep in mind that introductory and
transitional words are very important.
 Put your own word(s) in the sentence before
you look at the answer choices.
 Compare your word(s) to the answer choices.
 Scan all the choices.
 Read the sentence with your selection.
Be Aware!
 Some of the most difficult sentence
completion questions contain negatives,
which can make it difficult to follow the logic
of the sentences.
 Following this reasoning: The first few
questions in a subsection are always easyobvious or most tempting answer. Middle
questions- the most obvious answer is
sometimes right, sometimes wrong. The last
questions- the most obvious answer is
probably wrong.
What about two-blank questions?
 Work on one blank at a time.
 Try to fill in the blank with your own word.
 Eliminate words that don’t make sense.
 Sense whether the words are negative or
positive, good or bad, compare or contrast.
 Move to second blank and only look at the
remaining options.
 Always read the sentence with both words in
place to make sure your choice makes sense.
Two-blank Question 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
Remember!
 The instructions for all sentence completion
ask you to choose the best answer.
 There can only be one correct answer.
 Plug in your best choices- if it fits, go with it.
What about tough words?
 Look in the sentence for clues to the word’s
meaning.
 Where have you heard the word before?
 Look for familiar roots or prefixes.
 If all else fails…
eliminate choices you think are
wrong and guess.
Building your Vocabulary
 Mnemonic devices
 Flash cards
 iPods
 Reading novels, magazines, newspapers
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The New York Times
Time
Newsweek
National Geographic
The New Yorker
Sports Illustrated
 See suggested reading list
Passage-based Reading
 Passages are about 100 to 850 words long.
 Some selections are from a single source and
others consist of a pair of related passages.
 Topics cover subjects in humanities, social
studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction.
 A set of questions follows each passage or
pair of passages.
Approaches to Reading the Passages:
 Skim the questions before reading to get an
idea of what to look for when reading.
 Mark the passages or make short notes.
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Mark a specific line in the text if it is the focus
of a question or main idea.
Circle anything that is an answer to one of the
questions. Don’t go immediately back to the
questions. It will break your concentration and
comprehension.
Use process of elimination.
Approaches to Reading the
Passages:
 Try to summarize the paragraph in your head,
jot down notes and paraphrases in the
margin.
 Use your knowledge and experience
carefully.
 If you have to skip a reading passage, skip
the last one.
 Don’t choose an answer because it sounds
right, make sure you have evidence to
support your answer.
Question Types
 Vocabulary-in-context

Tests your ability to understand words and find
appropriate synonyms based on sentence
context.
 Literal Comprehension

Tests your ability to find specific information
that is directly stated in the passage.
 Extended Reasoning
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Facts, assumptions, and inferences
Logic, style and tone
Six Question Types
Type 1: General (Main Idea)
The author is primarily concerned with…
Which of the following titles best summarizes the
passage?
Type 2: Explicit (Facts)
According to the fourth paragraph…
Six Question Types
 Type 3: Implicit (reading between the lines)

Asks you to draw conclusions or evaluate the
information

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It can be inferred…
With which of the following statements would the
author most likely agree?
Six Question Types
 Type 4: Author’s Logic

Pretend you’re the author.
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What tone does the author take toward the
children?
Which of the following best describes the
development of the passage?
Six Question Types
 Type 5: Vocabulary-in-context
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How is the word used in the passage?
The most common definition may not be the
correct answer
ALWAYS look back.
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The word obtrusive is used in line 12…
The phrase “underlying theme” refers to…
Six Question Types
 Type 6: Comparison-Paired Passages
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Read the introduction.
Read the first passage, and do the questions
about it.
Read the second passage, and do the
questions that relate to it.
Do the questions about the relationship
between the two passages.
Approaches to Passage-based
questions:
 Keep in mind, the answers come from the passages.
 Remember every word counts.
 Read the questions and answer carefully.
 Don’t forget that an answer choice can be both true
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and wrong.
Make sure the reading passage supports your
answer.
Try eliminating choices.
Double check other choices.
Don’t jump from passage to passage.
Approaches to Passage-based
questions:
 Read directions carefully, look for italics, often
they will define words or identify names.
 Don’t let scientific jargon intimidate you. You
do not need to have outside knowledge . All
of the important information will be in the
passages.
 Questions are presented in order that the
answers appear in the text. If they specify a
line then the answer will be in that line.
Avoiding Anxiety Pitfalls
 Before the test:
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Don’t cram.
Do something enjoyable and relaxing.
Get a good night’s sleep.
Have everything ready the night before.
Know the way to the test center.
Leave time for mishaps and emergencies.
Pitfalls continued
 Think Positively!
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Use affirmative statements!
Encourage yourself!
 During the Test:
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Keep yourself focused.
Concentrate on yourself.
Stay physically relaxed.
MOST IMPORTANT!
Keep the test in perspective!!