SAT Prep – Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension (also known as Critical Reading) questions test your ability to
understand a passage and answer question on the basis of what is stated and implied in the
passage. You need to read the passage first so that you can identify the main idea of the passage
and appreciate features such as the author's tone and attitude as well as the organization of the
passage.
Three sections of the SAT Reading Test begin with sentence completion questions before the
reading passages; one section consists of reading questions. To give you a better idea of the
layout of the passages within the SAT Reading Test, let's take another look at its three sections:
25-minute section: 8 sentence completions and 16 reading questions (2 paired small passages, 1
long passage)
25-minute section: 5 sentence completions and 19 reading questions (2 small passages, 2
medium-to-long passages)
20-minute section: 6 sentence completions and 13 reading questions (1 pair of medium-to-long
passages)
Again, there might be some variation from test to test, but you can expect this basic layout
The Passages
Passages on the SAT vary in length from short paragraphs that take 3 minutes to read and answer
two or three questions, to ones that take 15 minutes to read and answer approximately 13
questions. One section will contain two related long passages.
1. The first thing you need to consider is the introductory blurb above the passage. Often,
this will clue you into the rhetorical mode of the passage (narrative, persuasive,
descriptive, compare/contrast, etc.)
2. Some students prefer to look at the questions first. I suggest you experiment with this to
determine what works best for you. This will take extra time, as you will be reading the
questions twice.
The Questions
3. While answering the multiple choice, mark the area in the passage where you have found
the answer – or the information that lead you to the answer in the case of inference. This
will encourage you to find the answer rather than guess.
4. Unlike the sentence completions, the reading passages DO NOT move from easiest to
hardest. So if any question stumps you, skip it and come back to it later.
5. Paired Passages:
a. Read the first passage and answer the questions associated with it first.
b. Then, read the second passage and answers those.
c. Last, answer the questions that ask you to consider both.
* For the short, paired passages you may not need to do use this strategy.
The Real Challenge of the Reading Section Is the Questions and Choices—Not the Passages
You'd think that the difficulty on the reading section comes from not understanding what the
passages are about. In fact, most avoidable mistakes arise from not understanding precisely what
a question is asking or what a choice is
Read Carefully - Drill
Part A: To demonstrate just how carefully you have to read individual
choices, I've prepared the following single-sentence passage for you. Don't guess here; really try
to work out the answer—you'll never see a passage this short again! Take your time, but don't
take any chances: use process of elimination to be sure you've found the answer. If more than one
choice seems correct, keep working until you find a reason to eliminate every choice but the
answer.
The last supernova in our galaxy visible from Earth was observed only five years before the
telescope was first used for celestial observation in 1609.
1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage above?
A. Telescopes were first used for celestial observation.
B. Since astronomers began using telescopes, they have observed no supernovas in our galaxy.
C. The last supernova in our galaxy occurred in 1604.
D. Supernovas can be seen from Earth by the unaided eye.
E. The telescope was invented five years before the last visible supernova occurred.
Discussion: If you selected choice A—careful—you misread the passage and didn't consider all
the choices. It says that telescopes were first used for celestial observation in 1609; it doesn't say
that this was the first use of telescopes.
If you selected choice B—careful—you misread the passage and didn't consider all the choices.
The choice says that no supernovas were visible from Earth, but astronomers could have observed
supernovas from satellite-based telescopes. If you hadn't considered that possibility, you still
should have worked your way through the other choices, because choice D is unquestionably the
answer without any need to read between the lines.
If you selected choice C—careful—you misread the passage and didn't consider all the choices;
you may also have misread the choice. The choice refers to when supernovas occurred, whereas
the passage refers to when they were observed. Moreover, it would be impossible for us to know
enough about our galaxy to say when the last supernova occurred.
If you selected choice D, you used process of elimination correctly and found the answer.
Congratulations, this was a deceptively difficult question. If the last supernova was observed five
years before telescopes were used to explore the night sky, then clearly supernovas were visible
to the unaided eye.
If you selected choice E—careful—you misread the passage and the choice. The passage did not
say when the telescope was invented, just when it was first used for astronomical purposes. See
also the discussion to choice C, a similar error. Notice also that the choice refers to the last
supernova visible but the passage refers to supernovas in our galaxy, a very big difference.
Part B: To hammer home just how important spending the time to read the choices correctly is,
take a shot at the question below. This passage is the length of one of the shorter passages on an
actual SAT.
The nation's health system requires a continual supply of new blood from donors to replenish its
stockpiles. Freezing blood for long-term storage is a delicate, expensive, and time-consuming
process; moreover, many doctors believe that the resulting product is unreliable. When stored in a
solution of plasma and nutritive dextrose (a sugar), fresh red blood cells can survive and remain
viable for transfusion for only six weeks.
2. The passage above suggests which of the following?
A. Additional facilities must be created to prepare and store blood for future transfusions.
B. Without special storage procedures, red blood cells cannot exist for long outside the human
body.
C. The public should be reminded frequently of the need to donate blood, not merely appealed
to in times of crisis.
D. The nation's stockpile of blood is dangerously low and needs an immediate infusion of
donations.
E. The nation's stockpile of blood supplies is exhausted on average once every six weeks.
Don't be discouraged if you found this drill difficult. I designed it to underscore how easy it is to
be fooled by the apparent simplicity of even a few words, and to demonstrate why you have to
slow down on the questions rather than the passage.
If you selected choice A—careful—you misread the passage and didn't consider all the choices.
Nothing was said about the need for additional storage facilities. New facilities would be of little
use if the blood supply were not replenished continually.
If you selected choice B—careful—you misread the choice and didn't consider all the choices.
The passage says that blood cannot survive for long; the passage does not say that blood ceases to
exist. Indeed, common sense tells us that blood exists for a long time (think of a blood stain),
although the blood would not long remain viable for transfusions.
If you selected choice C, you used process of elimination correctly and found the answer.
Congratulations, this was a deceptively difficult question, too. If blood remains viable for
transfusion for a limited time, then the public must replenish blood stockpiles continually.
If you selected choice D—careful—you misread the passage. The first sentence says that the
nation requires a continual supply of new blood; the passage does not say that the current supply
is inadequate.
If you selected choice E—careful—you misread the passage. The passage said that blood in
solution remains viable for only six weeks. The stockpile of blood would be exhausted six weeks
from today only if no new blood were donated.