Critical Reading on
the SAT
Mrs. Campbell
bwhitehead@alvinisd.net
Think about it this way…
IMAGINE TWO CHILDREN PLAYING TAG IN A
DEEP, DARK forest. Who’s gonna win? A speed
demon from the big city who doesn’t know his
way around and keeps tripping and falling? Or
a slower-footed tyke who grew up in the forest
and knows every root, twist, and cranny of the
forest?
O Here’s the point: Knowing the landscape
can be very helpful. If the SAT’s the forest,
you’ll have to know the nooks and crannies
of the test.
Source: http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/newsat/chapter6.rhtml
?’s get harder
*skip questions at end
*last ?’s: avoid “obvious”
answers; they don’t exist
here
Speed
40 s/?
CR 4 Rules
p. 34-36
order
1st: Sentence completions
2nd: Short reading
3rd: Long critical reading
Know the directions
Skipping p. 36
Don’t think
Might get it
you will get it right if you
right
have time
Answered,
but not sure
if correct
Sentence Completions p. 37
1. Read & skip blanks “to get feel”
2. Read again & guess blanks: +, -, good, bad
3. Compare guess with answer choices
4. Plug the answer that looks best to see if it
makes sense
5. Makes sense, go with it
• Double blanks
• Cross out answers that don’t fit
Change Logic of a Sentence p.
40
O Despite
O Instead of
O Except
O Nevertheless
O Far from
O Unless
O In spite of
O While
O Yet
Sentence Completions
Practice
1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ;
however, he died an outsider treated
with ____ by the scientific
establishment.
A. unsupported - approval B.
dismissed - contempt C. accepted approbation D. unchallenged disdain E. unrivalled – reverence
Sentence Completions
Practice
2. The revolution in art has not lost
its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as
ever.
A. trudges B. meanders C. edges
D. ambles E. rages
Sentence Completions
Practice
3. Each occupation has its own ____
; bankers, lawyers and computer
professionals, for example, all use
among themselves language which
outsiders have difficulty following.
A. merits B. disadvantages C.
rewards D. jargon E. problems
Sentence Completions
Practice
4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke
very little even to his own family
members.
A. garrulous B. equivocal C.
taciturn D. arrogant E.
gregarious
Sentence Completions
Practice
5. Biological clocks are of such ____
adaptive value to living organisms,
that we would expect most
organisms to ____ them.
A. clear - avoid B. meager - evolve
C. significant - eschew D. obvious possess E. ambivalent – develop
Sentence Completions
Practice
6. The peasants were the least ____
of all people, bound by tradition and
____ by superstitions.
A. free - fettered B. enfranchised rejected C. enthralled - tied D.
pinioned - limited E. conventional –
encumbered
Sentence Completions
Practice
7. If there is nothing to absorb the
energy of sound waves, they travel
on ____ , but their intensity ____ as
they travel further from their source.
A. erratically - mitigates B. eternally
- alleviates C. forever - increases
D. steadily - stabilizes E.
indefinitely – diminishes
Sentence Completions
Practice
8. The two artists differed markedly in their
temperaments; Palmer was reserved and
courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful.
A. phlegmatic B. choleric C. constrained
D. tractable E. stoic
Sentence Completions
Practice
9. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a
multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms
where emphasis on British-American literature
has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country.
A. eradicated - unanimity B. encouraged aspirations C. stifled - diversity D. thwarted uniformity E. inculcated – divide
Sentence Completions
Practice
10. The conclusion of his
argument, while ____ , is far from
____ .
A. stimulating - interesting B.
worthwhile - valueless C. esoteric
- obscure D. germane - relevant
E. abstruse – incomprehensible
Sentence Completions
Practice
11. In the Middle Ages, the ____ of the great
cathedrals did not enter into the architects'
plans; almost invariably a cathedral was
positioned haphazardly in ____ surroundings.
A. situation - incongruous B. location - apt C.
ambience - salubrious D. durability - convenient
E. majesty – grandiose
CR Strategy 1:
Skim ?’s First
?’s, not answers
p. 44
Specific line ?’s
General: best title?
Main idea? ALWAYS be
one
As “read” passage,
circle anything that is an
answer
Don’t just look for
answers; overall
meaning
CR Strategy 2:
What about?
2 to 6 seconds in your
head
Look at paragraph
Jot down notes and
paraphrases in the
margins
CR Strategy 3:
Main idea
Few sentences
Facts to support
Underline as you
read…it will be a ?
CR Strategy 4
Underline main
sentence of each
paragraph
Draw your attention to
the main idea of each
CR Strategy 5
Skip the last (or
longest) paragraph
Hardest so most
get lots wrong
More time to
devote to other ?’s
CR Strategy 6
Cover up the answer
choices
& think about the answer
Politically correct answers
The Six Types of Questions
O You should have read about them p. 52-53
O In this order:
O Vocabulary in Context
O Explicit
O Implicit
O Author’s Logic
O Main Idea
O Comparison
O Let’s practice picking them out.
At Home Study Plan