Ivy Bound Test Prep : For Students

Specific SAT Tips on Reading Comprehension

by Mark Greenstein, J.D.

Know what you are reading by identifying the function of each paragraph. Some functions:

Use your finger as a pointer. Run it below the line of text. The human eye naturally follows a pointer, so this keeps your eye going at the pace your brain wants. Ideally right-handed students should use their left hands as pointers. That way they can take occasional notes in while holding their place in the passage with their left hand.
Know what pronouns refer to. A pronoun stands for a noun. When you encounter words like "it", "his", "this", "these", "them", if you don't know their referring noun or noun clause, go back to find it.
Before going to the questions, ask yourself "what's the author's overall idea?" and "how forcefully does she/he hold that idea?". Note that nearly 1/3 of all reading passages lack a main idea. These are just descriptive. Take confidence in that and avoid answers that say the "author's purpose is to argue" or "defend".
Be able to identify something about each proper noun. Expect the test to ask something regarding that person, place, or group.
Don't go out of your way to memorize details. Though it can't hurt when details stick in your brain, given that the test frequently gives line references, and given that you identified something about each paragraph, you should be able to return to unknown details, reread for 30 seconds, and thereby get the right answer.

Unless you are running out of time, make sure you find clear support for an answer. To say "this could be right, sort of" is like putting a square peg into a round hole. Look to other answers instead of forcing one.
Avoid classic bad answer choices. Here are seven:

Your idea vs. Author's idea (the test never asks "according to you")
first part true, second part false. Particularly on long answers, read the whole thing.
answer contains an absolute word (90% of these are wrong). Double check yourself.
too general or too specific
good choice, but wrong author
bad chronology
bad causal or numerical relationship

Avoid silly author's attitudes. The test's writers are people who have researched a topic for months. They are knowledgeable and at least somewhat passionate about their work. Therefore the following adjectives will not describe the test's authors:

Where the question asks "how would this author's point be weakened?", you need to lock into your head what the author's point is. Then choose the choice that makes that viewpoint less likely. These questions tend to occur once per section.
Try to predict an answer before reading the choices.
When you have to reread and the question gives a line reference, begin a full sentence prior to the line in question.