SAT Self-Study Prep


How to Ace the SAT Reading Section with Ease


10 Mind-blowing Strategies to excel in the Reading Section

Understand Your Weaknesses and then work on them

Many students may have different weaknesses in the SAT Reading section, such as lacking effective strategies for answering passage questions or poor time management which causes them to run out of time before completing all questions.

Here is a technique to determine one's specific weaknesses in the SAT Reading section. It is suggested to take an official practice test, timing oneself during the Reading section, noting any questions answered or changed during extra time, and grading the test to determine two scores- one under normal timing conditions and one with extra time. This will help identify where the individual needs to improve their strategies.

The Technique of Elimination

This strategy involves understanding that the SAT always has one unambiguous answer, and that out of the four answer choices, three of them have something wrong about them. To find the right answer, the individual should focus on eliminating answer choices by finding a reason to eliminate three of them, instead of trying to find similarities between the remaining choices. This changes the way of viewing passage questions and helps to improve the score.

Try to Figure out the relevant answer before reading the options

This strategy is designed to counteract the trickiness of the SAT Reading section's answer choices. It suggests taking the opposite approach by coming up with one's ideal answer to the question before reading the answer choices, which prevents getting biased by the SAT's answer choices and especially the incorrect ones. It also suggests that when answering a question, the passage must support the answer choice, as every correct answer on SAT passages needs to be justified by the passage. This strategy helps the test taker to avoid getting trapped by the College Board's trap of muddling the answer choices.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

In preparing for the SAT, different strategies for reading passages and answering questions may have been encountered. Some students prefer to read the questions before reading the passage, while others prefer to read the passage in detail first. Ultimately, the strategy that works best for you should align with your strengths and weaknesses to avoid mistakes or time constraints. The most effective methods will be discussed with us at Masterclassspace, but it is ultimately up to you to determine which one yields the highest score through practice and testing.

Focus on the Pattern of Mistakes

Achieving perfection on the SAT requires identifying and addressing all of your weaknesses. Even one mistake can greatly affect your score. The first step is to do a lot of practice, using a variety of sources such as books or online materials with a large number of practice questions. In addition, it is important to analyze and understand mistakes made during practice, as they may indicate a larger issue that needs to be addressed. Without understanding why a mistake was made, it is likely to be repeated in the future. Even after completing a large number of practice tests, students may still be far from achieving a perfect SAT Reading score without this critical step of understanding and addressing mistakes.

Never Skip the Introduction

A useful, but often overlooked strategy for the SAT Reading section is to pay attention to the italicized introduction that precedes each passage. This introduction provides context for the entire passage and can help you understand the main point and purpose of the passage. Additionally, by understanding the introduction, students can start reading the passage with some background information that can give them a head start. In some cases, the introduction may even provide the answer to the "Big Picture" question about the main point of the passage.

Build Interest in the Passage

The SAT Reading section includes passages on a wide range of subjects, some of which may not be particularly interesting to individual students. However, this can make it difficult to engage with the passage and answer the questions accurately, leading to frustration. To overcome this challenge, it can be helpful to adopt a mindset where you are the most passionate person in the world about the subject matter of the passage, even if it may not be a topic of personal interest. This can help you stay engaged with the passage and better understand the material, making it easier to answer the questions correctly.

Avoid Reading Magazines

Advice to read great novels and well-written magazines, such as those found in The New York Times or The Atlantic, to improve reading comprehension for the SAT Reading section is not effective. The SAT Reading test is very specific in the way it tests reading comprehension, and general leisure reading does not effectively train the same skills required for the test. Additionally, leisure reading is not goal-driven enough to help students make progress on the test. This advice is similar to saying that standing in the shower for longer will help train for a swim meet. While you are in the water, the skills used are not the same. While a lifetime of strong reading and thousands of hours of leisure reading experience will certainly help with the SAT Reading test, it is not an efficient use of time to read general material. Instead, students should take their extra time and focus on practicing SAT Reading questions.

Try to keep some time to revise the answers

The ultimate goal of all your preparation and practice should be to become proficient in SAT Reading to the point where you can solve every question and still have extra time to review your work. In high school, the author was able to finish a Reading section in about 60% of the allotted time, completing all passages and 52 questions in 40 minutes. This leaves a significant amount of time, 25 minutes, to review answers twice over.

Masterclass Space: The ultimate platform to get a perfect 1600 on your SAT exam

Are you in need of a comprehensive resource that can assist you throughout your journey of preparing for the SAT or international education? Do you have concerns or stress about universities and the culture in a foreign country? Are you unsure about the best counselling options? Are you seeking guidance on which colleges are best suited for your chosen field? Masterclass Space is a one-stop destination that can provide answers to all of your questions and address all of your concerns.

Self-paced courses can be extremely helpful in preparing for the SAT exam. One of the main benefits is the flexibility it offers. With a self-paced course, you can learn at a time that works best for you, whether that's during the day, in the evening, or on weekends. This allows you to fit studying into your schedule and work around other commitments such as school or work. Additionally, self-paced courses allow you to progress through the material at a pace that works for you. If you need more time to understand a concept or skill, you can take a break or slow down, and if you feel confident, you can move forward quickly. This personalized approach can help you to focus on your areas of weakness and improve your overall performance. Self-paced courses also usually come with a lot of practice questions and tests that can give you an idea of how you would perform in the actual test, which can help you to identify areas you need to work on.

Conclusion

The outbreak of the pandemic has led to an increased reliance on technology and online learning. Masterclass Space offers students the opportunity to learn from the comfort of their own homes by providing access to all lectures, which are recorded and can be viewed at any time. This allows students to review and clarify any missed points or topics they wish to revisit. Additionally, we offer a self-paced learning option for the SAT, which allows students to learn at their own pace and in a way that best suits their individual needs.

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