SAT Prep - Critical-Reading

Single short passages consist of a one paragraph passage followed by two questions.  The passage is usually about 100 words long, and the subject matter and questions are similar to the types of questions asked about long passages.  Since these passages are much shorter, there is no reason to take notes or to preview the passage here. 

The first thing that you should do when tackling single short passages is read the two questions. 

Don't read the answer choices, because you won't remember all of that information- but read the questions so you can be an active reader and know what you are looking for. 

Once you have read the questions, then it is time to read the passage actively. 

You should have a pretty good idea of the answers to the two questions from your initial reading.  

You will want to do the questions in the order they appear, since  you have read the whole passage. 

To answer the questions, first re-read the question briefly, and predict the answer based on the passage you just read. 

You shouldn't need to refer back to the passage, since it is short enough that hopefully you can remember its content. 

If the question asks about a specific line number and you really do want to refer back, then you can read that line number and one line above and below. 

After you have predicted the answer in your own words, look at the answer choices and try to find the choice that is closest to your prediction. 

Then move on to the second question and repeat the process- predicting the answer, referring back if necessary, and choosing the option closest to your prediction.