SAT Prep Plan: SAT Learning Topic - Critical Reading Section Strategy Overview
Critical Reading Section Strategy Overview
Description:
The critical reading section of the SAT comprises 67 questions in total, broken into two categories:
sentence completion: 19 multiple-choice questions focusing on vocabulary and complex sentences
passage-based
reading: 48 questions based on passages that may be fairly short (100
words) to moderately long (850 words), or two short passages that you
must compare. Subject matter is drawn from all disciplines, ranging
from humanities to the natural sciences
All the
questions in this section test your ability for critical thinking - the
ability to read a sentence or passage and demonstrate an understanding
of what you have read.
Often the sentence completion
questions rely on your understanding of the vocabulary used in the
question, as well as your ability to determine the meaning of words you
do not know by the context in which they are used. Regardless of how
strong or weak you think your vocabulary skills are, it will be
important to continuously improve your vocabulary skills, by reading
(and looking up the definitions of words you do not know) and taking
the time to study vocabulary lists.
Basic Strategies for the Critical Reading Section
Work
on sentence completion questions first. These questions tend to be
easier than the passage-based questions, and they are self-contained.
After you complete all the sentence completion questions, you will know
exactly how much time you have left for the passage-based questions.
As with all sections in the SAT,
the sentence completion questions in the critical reading section
become progressively difficult as you proceed through the section. Try
to spend less time on the early questions, but be sure to read all
questions carefully.
Sentence completion questions frequently test your
vocabulary skills; when you see questions that use words you know, scan
these quickly to see if you can save time with a fast, correct answer.
When reading a passage, make annotations in your test book to flag key words and main points.
SAT Prep Plan: SAT Learning Topic -
Critical Reading Section Strategy Overview 
Critical Reading Section Strategy Overview
