<p>How many of you guys do this for the CR passages:
1. Read the passage first, and after you've read paragraph, write down a few keywords next to the paragraph just to briefly summarize it.
2. After doing the above for each paragraph of the passage, write down a 2-3 word statement that sums up the passage as a whole.
3. Answer questions</p>
<p>I've begun doing this, as opposed to my method of looking at the questions first, and it seems to be working pretty well because I'm getting a lot less questions wrong now, but this method is a bit more time consuming. For those you that do this, do you find that it's time consuming, and are you still able to finish all the CR questions within the allotted time?</p>
<p>I have a quirky way of doing the passages and I’ll have to see how it worked (got an 80 CR on PSAT, same method).</p>
<p>Since the questions almost always go by line order, I star the “big picture/concept” or idea comparison questions and work through the “refer to line x” questions as I read. aka I’ll start reading until I hit the first line-based question, answer it, then skim to the next line-based question. I go back at the end and do the big picture ones, having completed all of the “specifics” and having a good understanding of the passage without having to read it once, then go back and re-read lines.</p>
<p>I use the “normal” method: no note taking, just going back to the passage. </p>
<p>But when you refer back to a certain part of the passage, make sure you read that sentence or word IN CONTEXT. This could be the difference between getting it right and wrong.</p>
<p>Long and short passages:
-Read the passage (don’t look at the questions)
-Underline the main ideas of the passages
-Simply look for the wrong answers
-Divide long sentences into parts</p>
<p>There are usually two things wrong with the MC questions:
Something was never mentioned in the story
Something in the answer contradicts the story</p>
<p>Short/Double passages
-Read both passages
-Answer questions
-Skip comparison questions until the end</p>
<p>I don’t even skim the passage first. I go straight to the line/word questions and read some of the previous lines to understand the context. </p>
<p>Just from doing that, I’ve read almost the entire passage. Then I do the main idea type questions. If I feel like I’m missing something, I just go back and read. It takes me a lot less time because I’ve already read big chunks of it.</p>
<p>I usually have tons of time left over. I just took my first SAT yesterday, so if you want, I’ll tell you how I did when I get my score. I’m feeling confident though.</p>
<p>I’ve practiced CR so much that I can usually guess which lines will have questions that reference them. I underline lines and words that I think will be referenced. Also, any words that would indicate the tone or summarize the passage I also underline. This approach saves me time since I focus on the important lines as I read and rarely have to reference back. I usually miss 0 passage-based questions.</p>
<p>I usually read either one or two paragraphs of the passage (depending on how long it is) at a time and answer the 2-4 questions pertaining to that specific section of the passage. This seemed to be working for me when I was reviewing but for some reason I didn’t feel as if it was as effective on Saturday’s test. Does anybody have a sure-fire CR strategy that usually gets them in the 1-2 wrong range?</p>
<p>-read the italicized
-read until you can answer a question
ex) In line 7 “cool” means…
-when you are finished w/ “line” questions answer all the “big picture questions”</p>
<p>Just read and answer line reference questions as you go. Then do non-referenced questions after finishing.</p>
<p>The best strategy is to keep an active mind while reading the passage. Study and interpret the passage, but don’t apply any prior knowledge or analytical skills. Forget any AP skills you’ve developed. Do not assume or infer. Only deduce and reason.</p>