<p>On the last SAT I took I got 670 and used his method of </p>
<p>skipping the whole passage and reading the specific line ones</p>
<p>Go to passage and read the specified lines</p>
<p>Go back and answer the specific line ones</p>
<p>And when your done you should have a strong gist of the passage to answer the general ones.</p>
<p>Really unorthodox method. Saves time. Anyone do it? Or do they do the normal read passage answer questions.</p>
<p>I think this approach has limitations. I doubt anyone can score 750 and up with this method. It seems extremely unconventional… I can’t imagine myself utilizing this method…</p>
<p>I skip to the questions and note the line references as places in the passage to pay attention to. </p>
<p>I do not recommend following the Grammatix way. For complex questions, such as tone, one has to go back and completely re-read the passage to get a feeling for the tone. </p>
<p>Plus, you don’t always find the answers right in the line references. You often have to read around the line references to find the answer.</p>
<p>I’ve always used this method, and I always have plenty of time in the end. My mistakes are always over-interpretation, and never a lack of understanding. Then again, maybe my using this method is what’s holding me back from a 700, since I always score in the low 600’s range. What do you prefer, OP?</p>
<p>I usually underline the lines and then carefully read the first paragraph (because the 1st paragraph usually has the main idea or back story) and then skim until I reach an underlined portions. Carefully read the 2 sentences before and after the underlines sentence.</p>
<p>I believe this method is very helpful for many, but that those wishing to break the 750 mark should read the passage first to avoid missing the difficult main idea questions, which require strong holistic comprehension.</p>
<p>Best way would be to first go directly to the questions, and note the line references. Mark those on your passage. Then read the passage carefully, and answer the questions along the way. That way you can get a much better sense of the passage while saving yourself from the pain of re-reading.</p>
<p>i used this method. dint know it was gramatix i just used it nd got 740. messed up sc.</p>
<p>I’ve consistently scored 800’s on official practice tests and I would NEVER use this method. Time is not scarce on the CR section, so using a strategy like this is ridiculous. This might work if you’re aiming for like a 650, but I doubt many high scorers would ever use this.</p>
<p>Gimmicks don’t work on the SAT. Know how to solve the questions and you’ll do well.</p>
<p>^ Daaaaaaaaamn. Then what method do you use, Rusty, to attack questions in long/paired passages?</p>
<p>Go to questions first, mark line references simply with a dash or line or something (don’t bother underlining or even listing question number), start reading passages. As you are coming to a marked section, read the question (I usually don’t read the answers before the part) and then read the part it refers to. Then answer that question if possible. Continue until passage is finished. Answer general questions. Go back to other questions and make sure you can support each of your answers based on the text.</p>
<p>If you are a moderately fast reader, you should be able to finish the section with about 5 mins to check answers.</p>
<p>^^
I don’t really have any ‘strategies’, I just read the passages and answer the questions. But on paired passages, I usually read 1, then answer all the questions that only involve that passage, do the same for passage #2, then answer all the questions that relate the two passages together.</p>
<p>I think instead of skipping the passage entirely I’ll try skimming it to get the main idea and then answer the citations first and after that there should be a firm understanding for the general passages.</p>
<p>Trying to save time and not get bogged down by reading it in full detail</p>
<p>I naturally do this but I agree that it isn’t that as effective for the SAT unless you are naturally a fast reader. If you can read fast you should have ten to fifteen minutes to reread the passage and review your original answer choices. For the ACT on the other hand I think it is by far the most effective method because the answers are usually explicitly stated in the passage. Using this method there is no reason to get below a 34 in the reading section.</p>
<p>I think you should try a few method and see whatever works for you.</p>
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<p>It seems that the author of the method consistently does! :)</p>
<p>Xiggi, I searched through the pdf of your advice and your stickied thread, but couldn’t find your opinion on Grammatix.</p>
<p>It probably depends on the person, but what do you think of it? (questions first then passage)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is not a specific method to recommend. One has to try several approaches through practice and decide which one fits better.</p>
<p>My D used the method described in the OP and got a 35 on the CR portion of the ACT.</p>
<p>Honestly you should read the passage quickly and efficiently, just stay FOCUSED. Read the introduction well enough to get the gist of the passage, then speed through the rest and don’t get caught in a single detail because you don’t need them, and you have to reread line refs anyways.</p>