<p>Whenever I take a practice test, the hardest section for me is the prose fiction. I always skip it and do it last. Yesterday I only had about 6 minutes to read and answer the questions. I ended up missing 8/10 of the questions on that one passage and only missing 2/30 on the rest. I just dont really know what to do. I want to raise my reading score because my ranges for the sections are: English:29-33 Math:32-36 reading:24-29 Science:26-29 (mostly because of the conflicting scienctists). Does anybody have an advice?</p>
<p>With that particular type of reading section, or any reading section actually, I would simply read the passage slowly enough so that I comprehended and retained information, but fast enough that I could finish the section in time, and then answered the questions. Obviously this is a pretty straight forward strategy, but you don’t have to use some type of complex test taking secret to do well.</p>
<p>The prose fiction passage does not have a main idea; it’s likely been taken from a novel or short story, so you’d have to read the entire piece to see the plot or point of the story. Instead of looking for a big picture, focus on how the characters feel about each other or about their situation. The clues to these feelings are often in the words the author uses to describe the scene. For example, consider the first Prose Fiction passage in the Red Book (pg 180). Fran, the narrator, says that her mother was speechless for once in line 38. That indicates that the narrator thinks her mother talks to much. Then, in line 61, she says her mom “snorted.” That is not a kind description or a kind reaction. To me, it indicates slight disapproval that Fran feels towards her mother. Later, in line 81, the narrator “bristles.” While it’s clear that her mother and her are close (after all, they are discussing the narrator’s child that was given up for adoption and it seems Fran cares for her sick mother), there are some hurt feelings there, which you can pick up from those three scenarios. You should also pay attention to how Fran feels about the situation itself. She felt shock in line 33, disbelief in line 63, scared in line 65 (she had just shaken hands with Death), like it was unfair in line 72, and hesitant at getting involved (line 91). Finally, how does the mother feel about Fran? It’s more difficult to tell because we can only analyze her speech. The mother asks Fran several questions about the letter, which shows concern for the situation and possibly for Fran. She also is very candid. She called Fran out on being a Grandma (line 61) and told Fran that her daughter’s nose is more aristocratic (line 76). At the end, she expressed a very caring sentiment to her daughter (line 97). She told Fran that she need not worry about not having lived an exciting life. Being a mother to Linda was enough. This shows that she loves and cares for Fran.</p>
<p>Picking up on all of these feelings will undoubtedly help you answer the questions.</p>