<p>Best way to tackle tone and other inference questions?</p>
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<p>Is it really helpful to underline line references beforehand and answer questions while reading a passage? I find myself changing answers after I've read the whole passage. (Which is pretty time consuming)</p>
<p>A good strategy for tone questions is to look just at the first word of each answer choice. You should know from the passage whether the author is “explaining” or “arguing” to “discussing” in the passage. When you’ve narrowed it down based just on that first word, then read the rest of answer to get to the right one!</p>
<p>Inference questions are definitely the hardest, since you’ve got to read between the lines. Just be sure to read every word of the answer choice you’re considering and be certain that every word is correct. Often, these questions use the word “primarily,” so again, be certain that your answer choice is the primary one. Other answer choices may be supported by the passage, but they may be secondary.</p>
<p>As for the line references strategy, it’s helpful for some, a burden for others - I know if I were taking the SAT these days, it would irritate me! There’s nothing wrong with doing a quick read of the entire passage then attacking the questions, in fact that’s what I recommend to my students for just the reason you describe. Try a few passages this way, and see if it feels more comfortable/efficient than your underlining strategy.</p>
<p>Lots of luck!</p>
<p>Thank You!</p>