<p>There are two types of passages in the CR section:
1) The types where you're given one passage at a time and the questions are based on what the author meant by saying certain things. Ex: "The author says so and so in order to..."
2) The types where you are given two passages together and you're asked questions like "Compared to the author of Passage 1, the author of Passage 2 is..."</p>
<p>Well, I have a VERY easy time with the first type, but I struggle with the second type. I find the questions of the second type very difficult; here are some examples of those questions:</p>
<p>The author of Passage 1 would most likely interpret the "exchange" in Passage 2 (lines 46-47) as...</p>
<p>Compared to the author of Passage 2, the author of Passage 1 shows a greater concern about the...</p>
<p>For the comparing the passages questions do you guys read both passages completely first? Do you skim them? Just looking for any tips or suggestions you guys use.</p>
<p>Read the first passage, flip to the questions, and answer those that pertain strictly to that passage. Then read the second passage and answer the questions about it or the questions that involve a comparison between the two passages. This'll make it much easier.</p>
<p>Rmac beat me to the punch... That's great advice for most people.</p>
<p>The only think I would add is that it really helps to think about the similarities and differences between the passages as you're answering the questions for the second passage... don't <em>completely</em> forget about passage 1 :)</p>
<p>It doesn't work as well on the short passage compare and contrast questions, 'cause most of the 4 questions are usually compare and contrast, but heck, they're short, you can read them both.</p>
<p>Oh... I have one specific example of a difficult question. If you have the College Board book (the New SAT one) go to page 667 and look at question #14. That to me is a VERY difficult question. If you could explain why the answer is (C) it would probably help me a lot</p>
<p>The answer is C because the author is contrasting his interaction with his daughter to the act of listening to recorded writing. The phrase "not at all in the position of" is an admittedly awkward way of saying "unlike".</p>
<p>So, the author is saying that reading in his own voice to his daughter is different from listening to a recording because she can tell him to change the way she's reading.</p>
<p>C is definitely tough, but none of the other answers makes sense.</p>
<p>A: There's no mention of adults reading without sufficient expression...maybe he's reading with too much</p>
<p>B: A little ridiculous...that would be like saying "don't read to your daughter as I do:</p>
<p>D: A nice warm fuzzy answer but totally off topic.</p>
<p>E: The daughter's achievements aren't mentioned</p>
<p>To answer number 14 on page 667 in College Board's book, you need to analyze the author's purpose for writing passage 1. It is his contention that recorded books are not good because the reader is unable to actively participate in the reading process and rather, simple receives information. He states this explicitly when he says,</p>
<p>"...but hearing a book in the voice of another amounts to silencing the self--it is an act of vocal tyranny. The listener is powerless against the taped voice..."</p>
<p>Immediately afterward, the author uses his daughter as an example of reading as a collaborative process to support his point that it is beneficial to be actively involved in the reading process.</p>
<p>Thus, the best answer is clearly C, to "offer an example of active participation."</p>