<p>What is it? I mean, when it comes down to the longer passages, how do you go about doing it? Do you read the whole thing through first and then answer the questions? Do you go back and forth from question to passage using the line references, etc, etc?</p>
<p>I figure I would ask some of you since your scores are probably amazing. I need help with this section the most, and i'm kind of debating as to which strategy works best. So....if you have a very high CR score, can you please post on how you tackle the passages/questions?</p>
<p>Okay well I got a 700+ on my CR and this is how I did it.</p>
<p>First: Don't waste your time reading the ENTIRE story. It just slows you down and you'll have to go back to the story and search for answers after you finish reading anyway. Instead you read the questions and then look for key words in the question to help find the answer in the paragraph. Ususally when you find answers in the story, read about one sentence before where the answer is and one sentence after.</p>
<p>Second: Look at the questions. Notice how they seem to go in order? Well that's because usually the questions line up with the story; as in the answer to the first question will usually be around the top or beginning of the story.</p>
<p>Third: Do vocab questions first, leave comprehension questions for last. It's better to get the easy questions out of the way than to stay bogged down on what the "theme" or "main idea" of the story is.</p>
<p>^I'll have to disagree. My strategy in a nutshell (has gotten me a 750 on an SAT):</p>
<p>Quickly (as in 15 seconds) scan the questions for LINE REFERENCE and PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT questions and mark the passage in the corresponding places. Then, read. Read the introductory paragraph somewhat slowly, and make sure you understand the author's main idea by the FIRST SENTENCE OF THE SECOND PARAGRAPH. Then, if there are any questions related to the introduction, do them.</p>
<p>Continue in this manner, reading it a paragraph at a time and answering the questions related to it. However, once you understand the author's main point, you should speed up considerably in your reading. Like the poster above me pointed out, you can and SHOULD reference the text as much as possible while answering the questions. Say, you have a 120-line passage broken up into 4 paragraphs with 10 questions and 14 minutes left in the section. I would spend (not in this order) 1.5 minutes on the first 30-line paragraph, the intro, 2.5 minutes on the other 90 lines, and 10 minutes for the 10 questions. </p>
<p>I also find it useful to make notes while I read about important IDEAS and DEVELOPMENTS in the passage. Not facts. For example, if the passage says "The Iliad is a fantastic piece of literature. As stated by Captain Superman, 'this book changed my life. Now I see things through a whole different lens, as if the world exists for the sole purpose of bettering both my life and the lives of people around me.'" I would make a tiny note, "ex shows book = imp." It's not necessary for me to take note of OR EVEN THINK ABOUT the fact that it changed the Captain's life, and that now he sees things differently. These are all just explicit facts that I can easily reference while I'm doing the questions. But in order to figure out that the paragraph included a quote for that purpose, I'd have to do a lot more reading. And I may not even get it after reading it, since it will have been a few minutes since I read the quote in the context of the paragraph in the context of the section as a whole.</p>
<p>Just remember, you're being tested on your ability to read and understand the questions, not just the passage, so make sure you leave yourself ample time to answer and think about them. As for vocab, I recommend going fast. You should be able to do each one in 30 seconds. The worst thing you can possibly do is waste 3 minutes trying to figure out the roots and origins of the word "perfidy" when its one of 4 answer choices you've never heard of before. Don't get me wrong, put in enough time so that you understand what word the blank is calling for. But once you're in a situation where you have to guess between unknowns, just guess and move on.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that everyone has his or her own method for critical reading. You should test different methods until you get one that you like that works for you.</p>
<p>I find that I always have to read the entire passage. I don't like skipping anything. I read the first paragraph and answer all the questions I can answer on the first paragraph. Then I read the second paragraph and answer all the questions about the second paragraph, and so on until I finish. Then I answer those "general" questions, like What is the main idea? That should be a breeze, since you've read the entire thing.</p>
<p>should slow readers, avoid reading the whole passage
and
should fast readers, read the whole thing</p>
<p>i am a very slow reader. do you think a good strategy would be to skim the passage, do the search or context questions then do the main idea questions?</p>
<p>As I said before, you should experiment and see what works for you. I always think that it'll be better to read the whole passage, but that's just me. Why don't you try reading the whole passage and answering the questions the way I suggested and see if it works? And if it doesn't work, adapt it so that it works for you?</p>
<p>The point is, FOR CRITICAL READING PASSAGES, YOU HAVE TO EXPERIMENT AND SEE WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!!! </p>
<p>People, read the posts above before you post another question that's already been answered.</p>
<p>I'm not a very fast reader, but I read the entire passage before looking at the questions. I keep a steady pace-- not a rushing pace--, and I normally have about five minutes remaining.</p>