SAT Reading

Reading

• Three Principles
  • Since there are many principles to remember, it is important to remember the generalized principles.
  • ① Exclude subjectivity and think evidence-based.
  • ② Read calmly and do active reading to not miss words or elements.
  • ③ Think critically if there are any misinterpretations of the text or problem statement.
• Overall Strategy
  • Read with high motivation and create reasons to enjoy reading.
  • On the first read, read at the fastest speed possible while understanding the content.
  • When reading while solving problems, scan mechanically to ensure not to miss words or elements.
  • Paraphrase subjective wordings of the problems into objective ones.
• When the overall meaning is unclear
  • When the content is not well understood while reading, it may be important to verbalize what is not understood.
  • Allocate time to be able to read carefully.
  • Consciously underline to prevent the eyes from wandering.
• When there are no suitable choices
  • Consider if there are any mistakes in reading comprehension, especially in the interpretation of words in the choices.
  • Reread mechanically to avoid missing elements.
    • It is easy to make mistakes by quickly reading and skipping words in the choices.
  • Eliminate mistakes logically and critically. It is difficult to always be aware of them even if you know them.
  • Strive for explicit thinking and evidence-based thinking.
  • Exclude subjectivity.
    • If there are choices that are “partially unclear but subjectively seem plausible” and “no flaws objectively but subjectively do not fit well,” choose the latter.
  • Read the elements of the problem statement carefully while underlining.
  • It is difficult to always look for restated parts, but critical and mechanical thinking can be done without consuming time.
    • So when in doubt, always remember the three principles.
• By problem type
  • In forms that show evidence
    • Check if the misunderstanding of the range of the text has occurred and reconfirm.
  • In vocabulary-based questions
    • It is too simplistic to choose something just because it seems plausible when you don’t understand the vocabulary.
    • If you think you understand, unexpected possibilities often open up.
      • Consider while underlining variations of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

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• When there is not enough time for a problem

  • I want to be able to understand the content faster.

• Should I try various strategies?

  • Read the problems first
    • If you can judge that you are prone to making mistakes in this type of problem, you can consciously read while keeping that in mind, so it seems good.
  • Active Reading
    • In literature-related questions, it is common for the eyes to wander when it is difficult.
      • So it seems good to read while underlining and keeping the mind active.
    • Since SAT is a test that deals with details, it seems good to always read while considering things like “this detail seems important.”
  • After finishing reading the passage, it is important to check what is written (not the overall structure, but the content of each paragraph).
    • There may be parts that were skipped while reading, and it may also make it easier to solve problems.
    • Especially in Literature/History.
  • Macro time allocation
    • Assumption: Allocate time to Literature/History.
      • I’m a little unsure if this is correct, so I’ll practice and confirm by seeing the results.
    • ① 30(2) + 35(3)
      • Spend 30 minutes on Literature and History, which take time for reading comprehension (15/q).
      • It seems easier to grasp the time with 15/15.
    • ② 35(3) + 30(2)
      • It seems better to finish with something easy in 35 minutes and then tackle the two difficult ones in 30 minutes.
      • This way, it can also handle the case where Science is difficult.
      • Impression: Not bad, but it may be too much time.
        • It seems more hopeful to speed up Science rather than Literature/History, so it seems good to decide to use this strategy and practice how to finish Science in 35 minutes.
    • ③ 35(3) + 25(2) + 5(0)
      • It seems better to aim for 25 minutes for the last two.
    • Half Time
    • Rather than the time allocation itself, it seems that the determination to strictly adhere to it is more important.Evidence of details that did not match the article:

• The limitation of “only”

• Plural

• Author’s stance (mention, support/claim) (important for summary questions)

“The College Panda”:

• Seems to have a similar ideology as the “SAT Black Book”
• Vocabulary seems important, but there are differences
• The article “Eliminate, Don’t Vindicate; Nullify, Don’t Justify” discusses the approach of asking why an answer is wrong instead of why it is right (i.e. critical thinking)
• This approach may be for explicit thinking (if you think ambiguously, you can’t criticize it)
• Explicit thinking can also be called verbalizing
• It might be helpful to do the test while commentating in your head

“How to Get an 800 in SAT Reading: How I Did It”:

• Having a good vocabulary score is indeed important

“History knowledge that is useful for SAT Reading” is important

“SAT Khan Academy Problems”:

• Take notes on the lessons learned
• When comparing subtle nuances of words, expand your thinking to actual usage examples
• Clippings may not be limited to one sentence (stop assuming)

Time allocation:

• 5 questions in 65 minutes
• 13 minutes per question
• Strictly follow this allocation

“SAT Practice Test #10”:

• Time shortage is not good
• Strategy of skimming on the first read and focusing on necessary parts on subsequent reads seemed to work well
• However, I feel like I want to have more information in my head during the first skim
• Because I’m not used to it, I sometimes skip reading
• I want to practice not skipping and use “SAT Khan Academy Problems”
• I didn’t understand the crucial parts on every first read
• Improvement plan:
  • Divide the test into 2-3 parts and set a deadline for the first half
    • Set the deadline for the first half to be 25 minutes
    • Usually, I’m not good at the first literature question, so allocate around 14 minutes for it
  • After that, recall the three principles at halftime and review the problematic questions that were circled
    • Remember the SAT way of thinking here
  • Then, spend about 35 minutes on the second half of the questions
    • The last science question is often something I’m good at, so the boost is likely to work

“SAT Black Book” (only note things I haven’t been conscious of before):

• Reading:
  • The correct answer is always directly connected to the passage!! (restate/demonstrate a part of the passage)
  • SAT often pretends to be subjective, but in reality, subjective interpretation is not necessary at all
  • So, think about any question in an evidence-based way
  • Even if you don’t understand the passage, if you have a mental map of the flow, you can find the restated/demonstrated parts and solve it
  • So, it seems good to solve it with a puzzle-like feeling without getting anxious even if you don’t understand it
  • I tend to blame vocabulary deficiency for mistakes, but often the essence is not there (I noticed it myself)
  • Among technical terms, the non-obvious ones:
    • acknowledge: mention
    • advance a view: support a view
    • substantiate: support
    • adversial: conflicting
    • characterize: describe
    • relate a story: introduce a story
    • reservations: concerns
  • If you eliminate wrong answers and there are two or more left or none left:
    • You may have missed something in the passage/answer choices or misunderstood the vocabulary
    • Be conscious of using your head to guess
• Writing:
  • Follow the rules of the SAT
  • “No change” is equally likely to appear as other choices

(This also applies to “SAT Writing”):

• When you can’t confidently choose a subtle choice, it seems good to verbalize the justification

  • By checking each choice word by word, you can prevent overlooking trick elements

• Simply reviewing may be an effective technique

  • I couldn’t do it before due to lack of time, but it seems better to practice time reduction and then review
  • Try reviewing with unlimited time once- In the problem that says “The authors do XX to highlight the,” it is important to be aware of whether it is actually “highlighted.”
    • Instead of saying “do XX to show the,” it should be “do XX to highlight the.”

• Time allocation strategy to try

  • For reading, solve the questions quickly and then review later.
    • If the passage is easy, it is generally correct even if solved quickly, so it seems okay to hurry.

• 6

  • There is hardly any confident mistake, so I should come up with a strategy for when I am unsure.
  • It seems like a bad habit to stop thinking when there is unfamiliar vocabulary in the answer choices.
  • It turned out that lack of vocabulary is not the main reason.
    • Even though it may seem like a lack of vocabulary, it often turns out to be something else.
    • It seems like a good idea to go through the cycle of taking practice tests, analyzing the reasons for mistakes, and improving the list of things to be aware of while studying TOEFL 3800.

• When reading and not able to grasp the content well, it may be important to verbalize what is not being understood and why. (Hypothesis)

• How to Get 800 on SAT Reading: 11 Strategies by a Perfect Scorer

  • This article is very good and well organized.
    • The arguments are mostly the same as in the SAT Black Book.
  • The thinking of logically eliminating what you think is wrong is important.
    • It seems beneficial to be aware of using mechanical thinking.
  • Why-Why Analysis is important.

• Reading

• On the first read, it is important to quickly read and grasp the main idea of the passage.

• When reading while solving the questions, make sure to scan so as not to miss any words or elements.

  • When there is no answer that feels right, consciously pick up the elements mechanically while finger pointing.

• The first question in reading doesn’t always ask about the entire passage.

• There is a sense of equal growth potential in vocabulary and techniques.

  • Vocabulary seems to give a temporary boost for the exam.
    • Let’s go through TOEFL 3800 Quizlet again.
  • Techniques can be studied through books.

• Sometimes, when quickly reading and solving in the last 5 minutes, some answers seem correct even without spending much time, while others may be wrong even after spending time decoding.

  • If it seems like you can read smoothly even with a quick read, it is important to finish it quickly with that momentum.
  • Don’t be too bound by spending 10 minutes per passage.
    • Only for text types you are confident in.

• https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/sat-reading-writing-practice/new-sat-reading/v/reading-science-passage

  • It may be important to go with the intention of being interested in what is written.
  • It seems good to practice “reading it properly.”
    • Specifically, how to do it
    • Summarize after reading each paragraph, for example
    • Be aware of whether you understand it or not (know that I don’t know)
  • It seems good to have your own emotions like “amazing” or “poor thing” towards what you are reading.
  • Literature
    • Actively associate and try to grasp the context.
      • When you see a year, think about what happened during that time.
    • If there is a metaphor, think “it’s a metaphor, what does it mean?” and use your brain to read.
      • Literature cannot be read without using your brain.
    • It seems good to talk to yourself in your head while doing it.
      • Dive into the wrong answer choices.

• It seems good to read while considering the sentence structure.

  • Parallelism, punctuation, etc.
  • Especially in section 2.

• Actively make annotations.

• Practice Test 1

  • English
    • It is important to have a sense of Fahrenheit, feet, etc.
    • There are types of questions where there are two correct answers and the one that eliminates redundancy becomes the correct choice.
      • It is not good to have duplicate content.
    • Increasing vocabulary seems to have the most effective impact.
      • Techniques may also be effective (don’t know yet).