KCJJ133

Hey. I've been practicing on the Critical Reading portion of the SAT and I have been struggling through the questions because of the time constraint. I was wondering, what is the most efficient way of reading?

For example, I read online that the correct way to read is to stay away from sub vocalizing because it slows down your reading speed. Should I train myself to stay away from sub vocalizing before I take the SAT in order to read passages quickly and efficiently?

I struggle getting through the questions because I run out of time so I can never back up my answers.

Please tell me the most efficient way to read passages on the Critical Reading section. If this isn't the method you use, please explain your method. I notice when I read, I sub vocalize word by word in my head and I'm not sure if this is the correct way to read.

Thank You!

gomdorri

Honestly, it differs for everybody. Try a bunch of different ways and see which seems best for you. That's what I did, because what I was previously doing didn't work at all, and cost me big time when I took the PSAT last year.

Personally, I find it efficient to skim over the questions, underline the parts of the passage that are mentioned in the questions (eg. In line 27, "beam" most nearly means... etc), and then go back and read the passage once thoroughly. Reading the passages can take anywhere from 1-5 minutes for me depending on the length, but if I read the passage thoroughly I'm able to answer all of the questions without having to refer back to the passage and reread. I don't take notes, because I'm a slow writer and notes don't help; they break my train of thought. I just read, absorb the material, and answer the questions. At first the difference in my score wasn't too significance but once I started practicing more CR sections, I raised my CR score by nearly 300 points so...

Honestly, I don't think there is a "correct" way to take the SAT (well... if you're not reading the passages and instead you're just looking at the line numbers/skimming when mentioned then that's a problem). My way not work for you. Try a bunch of different methods and stick to the one that feels the most comfortable to you.

suddenlysilly

Take a lot of practice tests and see how it improves the score.

SAT Exam – Critical Reading

Maxyend

I do the way Barron 2400 says, which is read the introduction and the first paragrpaph and then answer the questions about that part. Then read the next paragraph, do those questions. Then go back at the end to answer the passage questions.

OACLJV

Yeah, the way I do it is to go back and forth between the passage and questions the entire time that I am reading it. If I'm unsure of a question between it requires broader context I leave it blank. If I just can't figure out the answer, I star it. After I finish reading the passage, I answer the summary/comparison questions. I then move on to the next passage, and do the same thing. When I have finished all of the passages, I go back to the beginning and answer all of my starred "don't know the answer" questions. Usually, I only have 3-4 starred questions with around 6 minutes left on the clock to answer them, and I had already narrowed them down quite a bit on the first run-through, so getting a solid guess (and usually the right answer) on them with a few minutes to spare is doable. If I have a minute or two left I check over all of my answers/bubbles.

This is the strategy that I've developed over time, and it helps me finish quickly. Try it out on a section or two, and if it doesn't work, try something else.