<p>This way of doing the passages helped me raise my score. I do not know if it will work for you but I urge you to try it at least once. Here is how I raised by passages grade:</p>
<p>1) Look at the questions first and find the ones that tell you to look at a line or lines in the passage. Don’t read the questions, just find the line numbers
2) Mark all of the lines that those questions talk about
3) Read the part in italics (placed above the first paragraph of the passage) and then start reading the passage from the beginning
4) When you get a line that you marked, look at the question that is related to that line number and then answer the question. You will likely need to reread some parts more carefully or read some lines after the marked line so you can answer the question
5) Repeat until you get to the end of the passage. Read the whole passage because it will be important for the next step
6) Answer the main idea questions that do not tell you to look at a line or lines. By this time you will probably know the main idea of the passage</p>
<p>When you read stay focused but don’t put all of your energy into understanding every word of the passage.</p>
<p>Remember that a lot of these passages have a structure that first presents a claim and then presents evidence that says that claim is true. A claim could be “cats are better pets than dogs”. Evidence could be “cats are quieter than dogs” and another piece of evidence could be “cats are cheaper to raise” (I don’t know if this is true, I don’t own a pet). Usually, recognizing evidence will help you go through passages quicker since evidence can often be skimmed. Knowing the claims is the best way to know the main idea of a passage. There are some exceptions though.</p>
<p>Another tip is to remember that even if part of an answer is true, if the other part is false then the whole answer is false. This got me many times before this knowledge stayed in the back of my mind.</p>
<p>For double passages: treat it the same as reading one passage. The only difference is that the passages are related to each other. Also know the opinions of the authors for the questions that ask about both passages since a question that will likely show up will look something like “what would the author of passage 2 say about lines 5-6 in passage 1?” Opinions are more important in these kinds of passages.</p>
<p>Good luck at showing your worth as a human being on this test!</p>