I am a slow reader and often feel overwhelmed by the reading passages on the SAT and ACT. What are some strategies for reading these passages effectively?

Answer 1

Although it is often advised in school to read entire passages before answering questions on them, the best way to respond to your slower reading speed may be to read the questions before the passage. By doing this instead of reading the passage and then reading the questions, you save time (i.e. you only have to read once) and are more likely to find the correct answers (i.e. you don't forget what you read before you look at the questions).

This method worked very well for me, so I highly recommend that you try it. Rather than damaging your score, try to use a practice test (Google has infinite options) to practice this method.

Answer 2

You can find some useful books on ACT and SAT at a bookstore such as Barnes and Nobel

or at a library

if that's not working, or you run into problems with some difficult problems, post them on line at Wyzant

and if you need more help pay to hire an SAT or ACT tutor

or you local school may have some tutors available, sometimes for free

take some practice exams, then for the questions you missed go over them and similar problems until you can routinely answer them knowing what they're looking for

Answer 3

You are not alone! Reading complex writing under pressure of time can be hard for anyone. Here are some tips to help you be an effective reader on the SAT and SAT Reading sections:

✓ Read the blurb. The ‘blurb’ is the short piece of text preceding the passage. It contains the following potentially useful pieces of information:

The title. Yes, even the title can be extraordinarily informative. Sometimes the title will actually state the main idea of the passage, or, relatedly, the question that the passage seeks to answer. Don’t neglect this obvious but valuable source of knowledge about the passage.

Background information. Along with the title, the blurb will often contain a short summary or some background knowledge relevant to understanding the passage. The makers of the test would not put this here if it were not important. Frequently, this information will be relevant to answering one or more of the questions.  

Date of publication.  Finally, the blurb will contain the year in which the passage was originally published. An exceptionally old date of publication — before 1940 or so — likely means that words will be used in a slightly different way than what you are used to. The words might have have antiquated usages, and, in some cases, the sentences will employ more complex constructions. Also, a very old text is likely to involve social situations or make certain assumptions that might be strange to you. Keeping this in mind can help you to avoid misinterpreting these older writings.

✓Quickly preview the passage by reading the first sentence or two and then the last sentence or two. This can sometimes allow you to predict the general direction of the passage. Having this in mind can greatly assist your comprehension, especially in the case of more difficult passages. 

✗ Remember — learning is a matter of associating new information with what you already know. So, having a general outline allows you to put the details into place. It’s like learning your way around a new city. First, familiarize yourself with the main roads and highways. Then learn the less significant streets in relation to the larger ones.  

✓ Use what you know about writing structure to help analyze the passage. In non-fiction passages, the main point of a paragraph is often stated in a general way at the beginning or the end. Also, the opening and concluding paragraphs frequently state the main point of the passage. In fiction, the action tends to proceed towards a climax at the end, a moment in which the story’s theme gains clarity.

✓Use your pencil. Here’s one scheme for marking a text: underline important statements; box key topics, nouns and subjects; circle transitional words and phrases; place stars next to main ideas or final conclusions. 

✓Skip and return. If something is not making sense, skip to the next paragraph, read that, and then return to what you were reading before. Sometimes seeing the larger context can help. 

✓Let the test itself guide you. Use the questions to assist your comprehension. They very often will contain information that can help you figure out what the passage is about.