Though Time Trap Questions are somewhat rare on SAT Reading, it’s important to be prepared for them because they can be dangerous. As the name suggests, these questions can easily chew up a lot of time if not handled correctly. In addition to being inherently time-consuming, these questions also tend to be more analytically challenging than standard question types. In… Read more »
Identifying SAT Reading Inference Questions SAT Reading Inference Questions are one of the more difficult question types. Though these questions can be hard to solve, identifying them is usually straightforward. If you see any of the following phrases in an SAT Reading question, you’re dealing with an inference question: “It can reasonably be inferred …” “It can most reasonably be… Read more »
Identifying General Questions General questions are common on both SAT Reading and ACT Reading. I describe them as “general” because, instead of focusing on particular words, phrases, or sentences from the passage, these questions ask about the passage as a whole. For example, they may ask for the main point, main theme, main purpose, primary purpose, central claim, or central… Read more »
SAT Reading Non-Citation Questions are easy to identify. Aside from General Questions, this question type is the only one that does not cite specific lines from the passage. (General Questions are easy to distinguish because they ask about the passage as a whole and, when they appear, they are always presented first, before the other questions.) Non-Citation questions are common…. Read more »
Most SAT Reading passages have two sets of “Citation Pair” questions. This question type – which, as the name suggests, is composed of two questions – is easy to recognize: the first question (the “Base Question”) usually appears to be a Non-Citation Question, while the second question (the “Citation Question”) asks you to choose the “best” evidence for the answer… Read more »