New York City SHSAT 2017

THE POINTS COME FROM THE QUESTIONS, NOT THE PASSAGES!

This needs to be your mantra as you prepare for this section. This test is about points. If you understand all the nuances of a given

passage but don’t get the points from the questions, you have not spent your time well. Yes, you may know details about tenth-century

Swahili trading patterns or traveling performers in India. You may even be a better person for knowing this information. None of

this, however, will help you get into one of New York City’s specialized high schools—and that is the point here.

Therefore, as you work through this section, there are two things that you need to do:

1. Pay attention to your habits. Note how you are approaching the passages and whether you are getting bogged down in the details.
   Remember that the point of the Reading Section is to get points by answering questions correctly. Save your character-building
   exercises for more interesting reading material.

2.