CHAPTER 4 / CRITICAL READING SKILLS 193
Lesson 6:
Finding Alternativesin Attacking the Questions
“Whole-Passage Attack” versus “Paragraph
Attack”
Although many students do best by reading the
whole passage before attacking the questions, some
prefer to attack the questions sooner. This approach,
called the “paragraph attack,” takes advantage of the
ordering of SAT CR questions. In this mode of attack,
you read the first paragraph or two, and then answer
the questions that pertain to just those paragraphs
(skipping any “big picture” questions for now). When
you reach a question that refers to a portion of the
passage that you haven’t read, go back and read the
next paragraph or two, and so on. Always read and
summarize whole paragraphs at a time before going
to the questions. Don’t stop in the middle of a
paragraph.
Experiment with the “whole-passage attack”
and the “paragraph attack” strategies as you
practice, and decide which works better for you.Attacking Paired Passages
Every SAT contains “paired” passages—one pair of long
passages and one pair of short passages—that share a
common theme but are written by different authors.
They are followed by normal CR questions and then
questions comparing or contrasting the ideas and tone
of the two passages. For these passages, you’ll want to
change your attack strategy slightly.
Here’s how to attack paired passages:- First, read Passage 1 with the key ques-
tions in mind, paying particular attention
to tone. - After summarizing, attack the questions
that pertain only to Passage 1. - Next, read Passage 2, again paying atten-
tion to tone. Ask, “How do the perspective
and tone of this passage differ from those
of Passage 1? How are they similar?” - Then attack the questions that pertain to
Passage 2 and the comparison questions.
•Do notread the passages back-to-back
because then you will be more likely to
confuse the ideas in the passages.
Attacking SAT Passages from Hell
Hopefully, if you’ve practiced the College Hill Method
for attacking the SAT CR, you’ve learned that you can
attack even tough reading passages about, say, an-
cient Greek metaphysics. But what if you’re faced
with a real SAT passage from hell? What if you just
can’t get through the language or concepts in a really
tough SAT passage? Don’t panic. Just change your
mode of attack.If a particular passage seems completely
incomprehensible, first see if there is another
passage to attack on that section, and move on
to that one. If not, just go to the questions that
require little reading: the “word in context”
questions and the “secondary idea” questions.
Usually these don’t require you to understand
the “big picture,” so they are easier to attack.The Need for Speed
The SAT isn’t a speed-reading test, so don’t rush
through the passages. With practice in the College
Hill Method, your reading will become brisker and
more efficient on its own. But what if you still strug-
gle to finish the SAT CR sections on time? Here’s our
approach:- Step 1: Don’t panic. Your efficiency will improve as
you practice with the College Hill Method, and the
problem may well take care of itself. But what if
you still struggle with time after weeks of practice? - Step 2: Use your finger to “push” your eyes more
quickly over the words. Move your finger smoothly
over the words, and focus your eyes right next to
your finger. With just a little practice, you may be
amazed at how much faster you can read without
losing comprehension. Practice this strategy con-
tinuouslywitheverythingyou read for two weeks—
use it when you’re reading the newspaper, your
homework assignments, magazines, everything.
But what if even this doesn’t work well enough? - Step 3: Get tested to see if you can take the SAT with
extended time. If you have a diagnosable learning
disability that slows down your reading, you may
well qualify for extra time on the SAT. Talk to your
guidance counselor about getting tested, and do it
at least a few months before taking the SAT.