Pointers for the New PSAT/SAT Reading Section

Use this handout to improve metacognition and familiarity with Reading Test question types. The information provided below is appropriate for any standardized Reading Assessment, as most such tests utilize the same question types.

The SAT Reading Test 2016

(Information in this document was excerpted and adapted from The Official SAT Study Guide of the College Board, 2015.)

Consider purchasing The Official SAT Study Guide for March 2016 and beyond. The book is an excellent resource. It is available through the College Board Store or Amazon.com.

I use the following handout to explain the new Reading Test portion of the SAT. After I administer any practice of the Reading Test, I allow students to use this handout to identify the question types on the practice exam. They must write the "question types" on a separate sheet of paper. Such metacognition/reflection forces students to think more closely about the types of questions on the Reading Test, and as a result, more easily identify and answer correctly the items on the exam. This handout is useful for any standardized Reading Test, including the ELA FSA, as most such tests utilize the same types of questions.

Overview

• Total Questions: 52

• Total Time: 65 minutes (on average, a minute and 15 seconds per question, inclusive of passage reading time)

• Number of Passages: Four single passages plus one pair of passages

• Passage Length: 500 to 750 words; total of 3,250 words

• Passage Subjects: One U.S. and world literature passage, two history/social studies passages (one in social science and one from a U.S. founding document or text in the Great Global Conversation), and two science passages

• Passage Complexities (how difficult): A defined range from grades 9-10 to early postsecondary (college)

• Questions per Passage: 10 or 11

• Scores: In addition to an overall test score, the questions on the Reading Test contribute to various scores in the following ways:

--Command of Evidence (providing text evidence): 10 questions, two per passage

--Words in Context: 10 questions, two per passage

--Analysis in History/Social Studies: 21 questions (all of the questions on the two history/social studies passages)

--Analysis in Science: 21 questions (all of the questions on the two science passages)

The SAT Reading Test consists of three categories of questions: (1) Information and Ideas, (2) Rhetoric, and (3) Synthesis.

Information and Ideas: The Author’s Message, Six Main Types

1. Reading Closely: Determining what’s stated or implied in a passage and applying what you’ve learned from it to a new, similar situation. These question types use phrases such as “according to the passage,” “states,” indicates,” “based on the passage,” “it can reasonably be inferred,” or “implies,” for example.

2. Citing Textual Evidence: Deciding which part of a passage best supports either the answer to another question or a given conclusion. Examples: “In lines 25-40 what is the most likely reason Johnson draws a distinction between types of language?” or “Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?” (followed by line numbers)

3. Determining Central Ideas and Themes: Understanding the main point(s) or theme(s) of a passage. These question types use words such as “theme,” “main idea,” “main point,” “central idea.” Remember your answer must be a response that can apply to the entire passage, not just one section.

4. Summarizing: Recognizing an effective summary of a passage or of a part of a passage. These question types use some form of the word “summary.” Be careful to choose a response that does not include information that does NOT appear in the passage. 

5. Understanding Relationships: Drawing connections (such as cause-and-effect, comparison-contrast, and sequence) between people, events, ideas, and the like in a passage. Cause-and-effect is often signaled by words such as “because” or “since.”  Comparison-contrast (understanding how things are similar or different) is often signaled by words such as “similar to,” “different from,” “more,” “less.” Sequence is often signaled by words such as “first,” “last,” “before,” and “after.”

6. Interpreting Words and Phrases in Context: Figuring out the precise meaning of a particular word or phrase as it’s used in a passage. These question types typically come in the format of “As used in line x, ‘[word or phrase]’ most nearly means,” where x is a line of passage and word or phrase is the tested vocabulary.

Rhetoric: The Author’s Craft, Five Main Types

1. Analyzing word choice: Understanding how an author selects words, phrases, and language patterns to influence meaning, tone, and style. Analyzing word choice questions focus less on the definitions and more on the impact that particular words, phrases, and language patterns (such as repetition) have on the meaning, style, and tone of a passage. These questions will generally call out certain words, phrases, or sentences and ask you to consider the purpose, effect, or impact of this language.

2. Analyzing text structure: Describing how an author shapes and organizes a text and how the parts of the passage contribute to the whole text. These question types come in two basic forms. One kind will ask you to characterize in some way the overall structure of the passage. In a few cases, this may be as simple as just recognizing the organizing principle of the passage, such as cause-and-effect, sequence, or problem-solution. You may also have to track how the structure shifts over the course of the passage, meaning that the answer will be in two or more parts (as in “the passage begins by doing x and then does y”). Example: “Over the course of the passage, the main focus of the narrative shifts from the . . .”

3. Analyzing point of view: Understanding the point of view or perspective from which the passages are told and how that point of view or perspective affects the content and style of the passage. When the Reading Test asks you to consider point of view, it’s not usually simply a matter of understanding what’s often called “narrative point of view” (first person, third person, omniscient, for example). Often the Reading Test “point of view” is a broader term that also includes the stance/opinion/perspective of the author, narrator, or speaker.

4. Analyzing purpose: Determining the main rhetorical aim of a passage or a part of the passage, such as a paragraph. The words “purpose” or “function” is often used in such questions, while the answer choices often begin with or include focused verbs such as “criticize,” “support,” “present,” or “introduce.” Remember to read the question carefully. You may be asked about the purpose of the entire text or a portion of the text.

5. Analyzing arguments: Examining the claims, counterclaims, reasoning, and evidence an author uses in an argument. The Reading Test includes passages that are primarily argumentative. The author attempts to convince the reader to accept one or more claims, or assertions, through the use of reasoning, evidence, and persuasive elements. Sometimes counterclaims are included. You may see a question that asks about the central claim of an argument. Look for words such as “claim,” “counterclaim,” “reason,” and “evidence.” Again, be aware that the question may ask for the main claim/assertion or claims/assertions from parts of the passage.

Synthesis: Two Main Types

1. Analyzing multiple texts: Making connections between topically related informational passages. The Reading Test may include one set of two or more topically related informational passages on a subject in either history/social studies or science (“paired passages”). The passages may present opposing positions on the same issue, but it’s more likely that the second passage will “respond” to the first in some more general way. These question types are of two general kinds. The first consists of questions about either passage separately. The second kind of question consists of the actual Synthesis questions. These questions require you to draw meaningful connections between the two passages or about strategies used in them. For example, “The tribe in Passage 1 and the tribe in Passage 2 shared which trait?”

2. Analyzing quantitative information: Locating data in informational graphics such as tables, graphs, and charts; drawing reasonable conclusions from such graphics, and integrating information displayed graphically with information and ideas in a passage. These questions fall into three general kinds—questions that ask you to locate information in one or more of the informational graphics; questions that ask you to draw reasonable conclusions from data presented in one or more graphics; questions that ask you to connect the information displayed in one or more graphics with the information in the accompanying passage. Example: “Which claim about climate change is supported by the graph?"