Here is top reading strategies.

Read Each Passage Before its Questions.

Be sure to pace yourself – don’t read too slowly since you want to manage your time; however, don’t read so quickly that you forget the information.

Underline words that stand out to you, and make notes in the margins with the main ideas. When reading, ask yourself the following questions:

a. What is the main idea/point of this passage?

b. Who are the main characters?

c. What are the top 2-3 arguments of this passage?

PRO TIP: After reading each paragraph in the passage, jot down 2-3 words underneath that summarize the idea of that paragraph. This not only helps you to recollect the information, but also helps you to form a single idea about the passage and save you the time of re-reading when answering the questions.

Many students find it helpful to read the quick blurb or introductory line at the top of each passage. It gives an overview of the passage’s main idea and grounds you in what to expect from that author in this particular context.

It’s important to remember that these passages will be pulling from the following subjects:

• Humanities (art, dance, music, architecture)
• Natural Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, anatomy)
• Social Studies (business, economics, education, history)
• Literary Fiction (short stories, novels, memoirs)

A quick overview of what to expect from the questions for each passage type:

Humanities: Think TONE

Being that Humanities focuses on the arts, these questions are more likely to lean towards asking you about the author’s voice or the feeling that the author is trying to evoke from the reader.

Natural Sciences: Think DETAIL

The study of natural sciences is backed up by evidence. Take a similar evidence-based approach when thinking about the answers to these questions. When you see a question asking you to find a statement in the passage to support the answer, that is a giveaway Natural Sciences question.

Social Studies: Think SUBJECT/POINT OF VIEW.

Social studies encompass the world of psychology and sociology. What do we know about the field of psychology? It is based on how people think, and why they do so. Remember this when encountering a social studies question. The question will ask what you think the author would agree with, or essentially, the main subject/idea of the passage.

Literary Fiction: Think THEME.

Since the literary fiction passages will be memoirs or something similar, think about the idea behind the idea. What is the bigger picture here? If you could boil down this passage into one statement summarizing the big idea, what would it be? Thinking about the big picture will help you when answering literary fiction questions.