Reading Comprehension — Core Skills

Reading Comprehension: The Basics

Part 1 of 2 — One Skill, One Idea

Every reading passage on the SAT is short — usually five sentences or fewer. That is a real advantage. You can read the whole thing.

Three question types cover most of what you will see:

1. Main idea — what is the passage mostly about?
2. Structure — how is the passage put together?
3. Support — which fact would back up the claim?

Main idea: cover every sentence

The main idea is the point the whole passage adds up to. A choice that matches only one sentence is too small. A choice that talks about something the passage never mentions is out, even if it sounds true.

Structure: watch the turn

Structure questions ask about the shape of the passage, not its facts. Most short passages follow one of a few shapes:

• Common belief, then evidence against it — signaled by it is widely believed... but, many assume... however.
• Claim, then examples that support it — signaled by for example, in fact, such as.
• Two things compared — signaled by unlike, while, by contrast.

Find the turn word and the shape usually names itself.

Worked example

It is widely believed that goldfish remember things for only a few seconds. But researchers trained goldfish to push a lever for food, and the fish still performed the task correctly five months later.

The passage starts with what people believe, then the word But turns, then it gives a study that shows the belief is wrong. So the structure is: it challenges a common assumption by presenting evidence against it.

The main idea, meanwhile, is that goldfish memory lasts far longer than people assume.

Support: match the claim

For support questions, find the claim, then pick the choice that speaks to that exact claim — same subject, and it settles the question.

Reading Comprehension: Practice

Part 2 of 2 — Run the Steps

The steps

1. Read the question stem first. Knowing whether you need the main idea, the structure, or supporting evidence changes how you read.
2. Read the passage once, all the way through. These are short. Do not stop to reread every line.
3. Say the point in your own words. One sentence, plain language, before you look at the choices.
4. Check every choice against the passage. The right answer is the one the text actually backs up.
5. Pick and move on. Lingering rarely changes a correct answer into a better one.

Turn words are free hints

Word	What follows
but, however, yet, although	a turn — the opposite direction
for example, in fact, such as	support for what was just said
therefore, so, as a result	a conclusion drawn from what came before
unlike, while, by contrast	a comparison between two things

The three wrong-answer shapes

• Too big — goes further than the passage does. Watch for all, never, the only, proves.
• Too small — true, but it covers just one sentence.
• Not there — sounds sensible, but the passage never says it.

Answer from the page

If the passage disagrees with what you already know about a topic, the passage wins. You are being asked what this text says, not what is true in general.