{"id":12098,"date":"2018-02-23T12:15:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T20:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/sat\/?p=12098"},"modified":"2018-07-03T07:35:38","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T14:35:38","slug":"sat-reading-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/sat\/sat-reading-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"SAT Reading Practice: Everything You Need to Know to Score Big"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SAT<\/p>\n

For a lot of students, sitting down for the official SAT and flipping open the booklet is a bit of an anxiety-provoking scenario. The one thing that\u2019ll help you more than anything else on SAT Reading\u2026 is SAT reading practice. We’re going to compare our best SAT reading tips<\/a> to the show, Friends<\/em>, so you might also want to brush up on your Friends<\/em> knowledge in order for this to make sense!<\/p>\n

SAT Reading Practice: What Beginners Need to Know (AKA Season 1)<\/h2>\n

Know What to Expect<\/h3>\n

Okay, we may love them, but episodes about those comical New Yorkers really did have a formula (and it got increasingly obvious after all those seasons!). Bad news for Friends<\/em>, but great news on the SAT! Once you get used to the pattern of the SAT Reading test\u2026guess what? It\u2019s not going to change! So download an SAT practice test<\/a> now, take a look at what you\u2019ll encounter on test day, and settle in. It\u2019s a standardized test—and that\u2019s a good thing!<\/p>\n

Know the Question Types<\/h3>\n

The fact that the SAT Reading test uses the same format every single time is really helpful for clever students. As you learn more about the test, you’ll get to see that there are a limited number of question types<\/a>. Work on identifying them during your SAT Reading practice and look for patterns. For example, when you see “In context, [word] most nearly means\u2026” you’re probably dealing with a “Words in Context<\/a>” problem, and you’ll want to go back to the sentence to make your own vocabulary<\/a> prediction before plugging in the answer options. Similarly, a “Which sentence best supports\u2026” question stem is a “Command of Evidence” problem, and you’ll want to look at your answer to the previous question first and consider how you got to the answer before you move forward with this one. Once you master these types of patterns, you’re golden!<\/li>\n

Read the Questions Carefully<\/h3>\n

Just because you know what to expect generally<\/em> doesn’t mean you should get careless when it comes to the particulars! You’ll be amazed at the difference one little word (like “NOT” or “EXCEPT”) can make to your score. For example, “The author would agree with each of the following statements EXCEPT\u2026” has a very different answer than “The author would agree with which of the following statements?”<\/p>\n

Similarly, “Which of the following statements does the author NOT use as support for her claim that\u2026” is going to have a different response than the question, “Which of the following statements does the author use as support for her claim that\u2026”<\/p>\n

Commit<\/h3>\n

If Friends<\/em> could go on for so long (10 seasons, people!), you can definitely devote a few hours a week to working on SAT Reading practice for a few months. Don\u2019t think of it as obsessive practicing. Think of it as binge-watching the SAT.<\/p>\n

What might that look like? If you have three evenings a week set aside for SAT study, consider devoting one of them to SAT Reading—and, of course, a Saturday morning to an SAT practice test<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Not sure how to make this work in your schedule? Here are some awesome SAT study schedules to help you out.<\/p>\n