Critical+Reading

I. R E A D the entire passage! Pay particular attention to any italicized introduction.

II. Remember : you **L O V E** those passages!!! A positive attitude toward what you are reading is the best way to get through a passage. You must recognize and welcome the different passage types: scientific, historical, artistic, literary and minority.

III. PRE-MARK: look at the questions first. Where the questions quote from the passage, underline the passage for vocabulary words or short quotes. This serves several purposes not least of which is that you model and summarize the passage to some extent while you’re doing this.

IV. Be an active reader : M A R K the passage UP!!! You must stay active and involved mentally and physically as you move through the passage. Be aware of the direction the passage is taking and of important information. You have read most of your life. If something strikes you as important, it probably is. MARK IT !!! Mark up the answers as well by crossing out the ones that are wrong as you eliminate them.

V. Get a sense of the THESIS, TONE, and MOOD of the passage in your own words before answering any questions! You have read the passage. You know what it is about. Write that down! Give the passage your own title!

VI. After you have invested time reading the passage, you must at least TRY to answer ALL the questions on that passage!! Skip those you can't eliminate at least two of the answer choices.

VII. Read the questions and the answers as carefully as you read the passage so that you know the question type; i.e. is it a FACT question or an INFERENCE question. As you read the answers, work back and forth with the text looking for words that appear in both: a step towards a possible solution!

VIII. Read the answers carefully…but read them from answer E through answer A.

IX. Divide and Conquer! Attack two-word answer questions one word at a time. For example:

13. Lines 13-15 ("mariners...to discover") most directly emphasize that the act of discovery contains elements of (A) acceptable / risk (B) logical / deduction (C) subjective / interpretation (D) good / fortune (E) unwavering / zeal

In the incorrect answers, one or both words will make the answer incorrect.

Longer answers can be attacked in similar fashion, by dividing them in half. Where you make the division is up to your best idea.

Example:

14.In line 28, the author uses a list to make what point about cartographers? (A) They accurately depicted islands / based on incomplete information. (B) They exhibited foresight / about how undiscovered islands would be configured. (C) They demonstrated mathematical precision / in calculating island size. (D) They shared a philosophy / about how to draw uncharted oceans. (E) They used creative license / in representing islands.

As in two-word answers, each half must be completely true. An untrue half makes the whole answer false and therefore incorrect.