The reading section is the hardest part of a standardized test for which to prepare. In many ways, it assesses, or pretends to assess, about twelve years of reading habits. It is the reading section that provides the real reason why I hate standardized tests. The idea of taking a piece of writing and using multiple-choice questions to assess comprehension strikes me as patently absurd.

Whenever you or I read a piece of writing, we both will create meaning of the text. Because we bring different experiences to the piece of writing, we will construct two different meanings. Go to your school library and look for some criticism on the works of Shakespeare. Observe the many topics that scholars have addressed over the centuries. Now ask yourself which one is right.

            Absurd question? Yes, that’s my point.

            Heard enough gnashing of teeth. Enough whining and complaining?

The Answer is Right Beneath Your Nose!

  Okay, let’s get to work.  Look at the construction of the reading section. There will be a short or long passage followed by four to eight problems. When I took the SAT, I spent a lot of time reading the section, trying to almost memorize the details. Wrong! I mean …so wrong.

Why? Because the answer is staring you right in the face. It is placed with four others right below the question. So where should you spend your time? Yes, with the question and the choices.

There are a variety of options you can choose from in addressing the reading passage. You can skip the reading passage and jump to the questions. You can read until you get the main idea and then jump to the questions, or you can skim the reading passage and quickly get to the questions.  That last one is the strategy I like  best.

Your goal then is to get a general sense of the argument and how it is structured; then you jump to the questions. Have you noticed how many questions will then direct you to specific lines? The test makers want you to go back into the test and dig out the answer. So do it.

The difficulty with this section really boils down to this dilemma: There will be two or three choices where you have to make a distinction. That is where your practice comes into play. You need to spend time practicing the reading section and then reading the answers that Kaplan, Princeton Review or College Board provide. Observe carefully the types of distinctions the test makers want you to make. You goal is to get in the head of the test maker. How does he or she think? And then give do your best to provide the answer he desires. Remember: it's not about you. It's about the test maker.

The standard strategy for multiple choice questions is to provide a throwaway choice, a general answer and then two or three choices where you are forced to make a distinction. Therefore, when you manage time on your standardized test, spend your time on making that distinction.