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SAT

Kurs: SAT > Rozdział 4

Lekcja 5: SAT Reading Test Strategies

How to approach a Social Science passage and its questions

What's in this article?

We've created an exciting new interactive multimedia learning experience for you! This is a full SAT Reading Lesson with videos about a single passage, but it's also packed full of tips and strategies designed to help you with every Reading passage you might encounter on Test Day.

One full Social Science passage with questions
11 videos, including "How to survey the passage", "How to read the passage actively", AND "How to do each question"
Written explanations to every question
Tips and strategies

Let's get started!

The passage

First off, here's the passage we're working with, for easy reference.

(You don't have to read it right now!)

[Show me the passage!]

Download a PDF of the passage and the questions.

Survey step

In this video, we'll show you an approach we really like for skimming the passage and the questions—before reading the passage more carefully.

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Active reading step

In this video, we show you one way to read the passage carefully. We like to sum up in our own words what each paragraph is about as we go along. We also like to mark up the passage to help us keep track of the most important ideas.

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The questions

Okay! Now it's time for the questions. You can do this three ways:

1) Questions first, one at a time: Try the questions on your own, one by one, and watch each video after you attempt each question. We recommend watching the video even if you got the question right!

2) One big push First, try all of the questions on your own, then, watch the videos to learn how we did them.

3) Videos first, one at a time: Watch the videos first, then try the techniques in the videos by attempting the questions and reading our explanations. If you choose this route, you'll already know the answers to the questions, but it's still good to do them and read our explanations to learn the strategies!

[Here's the passage again!]

Download the PDF

Question 1: Analyzing purpose

Top tip: For questions like these, we like rephrasing the question in our own words to improve our understanding of what's being asked. Then we can go back to the passage and answer our version of the question in our own words—before looking at the choices.

Question 1: Analyzing Purpose

The main purpose of the passage is to

(Choice A)
consider an ethical dilemma posed by cost-benefit analysis.
(Choice B)
describe a psychology study of ethical economic behavior.
(Choice C)
argue that the free market prohibits ethical economics.
(Choice D)
examine ways of evaluating the ethics of economics.

Video for question 1: Analyzing purpose

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Questions 2 and 3: Analyzing arguments and Citing textual evidence

Top tip: For paired questions like these, we encourage you to

Simplify the first question using your own words
Try to find the answer to your simplified version of the question by reading around the quotations provided by the choices in the second question

Question 2: Analyzing Arguments

In the passage, the author anticipates which of the following objections to criticizing the ethics of free markets?

(Choice A)
Smith’s association of free markets with ethical behavior still applies today.
(Choice B)
Free markets are the best way to generate high profits, so ethics are a secondary consideration.
(Choice C)
Free markets are ethical because they are made possible by devalued currency.
(Choice D)
Free markets are ethical because they enable individuals to make choices.

[Need a hint?]

Question 3: Citing Textual Evidence

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

(Choice A)
"Some argue that because the free markets allow for personal choice, they are already ethical."
(Choice B)
"But before we can label any market outcome as “immoral,” or sneer at economists who try to put a price on being ethical, we need to be clear on what we are talking about."
(Choice C)
"Smith justifies selfish behavior by the outcome."
(Choice D)
"When a finance official refuses to devalue a currency because they have promised not to, they are defining ethics this way."

Video for questions 2 and 3: Analyzing arguments and Citing textual evidence

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Question 4: Words and phrases in context

Top tips

Cover up the choices
Go back to the passage to find the word/phrase
Make up your own version of the word/phrase using context clues in the surrounding sentences
Uncover the choices, and find a match to your prediction in the choices

Question 4: Words and Phrases in Context

As used in the third sentence, “embraced” most nearly means

Video for question 4: Words and phrases in context

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[Here's the passage again!]

Download the PDF

Question 5: Analyzing purpose

Top tips

If possible, rephrase the question using your own words
Go back to the passage and read around the reference
Predict what the answer might say
Find a match in the choices using Process of Elimination

Question 5: Analyzing Purpose

The main purpose of paragraph 5 (beginning with "There is yet another approach...") is to

(Choice A)
develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good.
(Choice B)
provide support for the idea that ethics is about character.
(Choice C)
describe a third approach to defining ethical economics.
(Choice D)
illustrate that one’s actions are a result of one’s character.

Video for question 5: Analyzing purpose

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Question 6: Words and phrases in context

Top tips

Cover up the choices
Go back to the passage to find the word/phrase
Make up your own version of the word/phrase using context clues in the surrounding sentences
Uncover the choices, and find a match to your prediction in the choices

Question 6: Words and Phrases in Context

As used in the first sentence of paragraph 6, “clashes” most nearly means

Video for question 6: Words and phrases in context

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Question 7: Citing textual evidence

Top tips

Simplify the question as much as you can, using your own words
Then, apply that simple "test" question to the quotations in the choices
With each choice, ask yourself: "Is this quotation doing that thing the question wants it to do?"

Question 7: Citing Textual Evidence

Which choice best supports the author’s claim that there is common ground shared by the different approaches to ethics described in the passage?

(Choice A)
Paragraph 3: "There are different views on where ethics should apply when someone makes an economic decision."
(Choice B)
Paragraph 5: "From this perspective some things are right, some wrong—we should buy fair trade goods, we shouldn’t tell lies in advertisements."
(Choice C)
Paragraph 6: "Take fair trade coffee (coffee that is sold with a certification that indicates the farmers and workers who produced it were paid a fair wage), for example: buying it might have good consequences, be virtuous, and also be the right way to act in a flawed market."
(Choice D)
Paragraph 7: "We behave like a herd; we fear losses more than we hope for gains; rarely can our brains process all the relevant facts."

Video for question 7: Citing textual evidence

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Question 8: Central ideas and themes

Top tips

Rephrase the question using your own words
Answer your version of the question using your own words
Find a choice that matches your prediction

Question 8: Central Ideas and Themes

The main idea of the final paragraph is that

(Choice A)
human quirks make it difficult to predict people’s ethical decisions accurately.
(Choice B)
people universally react with disgust when faced with economic injustice.
(Choice C)
understanding human psychology may help to define ethics in economics.
(Choice D)
economists themselves will be responsible for reforming the free market.

Video for question 8: Central Ideas and Themes

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[Here's the passage one more time!]

Download the PDF

Questions 9 and 10: Analyzing quantitative information

Top tips

Remember: the info you need is in the graphic!
Take note of the title of the graph, as well as the labels and units on the vertical and horizontal axes
Look for trends and patterns and try to say in your own words what they suggest

Question 9: Analyzing Quantitative Information

Data in the graph about per-pound coffee profits in Tanzania most strongly support which of the following statements?

(Choice A)
Fair trade coffee consistently earned greater profits than regular coffee earned.
(Choice B)
The profits earned from regular coffee did not fluctuate.
(Choice C)
Fair trade coffee profits increased between 2004 and 2006.
(Choice D)
Fair trade and regular coffee were earning equal profits by 2008.

Question 10: Analyzing Quantitative Information

Data in the graph indicate that the greatest difference between per-pound profits from fair trade coffee and those from regular coffee occurred during which period?

Video for questions 9 and 10: Analyzing quantitative information

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Question 11: Analyzing quantitative information

Watch the video for tips on this one!

Question 11: Analyzing Quantitative Information

Data in the graph provide most direct support for which idea in the passage?

Video for question 11: Analyzing quantitative information

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Welcome to the end of the article!

Great job!

The strategies in this article have the potential to truly transform your score!

They might feel strange at first, and it takes time and repetition to get used to using them consistently—make sure to try them out when you're practicing on your own!

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