Improving Reading Comprehension for SAT

Hola, fellow students! I'm prepping for the Reading sections of the SAT and I'm having a hard time improving my reading comprehension skills. Skimming isn't helping much, and when I read everything in detail, it is quite time-consuming. Any sage advice?

Hi there!

I understand your concerns about balancing speed and understanding on the reading section of the SAT. Here are a few techniques you can employ to improve your reading comprehension:

1. Pre-Reading: Spend a moment to quickly skim through the passage before you start to read it in detail. Look for headings, introduction and conclusion, bold or italic texts, graphs or images. This will give you a general context for what the passage is about, which helps your brain adjust expectations and process information efficiently.

2. Active Reading: Try to make your reading more active to better engage with the content. This can include highlighting key points or summarizing sections in your own words in the margins.

3. Speed Reading Techniques: Instead of reading word by word, try chunking, which involves reading several words at a time. Another effective method is to reduce subvocalization (the habit of silently pronouncing each word in your head as you read), because our reading speed is usually faster than our speaking speed.

4. Practice: The more you read, the better you'll become at comprehension. Try to diversify your reading materials across genres, styles, and complexities.

Remember, the SAT's Reading section is not just about reading the words, but understanding the overall point of the passages and each paragraph. Practice discerning central ideas and the relationships between them, which are core skills tested on the SAT.

As a tip, if a particular passage is giving you trouble, consider moving on to the next one and coming back to it later if time allows.

Good luck, and keep at it! Achieving proficiency takes time.