1 · The reading section
The Lower Level reading section has 5 passages with 5 questions each, in 25 minutes. Passages are about history, science, people, and the arts, and some are stories or poems.
That is about 5 minutes per passage: roughly 2 to read and 3 for the questions.
2 · Read for the big picture
On the first read, do not try to remember every fact. After each paragraph, ask yourself: what was that paragraph about? A few words are enough ("how bats find food").
The questions tell you which details matter, and you can always look back.
3 · The main idea
The main idea is what the whole passage is mostly about. It is often stated in the first or last sentence, but not always.
A good test: the main idea should fit every paragraph. If a choice only fits one paragraph, it is a detail.
4 · Too narrow, too broad
In a passage about how beavers build dams, "Beavers have orange teeth" is too narrow: it is true, but it is one detail. "Animals that live in water" is too broad: it would fit a whole book.
The right answer sits in between: "how and why beavers build dams".
5 · The best title
A title question is a main-idea question in disguise. The best title covers the whole passage without promising more than it delivers.
Watch for titles that sound exciting but describe only one paragraph.
6 · Supporting details
A detail question asks about one fact: "According to the passage, why did the town build the canal?" The answer is in the passage, often in different words.
Go back and find the sentence. Do not answer from memory or from what you already know about the topic.
7 · Detail traps
Trap 1: a choice that is true in real life but never said in the passage. Trap 2: a choice that is in the passage but answers a different question. Trap 3: a choice that uses the passage's exact words but changes the meaning.
Point to the line that proves your answer. If you cannot, look again.
8 · "EXCEPT" and "NOT" questions
"The passage mentions all of the following EXCEPT …" Three choices are in the passage and one is not. Check each choice against the passage and cross out the ones you find.
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