SAT Tip #2: The Art of Guessing for Success in SAT

SAT Critical Reading and Writing sections contain multiple choice questions and this means that you need to be skilled at them. Typically in a multiple choice format you have the following arrangement 

1.     One or two answers are either highly unlikely or slightly unlikely. Common sense can rule these out - perhaps they do not fit the mindset of the author and at other times they just seem like 'trap' answers designed to make it look too easy an answer. The may turn out to be the right answers. Still it is useful to determine to yourself that these are most likely not to be right. 

According to the character of the protagonist, what would be the ideal location for Mr. Prufrock to end his days
E.g.      A. In a forest somewhere in South East Asia  
           B. In the arms of his lover who he has never managed to find  x
           C. In his deathbed  X
           D. In the town in which he grew up

Here you might cross out C and B before even reading the passage because it might seem unlikely. In C, a deathbed does not seem ideal and in B, the arms are not really a location. It does not mean they could not be choices but you out little x's beside them just to show your deduction


     2. Of the remaining answers one may seem more likely based on your background reading of other stories and so you mark that preference. You might think that often dying people have a wish to return to their roots. You mark a little o beside the one you think could be right

            A. In a forest somewhere in South East Asia -
           B. In the arms of his lover who he has never managed to find  x
           C. In his deathbed  X
           D. In the town in which he grew up  o

3. Now you are ready to read for confirmation rather than purely for comprehension. Research indicates that when you use a cycle of guess/confirm, reading is enhanced. But there is another benefit as well. You have just picked up important clues about the story you are about to read! You know now that

1. The story involves a man nearing his end
2. He has a wish to be somewhere before he dies
3. he most likely has a lover he is thinking about, he probably has been to SE Asia and he is probably thinking about his hometown

Very rarely will SAT exam creators insert multiple choice answer selections have no relationship to the story. They won't insert SE Asia if there is nothing mentioned in the story, nor will they put in a lover if there is nothing in the story about a lover because that would make the selections too easy. 


Therefore, even wrong answers give you clues about the story (sometimes more so than the right answers).

 When we pick up important clues this builds our 'picture' (in fancy terms - our schema), this has also shown to improve reading comprehension.