How to Read Faster and Comprehend Better in SAT Reading Test? 5 Quick Tips

How to Read Faster Comprehend Better SAT Test - GT Prep

A 500-700 words passage should be read within 5 minutes in SAT. Does this feel impossible? Well, this article is just for you.

SAT exam has four sections which are reading, writing, math, and essay (optional). Most of the test-takers feel Reading comprehension is the most frightening part of the SAT reading section. The main reason for the fret for comprehension is the time limit. As non-English speakers, Indians find it difficult while answering the SAT Reading section.

What Can You Expect in SAT Reading Section?

SAT reading section has 52 questions for 5 comprehension passages, to be answered in 65 minutes. If you are good at math, you must have understood that not more than 13 minutes to be spent on each passage and its questions. And not more than 75 seconds on each question.

[Read more: How to Improve Your SAT Score with 7 Easy Tips]

Checking the above math, one can estimate what their rate of speed should be. Quick and accuracy is the most required thing in SAT reading section. How to do it? Here are the 5 quick and easy tips for reading the passages faster in SAT reading quicker.

1. Determine Your Speed

Before starting the implementation of the tips, it is better to take a couple of SAT practice tests. From the results of those practice tests, you can determine the pace at which you are answering.

How o check your speed for SAT Reading section?

• Take an SAT practice test or an SAT Sample test
• Have a clock by your side and set a reminder for every 5 minutes.
• Start answering the SAT Reading section
• Note the time you are taking to read each passage
• If running out of time, note how many questions you were able to answer.

From the report of your practice test,

If you can finish all questions (no need to be all correct) – Good and enough reading speed

If you run out of time by the time you answer only 50% of questions – Needs a lot of improvement in speed

If you miss only a few questions by the end of the time – a little practice can help you improve your speed.

2. Read the Questions First

The Main strategy behind speeding up your reading is to start with the questions rather than with the passage. Reading the essay with the questions in mind is advantageous for saving time for the SAT test. So first understand the questions, and then proceed to the passage.

3. Focus

The lengthy passage has its synonym called boring. Except for those who have reading habits, the rest all feel so. So it is easy to lose track of where they were and what they are reading. And this is such a time waste. So, it is always better to use a finger or a pen while reading, which helps to focus on the reading line.

4. Skim it

One of the best tips to improve the SAT reading score is to Skim it. Skimming means the action of reading only the vital points of a section quickly. Yes, it is the one that is a much more needed thing to increase the speed in SAT Reading comprehension.

How to skim a passage in SAT Reading?

• Averting the level of understanding, read the passage once.
• Now come back to the top and start picking the key points.
• As you already know the questions, eliminate reading unnecessary information.
• It is not needed to understand every word. So don’t focus on that.
• Underline the key points based on the keywords from the questions.

5. Practice

All the above tips can aid in your speed only with practice. So make sure you are utilizing your time before the exam with better practicing of passages. There is plenty of sample tests available online.

These tips help boost your SAT score. For more guidance and personalized training, get in touch with our expert SAT training sessions.