General Instructions: The multiple choice section of the recent exams consists of 50-55
questions on four to six passages which have to be answered in one hour. Strategies that help
students consist of reading comprehension practices and familiarity with the exam structure.
1. Quickly survey ALL of the reading passages and note the number of questions attached to
each one. Start with the passage that you think you might understand the best AND has a
significant number of questions attached to it. After you have worked through that passage,
attack the passage that is your second favorite, and so on. This means that you might complete
the last passage first if you think that is your best passage, while leaving the first passage for
last (because you feel it is your weakest).
2. Skim the questions, not the choices or distracters, to identify what the constructors of the
test think is important in the passage.
3. The directions are always the same for each section: “Read the following passage carefully
before you choose your answer." Remember that the questions that say “Not, Least, and
Except are really well crafted true/false or yes/no questions which are time bandits.
4. Aggressively attack the questions. Remember that questions do NOT become more difficult
as they progress.
5. Don't be afraid to use the test as a source of information. Sometimes, another question will
help you answer the one you are stuck on.
6. Read the questions CAREFULLY! Many wrong answers stem from misreading the question;
know what is being asked.
7. Read the introductory paragraph and the last paragraph and mark the key topic.
8. Mark any rhetorical shifts usually indentified with conjunctions such as But, Although, Since,
etc.
9. Read the passages actively by circling the items that seem to be addressed in the questions.
Draw lines from the question to the line reference in the passage to save time finding the lines
later.
10. Read a few lines before and a few lines after a line question (usually a sentence) to make
sure your inference is correct.
11. Be deliberate in your reading; words are there for a reason. Do not imagine what isn't
there.
12. Read the questions crossing out obvious wrong answers: a question that contradicts the
passage, is irrelevant to the passage, or repeats the same information in more than one
question. Remember: Read all the choices, but there is only one right answer: mark and move
on.
13. All questions follow the order of appearance in the passage; nothing is out of sequence.
14. In paired passages the first questions address the first passage; then, the second passage is
addressed. Questions that deal with both passages are at the end of the selection.
