On Sat, Oct 31, Michael ran an SAT Reading section techniques and strategies webinar for Reddit r/SAT members.

Here is the recorded session:

Table of Contents (kinda)

0:45- 1:30
Michael background & why am I involved in the SAT

1:30-3:00
I woke up one morning and took the test!
discuss: competitiveness in applications
– same number of good schools as when I was 18 and far more students applying to them now

3:00-4:00
What is this test about? Took it myself.
I hate graphs!

4:00-4:45
I got better w/ practice. Your job is to practice & identify the patterns

4:45-6:30
– practice for game day!!
– on Paper. with bubble Sheet.
– online practice is not actual practice. Get the College Board book!

6:45-9:08
– start looking over Practice Test 1 Reading section
– discussion of time and time awareness

9:08-9:50
– review test instructions (bull crap!)
– identify expectations
– elimination: select not the “best” answer but the

9:50-13:50
– Easy-Med-Hard discussion
– bell curve of results
– passage to passage E-M-H distinction
– question possible answers E-M-H (see 13:35)

13:50 – 17:45
types of passages:
– fiction
– academic (social & physical sciences)
– expository (persuasive)
– comparison (two points of view)
** see 16:20-17:04: NO THESIS STATEMENT IN FIRST PARAGRAPH: Focus on CONCLUSIONS!

17:45: reading section approach/ strategy
– Hard Read intro
– skim text
– Hard read questions for information
– Hard read passages
– Answer questions while you read
– 26:50 on how to eliminate when each possible answer has two parts (eliminate 1 and done)
27:10: evidence questions technique
THE EVIDENCE HAS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION

30:00: example of importance of last paragraph in academic passages
33:20: Expository passage approach
34:10: comparison passage approach, including elimination techniques

Next: Writing Section

Will do Writing section at next webinar

– Michael