Critical Reading Section*

The critical reading section, formerly known as the verbal section, includes short reading passages along with the existing long reading passages. Analogies have been eliminated, but sentence-completion questions and passage-based reading questions remain.

The Critical Reading Section measures:

Sentence Completions

Sentence Completion questions measure your:

◊ knowledge of the meanings of words

◊ ability to understand how the different parts of a sentence fit logically together

Passage-based Reading  

The reading questions on the SAT measure a student's ability to read and think carefully about several different passages ranging in length from about 100 to about 850 words. Passages are taken from a variety of fields, including the humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction. They vary in style and can include narrative, argumentative, and expository elements. Some selections consist of a pair of related passages on a shared issue or theme that you are asked to compare and contrast.

The following kinds of questions may be asked about a passage:

◊ Vocabulary in Context: These questions ask you to determine the meanings of words from their context in the reading passage.

◊ Literal Comprehension: These questions assess your understanding of significant information directly stated in the passage.

◊ Extended Reasoning: These questions measure your ability to synthesize and analyze information as well as to evaluate the assumptions made and the techniques used by the author. Most of the reading questions fall into this category. You may be asked to identify cause and effect, make inferences, recognize a main idea or an author's tone, and follow the logic of an analogy or an argument.

*www.collegeboard.com