SAT Reading Comprehension: Fiction Passages:

Unfortunately, your experience of fiction in high school probably consists of memorizing vocab and taking stupid pop quizzes that ask you to identify characters and give plot summaries. So, look deep into my eyes...deeper...can you see the optic nerve? Good. Now, forget everything you've probably done in high-school English because it won't work well on the SAT.

Fiction passages on the SAT are taken from short stories or novels. Because they are stories, fiction passages do not contain main ideas.
Instead, these passages focus on characters and their interactions.

While you probably won’t be given “Little Red Riding Hood” on the SAT, this story is no different than any other fiction passage that you may encounter on the test. The only difference lies in the approach you must take.

At home and in school, you probably read to find out what happens. (Think about book reports or plot summaries.)

On the SAT, however, you must read to find out why events occur. The “why” springs directly from the characters and the relationships that exist between them.

TIPS FOR FICTION PASSAGES:

Tip 1
When reading the passage and then answering the questions, focus on the personalities of the characters in the passage and the relationships between them.
For example, it's not enough to know that the wolf eats the grandmother in “Little Red Riding Hood”. Instead, you should note that the characteristics of the wolf (greedy) and the grandmother (gullible), as well as those of their relationship (adversarial).

Tip 2
Be prepared to answer several assumption and inference questions. The more abstract ideas in fiction passages lend themselves to interpretation. The SAT takes advantage of this situation by asking several assumption (Lesson 7) and inference questions (Lesson 8).

Tip 3
If you have previously read the work from which the passage is excerpted, particularly in the case of a novel, do not bring any of your extended knowledge to the questions. Instead, focus only on the story and the details in the given passage.

Tip 4
Contrary to popular belief, you will not be given any Shakespeare on the SAT. It's sad. But, the morning of the test, you can leave your Banquos, Gloucesters, and Gonerils at home. (Actually, I'm pretty sure that Gloucesters are banned from schools anyway.)

SAT Reading: Fiction Passages

Lesson Includes:

—Overview of Fiction Passages

—Tips for Fiction Passages

SAT Math

SAT Writing

SAT Reading

SAT Vocabulary