When you review SAT practice questions, it’s tempting to check which questions you missed, glance at the correct answers, and move on. I encourage students to do the opposite. Your misses are opportunities to improve your score, because from each one you can glean insight into how you read and how you choose answers. Identifying those patterns is the first step in changing the ones that don’t work. Stop and ask four questions.
- Why is my answer wrong?
Answer as specifically as you can. “It just didn’t fit” isn’t an answer. Find the exact word or phrase that the passage doesn’t support. That isn’t always possible, but the attempt itself hones your analytical skills, so try every time.
- Why did I like it?
Something drew you to that answer. Maybe it repeated words from the passage, or it said something that seemed reasonable but that the passage never actually states. You won’t always remember, but try. When you can identify what drew you in, you’ll know what to watch for the next time you see a similar answer.
- Why is the correct answer correct?
On a reading question, go back to the passage and find the specific lines that support it. On a grammar question, identify the specific rule. A general sense that the answer sounds right or “flows” isn’t enough. If you can’t pinpoint the support, you don’t yet know why it’s correct.
- Why did I reject it?
Start with the simplest possibility: did you check it at all? If you eliminated it without checking it against the passage, make it a rule to check every answer. If you did check it, try to remember what put you off. Maybe it seemed too plain and generic, or its language seemed “extreme.” Those are false standards: reasons for rejecting an answer that have nothing to do with whether it’s telling the truth about the passage or supporting the claim. The SAT is happy to reward a plain, generic answer, as long as it accurately restates the passage. Once you’ve identified a false standard you’ve been using, you can stop using it.
Working through these four questions takes longer and requires more effort than reading an explanation and moving on. But when you’ve answered them, you’ll know what to change in the way you approach questions, and making that change is how you raise your score.