DON’T FOCUS TOO MUCH ON VOCABULARY.

 Vocabulary is a part of the SAT, but it doesn’t account for nearly as much of the test as it once did. It’s probably not the best use of your time to study thousands of vocabulary words.

 
BROWSE OR SKIM THE PASSAGE BEFORE ANSWERING QUESTIONS.

 
Most students will do best on the passage-based questions if they look through the passage before doing the questions. Sometimes it’s tempting to do the questions first, looking back into the passage for answers. But using roughly one-third of your time quickly reading the passage—getting the important parts, looking for meaning, and establishing a roadmap in your head—will make the questions more understandable.

 
WATCH THE CLOCK.

 
Timing is probably more important on the passage-based Reading portion of the SAT than anywhere else on the test. If you spend too much time on one passage, you’ll do poorly on the next because, in addition to being forced to speed up, you won’t have time to read the passage carefully before answering the questions.