Introduction: New Content, New Format 6

Table of Contents

Questions involving Information and Ideas are related to the most classical definition
of reading comprehension. These questions will ask test-takers to identify and analyze
fundamental elements of the passage. In this book, we will address some of the most
common types of questions in this area, such as those dealing with the passage main
idea, thesis statement, and evidence presentation and application. Information and
Ideas questions also ask students to demonstrate critical thinking skills, and may ask
for a summary or conclusion based on a particular passage, paragraph, or sentence. The
ability to paraphrase and draw meaning from passage details will help to approach these
questions. Other questions may deal with analysis of conceptual relationships within a
passage, such as cause and effect. These questions will require test-takers to interpret
given information to draw conclusions about how various elements of the passage relate
to one another. The final topic covered by Information and Ideas is inference. Questions
may ask for test-takers to discern the meaning of a word based on the context of usage,
especially for words used in unusual or metaphorical ways. Rarely will the word in
question be used in an intuitive sense; the SAT does not test vocabulary, but rather the
ability to use context clues to infer the meaning of the word in a particular instance. To
perform well on Information and Ideas questions, students must feel confident in their
ability to read quickly, draw conclusions based on the presented material, and apply those
conclusions to the presented questions.

The second type of SAT Reading question deals with Rhetoric and Passage
Construction. In the most basic sense, these questions deal with the effectiveness of
language use and organization. In contrast to Information and Ideas questions—which
deal with what content is presented—Rhetoric and Passage Construction questions deal
with how content is presented. Questions in this area may ask about the purpose of a
particular statement in the context of the passage, the tone or style of the passage, or
the author’s choices in organizing the text. When dealing with Rhetoric and Passage
Construction it is important not to lose the reference point of what is being said, as the
content of the passage plays a critical role in shaping appropriate presentation. Questions
will require test-takers to draw inferences about the author’s intent and choices based
on content presentation and organization, requiring a critical eye to critique the efficacy
of content placement in the passage. While identifying a piece of evidence in the passage
may not be too difficult, establishing the author’s purpose in presenting that particular
piece of evidence in a particular sequence in a passage can be more elusive. Mastering
Rhetoric and Passage Construction questions requires students to look beyond the
information presented and think critically about the methodology of the author.

The final type of question on the SAT Reading test is Synthesis. Though perhaps the
easiest genre of question to recognize on the SAT Reading test—Synthesis questions will
deal with paired passages or data interpretation—these questions are also commonly
considered the hardest. Synthesis refers to the generation of a new idea based on
given evidence. In essence, Synthesis questions require you to come up with new ideas
or conclusions based on available information. This concept goes far beyond simple
identification (as tested in Information and Ideas) or analysis (as tested in Rhetoric
and Passage Construction); rather, Synthesis requires you to apply the concepts you’ve
previously identified and analyzed in order to generate a whole new conclusion. Questions
dealing with paired passages will focus on the relationship between two passages that are
only tangentially related, requiring test-takers to develop their own theories about how
the authors might have interacted or considered each other’s writings. Questions dealing
with data interpretation will require students to draw conclusions based on data trends

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