3rd Topic: The Big Picture

▫Every SAT will have a number of questions that test your

understanding of the passage as a whole (or, in some cases, large
sections of it). These questions may ask you to identify which
statement best summarizes a passage/section of a passage, or
they may ask you to recognize an author’s point or central claim.

ℹ Identifying Topics

▫While this discussion might sound very basic, the ability to identify a
topic is crucial because correct answer choices will refer to the topic.
▫Let’s look at an example of how that could play out in a passage.
❗Important: when de ning a topic, try to use no more that a couple of
words (e,g., e ects of social media, ant nests, women’s equality)
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 ▫What’s the Point?
▫The point of a passage is the primary idea that the author wants to
convey. What’s more, focusing on nding the point means you don’t
have a chance to get distracted.

▫You can use this “formula” to determine the point:

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🔁Argument summary:
New evidence shows the rst inhabitants of the America were NOT Clovis people.

👀Argument summary in super-condensed SAT terms:

New: CP ❌ 1st/ Ams.

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ℹPoint of Paragraph

▫The point of a paragraph is most likely to be located in two

places: the rst (topic) sentence, whose purpose is to state the
point, or the last sentence, which often - but not always serves to
reiterate the point.

▫Let’s look to some examples at the following page:

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ℹ Old Idea vs. New Idea

▫The “old” idea and “new” idea template is one of the most
important concepts necessary for making sense out of SAT social
science and science passages. It can essentially be summed up
as “people used to believe x, but now they believe y.” Remember
that when the shift to the “new” idea occurs, you must pay close
attention to that place because the result of theory discussed will
almost certainly be the point of the passage.
▫Supporting Examples: Working Backwards

▫Some questions will test your understanding of main points less

directly. In fact, they will not explicitly ask about the main point at all.
Rather, they’ll test it “backwards”, citing an example or list of
examples and asking you to identify what point those items are used
to support.

▫Let’s look to the example at the following page:

▫Main Point vs. Primary Purpose
▫Although the purpose and the point of the passage are related,
sometimes directly and sometimes in ways that are less obvious,
they are not precisely the same thing.