SAT Critical Reading Strategy: Pretend it's a math problem

My students treat the critical reading sections and the math sections like totally different beasts. Many students tend to be good in one section but don’t transfer over any of their strategies to the other section.

I see the two sections as incredibly similar. Math is just critical reading with numbers (every word counts, understand what they are asking for.) Critical Reading is just solving the problem (solve for the answer, re-read the question, then look at the answer choices.)

Solve the problem

For math problems, students don’t read the question, then longingly gaze at the answer choices hoping that the right one will suddenly jump out at them. They solve the problem, then look at the answer choices to find that answer.

You should take that exact same approach for the Critical Reading questions. Read the question, then go the the passage and find the answer. 

The answer is in the passage, not the answer choices!

Once you have “solved the problem” by knowing the answer to the question (or knowing which cupcake you are looking for), then look at the answer choices and see which answer most closely matches what you are looking for.