How to read passages faster

If you have timing issues on reading, you may want to try the following: 1. Read the introduction slowly until you figure out the basic point of the passage. Underline it. 2. Read the first and last sentence of each of the body paragraphs; if you can skim through the rest, do; if youre too afraid youll run out of time, dont bother. The goal is to establish a mental outline of the argument being presented. 1 Paragraph = 1 Idea, and the first (topic) sentence will give you the point of the paragraph, which the remainder of the information in it will most likely support. 3. Read the conclusion slowly and underline the last sentence, which usually restates the main point. As long as you can keep in mind the important shifts (for example, the places where an author switches from criticizing one idea to proposing her own explanation), youll have plenty of context when you go back and answer the questions. In fact, working this way can actually make it easier to answer them because you wont be so caught up in the details.