SAT & ACT Reading Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis

The Foundational Skill for Higher Scores on Digital SAT Reading, Paper-Based SAT Reading, and ACT Reading.

A Common Misunderstanding

Many students find SAT / ACT Reading to be the most frustrating section of the exam. Because they perceive passages as necessarily open to interpretation, finding the right answer feels like an inherently subjective endeavor. The so-called “correct” answers appear unpredictable, as they seem subject to personal opinion and bias. For these reasons, when students first come to me for help increasing their scores, they often believe there’s no reliable way to know for sure if an SAT / ACT Reading answer will be considered correct.

I can understand why test takers feel this way. After all, haven’t we been taught that there are always multiple ways to interpret a text? Isn’t it obvious that, when it comes to reading, different people have different takes? If that is true, then it would seem that no one can definitively claim that another person's interpretation is incorrect. Their opinion about a text’s meaning might be different from our own, but that doesn’t mean that they are wrong. Right?

Actually, no. Not on SAT / ACT Reading, anyway. Not if we’re approaching it properly.

A Path to Certainty

On the SAT / ACT, we must learn to approach texts using a very specific mode of analysis. This specialized approach to analyzing texts enables us to determine their exact meaning and, just as importantly, to recognize what they do not mean. I call this style of analyzing Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis.

The Foundational Strategy: Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA)

HLTA is by far the most critical key to SAT / ACT Reading score improvement. It is the only strategy that applies to every single question on the Reading section.

Mastering HLTA will help increase not only accuracy, but also your overall speed. It will drastically cut down on the time you spend deliberating between two answer choices that both seem plausible. As if those benefits weren’t enough, HLTA will lower your stress level and increase your sense of confidence and control.