The Score, Issue #8: How "Missing the Trees for the Forest" is Hurting Your SAT / ACT Reading Score
Why the counterintuitive strategy of "majoring in the minors" is crucial for success on the SAT and ACT reading tests.
Welcome to the eighth installment of The Score, your trusted guide navigating the maddening maze of SAT/ACT preparation. Today we're going to flip an old idiom on its head — "missing the forest for the trees" — to illustrate a critical issue many students face when tackling the reading sections of these tests. We'll explore how students often get distracted by the "Big Idea" of a passage, inadvertently ignoring the detail-specific questions that comprise the majority of the exam.
Inverting the Idiom: Seeing the Trees, Not the Forest
Traditionally, "missing the forest for the trees" is a cautionary tale about getting too absorbed in the minutiae and losing sight of the broader picture. In the context of ACT and SAT Reading, I’m warning against the opposite — getting too engrossed in the 'forest' (the overarching idea of a passage), that you miss out on the 'trees' (the small details and nuanced differences in the text).
My experience as a test prep tutor suggests that students' inclination to focus on the "big idea" of reading passages can be counterproductive. This approach usually yields little reward, as most questions are detail-oriented, rather than theme-based, except for the one or two General Questions at the beginning of each passage’s question set.
Why Details Matter: The Power of Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA)
In my article on Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA), I explain the essence of SAT and ACT Reading — evaluating a student's ability to meticulously analyze minor details, subtle differences, and technicalities in a given text. In other words, the tests primarily reward you for seeing the 'trees,' not the 'forest.'
HLTA revolves around three key principles:
Precision: Register every word in the relevant texts (the question, answer choices, and relevant portion of the passage).
Accuracy: Pay close attention to the exact dictionary definition(s) of each relevant word/phrase.
Literalness: Rely solely on the plain meaning of the words that actually appear in the text.
Simply put, ACT / SAT Reading is a test of your ability to understand and follow detailed instructions.
Follow the Instructions!
Treating ACT /SAT Reading questions as very specific instructions can help keep you on track. Unless explicitly asked to incorporate the passage’s “Big Idea” in your analysis, do not do so. Instead, ask yourself whether the answer choice responds to the question and accurately restates the passage’s answer to the question.
Beware of "Weasel Words"
While it’s true that you should generally take great care to focus on the exact wording of ACT / SAT Reading questions, there are a few exceptions. Watch out for words like "probably," "suggests," and "primarily." These words may seem to invite guesswork, but that's not the case. The correct answers are wholly correct, not just "better" or "best."
Also keep in mind that the phrase “most likely” does not necessarily indicate that the question requires drawing an inference. Most Inference Questions will use a form of the words “infer” or “imply.” Even if it is in Inference Question, you must stick strictly to Allowable Inferences, which are markedly different from general inferences.
Context is Key: Citation and Non-Citation Questions
Citation Questions provide a citation from the passage, and the trick is not to overread. Stick to the immediate context. Non-Citation Questions don't provide a line reference, but you can use Locators from the question to find the unstated citation.
Busting the "Big Idea" Myth
Many students get overly worried when they feel that they don't grasp an SAT or ACT Reading passage's main points or themes. While an inability to analyze the “Big Ideas” may affect one’s performance on General Questions, there are step-by-step tactics for dealing with that problem.
More important for our focus in this article, however, is understanding that, for most questions, one’s perceived grasp of the “Big Idea” is largely irrelevant. Again, this is because the vast majority of ACT and SAT Reading Questions test your ability to analyze a small portion of the text. So, don't let your apprehension of missing the “Big Idea” distract you from analyzing the details that are relevant to the question you’re currently working on.
Embrace the “Small Picture”
To succeed in ACT/SAT Reading, it's essential to get out of the overly general mindset and embrace a meticulous, detail-oriented approach. Free up mental space to devote to scrutinizing every word, phrase, or reference within the relatively small portion of the passage with which your current question is likely concerned. Embrace complexity, knowing that it's most often precisely in nuances that the correct answers lie.
Remember, your mission is not to comprehend the passage in its entirety but to correctly answer the specific questions asked about it. And the answers you need are always in the text — you just have to know precisely where to look (and where not to look.)
Conclusion
In the “real world” it’s always a good idea to read for the "Big Idea.” But, in many ways, the ACT and SAT are a different ball game. The SAT / ACT Reading sections are largely about what many perceive to be “minor technicalities.”
Mastering a strategy like Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis can help you focus on what really matters — the text's details. While it may feel counterintuitive to place less emphasis on the broader theme of a passage, keep in mind that these tests are not primarily evaluating your ability to understand the grand scheme of the text, but rather your capacity to focus on and understand the intricacies.
Embrace the trees, not the forest, and you'll find yourself navigating the labyrinth of ACT / SAT reading questions with greater ease and accuracy, and thus with higher scores. Prep Smarter!
~ Dave Walker