Of the 78 questions in the verbal half of the SAT, 40 are reading comprehension. That’s more than half. In other words, to do well on the verbal SAT, you have to do well on reading comprehension.

Regrettably, studying for reading comprehension is not as easy as preparing for the other verbal sections. Reading comprehension questions don’t come in one basic form, and there aren’t always tricks for eliminating answers (though you will often be able to eliminate an answer choice). The best way to study for the reading comprehension section is to read newspapers, magazines, or books, and to question yourself about what you read, both while you do it and after you’ve finished. Through this sort of practice, you can build up your ability to read and understand quickly.