The long reading passage aka The Gigantic Passage should not be feared. Sure, most SAT long passages are seemingly endless and boring. Sure some sport topics as ancient Greek poetry or the history of glass. Do not despair. As long and as boring as the passages are, there is a method which must be employed to successfully answer most of the 12 or 13 questions which usually follow approximately 90-115 lines of reading.
First, lightly skim the passage for no more than 3-4 minutes. Always read with your pencil. Circle or underline key words or themes. This will help the reader quickly locate important information which will facilitate answering the questions. In the case of dialogue, keep track of who is saying what--that's it.
Second, realize that the questions will be always be presented in orderly fashion. For example, the first question may direct the reader to lines 3-6, followed by a question regarding lines 10-12 and so on. Therefore, the reader is forced to re-read the passage once again anyway, so there is no need to panic if the passage was not easy to understand during the initial light skim.
There are more literal comprehension type questions in this part of the SAT. As a result, questions to the long passage are generally easier than other passage based reading questions. Time management and proper discipline are key components necessary to master long passages on the Critical Reading part of the SAT.
