Read each passage entirely; dont just jump from question to question

When a lot of students start studying for ACT English/SAT Writing, one of the first things they often wonder is whether they actually really need to read the entire passage, or whether its ok to just skip from question to question. My answer? A resounding yes and no. That is, yes, they have to read everything, no they cant just skip from question to question. Heres why: ACT English and SAT multiple-choice Writing are context-based tests. Sometimes youll be asked about grammar, and sometimes youll be asked about content and structure. Both kinds of questions are often dependent on the surrounding sentence, however. A question testing verb tense may have four answers that are acceptable in isolation but only one answer thats correct in context. If you dont look at the surrounding sentences and see that theyre in the past, you might not realize that the verb in question has to be in the past as well. Furthermore, its often impossible to answer rhetoric questions without a general knowledge of the paragraph or passage. If youve been reading the passage all along, youre a lot more likely to be able to spot answers immediately since youll be able to tell whether a given choice is or is not consistent with the passage. If, on the other hand, you suddenly start reading surrounding sentences, youre more likely to miss important information because you dont have the full context for them.