This prose fiction passage walkthrough covers one prose fiction/literature passage like you would find on the SAT and ACT tests. First, read about what the prose fiction passage is and then watch the following videos for the passage walkthrough.
What is the Prose Fiction/Literature Passage?
You’ll see one literary narrative/prose fiction passage on the ACT and SAT. These are excerpts from stories and are basically the same kind of passage. You’re probably very used to this kind of reading. The literary narrative is usually set in the past and told from a single character’s point of view, while the prose passage is a fictional story.
About the Literary Narrative Passage
How to Read the Passage
Read this passage at your normal pace so you can retain and digest the content of the passage. This is probably the slowest you will read out of all the other types of passages, but you’re reading carefully so you will remember what you have read. That way, when you answer the questions, you are probably going to return to the passage for less than half of the questions asked! By not returning to the passage, you will speed up the overall time you spend on this passage and its questions.
What to Look for in the Literature/Prose Fiction Passage
But let’s assume that since you have a lot of practice reading stories, you do trust yourself to stay focused and remember what you read. So as you read, you read you want to focus on:
- Who is the main character(s)?
- Who do they interact with?
- How do they feel about the other characters or what they are doing/the choices they are making?
You are focused on the characters in terms of their relationships with other characters: the mood, tone, emotions, conflicts, and decisions of these characters. Since these passages are all excerpts, you may not understand 100% who everyone is or what’s going on. But, the passage will give you enough information to answer the questions listed above and the questions on the test. You can just accept that you don’t really know what’s going on and use the information you do have to own the questions.
How to Ace the SAT Reading Section
Prose Fiction Passage Walkthrough
Watch the videos below to walkthrough a prose fiction/literature passage with Cristina, one of Olive Book’s course creators. These videos are samples from the Reading section of our SAT and ACT courses.
More Reading Practice Resources
For more SAT/ACT Reading practice videos, visit our YouTube channel. We update the channel weekly with practice problems from all areas of the test. For more Reading passage practice, checkout our online SAT or ACT courses.