DAT Prep

DAT Reading Comprehension: A Timing Strategy That Works

RC is the section where good readers frequently underperform, and the reason is almost always timing rather than comprehension.

The Reading Comprehension section presents dense science passages on topics you are not expected to know, with tight timing. Students who read carefully and thoroughly, which is exactly what worked for them in school, often run out of time and guess on the final passage.

Why careful reading backfires here

These passages are long and information-dense, and the questions do not test overall understanding. They test whether you can locate and interpret specific pieces of information. Reading the entire passage carefully means processing a large amount of detail you will never be asked about, and then rereading anyway when a question sends you back.

The search-and-locate approach

Most students who do well use some version of this:

1. Skim the passage structure first, not the content. Spend under a minute noting what each paragraph is broadly about. You are building a map, not learning the material.
2. Go to the questions. Read the first question and identify what specific information it needs.
3. Locate that information in the passage using your map, read that section carefully, and answer.
4. Repeat. Most questions send you to a specific place. Your map makes finding it fast.

This feels wrong at first if you are used to reading for understanding. Practice it on timed sets before test day so it is comfortable rather than disorienting.

Question types and what they want

• Detail questions ask for something stated directly. The answer is in the passage, findable.
• Inference questions use words like "implies" or "suggests." The answer is not stated verbatim but must still be supported by the text. This is the key trap: answers that are scientifically true but unsupported by the passage are wrong.
• Tone and purpose questions ask why the author included something. Usually answerable from structure rather than detail.
• Application questions ask you to extend passage logic to a new situation.

The mistake that costs the most points

Bringing in outside knowledge. If you happen to know the subject matter, you are at risk of selecting an answer that is correct in reality but not supported by the passage. Every answer has to be defensible from the text in front of you.

Timing discipline

Divide your total time by the number of passages and hold that line. If a passage is going badly, answer what you can, mark the rest, and move on. Spending extra time on a hard passage and then rushing an easy one is the most common way to lose points you would otherwise have earned.

Practice this under real timing. Our free DAT practice questions include a timed mode for exactly this purpose.

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