Social Science Passages · Strategy summary

Social Science Passages: strategy summary

1. Map every paragraph as you read: C for claim, E for evidence, L for a counterpoint or limit, plus a few words.
2. Tag the speaker too. According to, critics argue, and in their view hand a claim to someone other than the author.
3. The author’s view shows in the first person, in judging words, and in the conclusion. A confident early sentence may be a view the author later rejects.
4. An objection paragraph is not the conclusion. Check what the next paragraph does with it.
5. Cause and effect: find the linking words, then check the order of events. A cause comes first.
6. Two events from the same years are not cause and effect unless the passage links them.
7. Comparisons: keep one column per side and read straight across the row the question asks about.
8. At pace: about 3 minutes to read and map, then answer from the map, rereading only the lines you need.