Is reading not your favorite pastime or your favorite academic subject? Do you have to take the HSPT? Are you worried that a poor score in this section might mar an otherwise stellar performance on the rest of the exam? Many students consider the HSPT’s Reading section to be one of the test’s most challenging, but by familiarizing yourself with the different types of questions that the HSPT Reading section asks, you can equip yourself with the knowledge that you need to do well on this section, even if reading for fun is not your idea of fun.

Let’s start with some good news: the HSPT Reading section is entirely multiple-choice; there are no short answer or essay components, so the answer choices are all in the test booklet somewhere, and you’ve just got to identify them. Here’s another bit of news that might cheer you up: the Reading section never asks you about English grammar or sentence structure, and you don’t have to consider much if any outside information when answering Reading questions. All of the information that you need should be found in the passages; if you need to make an inference, the question will ask you to do so.

Beyond these features, the HSPT Reading section asks questions that can be sorted out into a few main categories. Certain questions ask you to identify the main idea of a passage or details contained within it. Others will ask you to pick out the answer choice that best summarizes the passage, or explicitly states information that the passage only implies. Questions may also ask you to compare and contrast some of the passage’s ideas, or analyze the author’s purpose or reasoning. Other questions will ask you to make inferences based on the information the passage presents. It’s important to be judicious about when you choose to make inferences; make them when prompted to, of course, but err on the side of sticking to what is directly stated in the passage in other cases. Not all questions that fall into one of these general categories will appear similar, of course, but they can give you a starting point to make sure that you get a good idea of the variety of questions you might be asked on the HSPT’s Reading section.

If you want to begin studying for the HSPT Reading section right now and perhaps work on one of those question types that sounds particular to you, check out Varsity Tutors’ free HSPT Reading resources, especially the HSPT Reading Practice Tests. Each twelve-question HSPT Reading Practice Test functions like a quiz, or a short version of what you’ll encounter on the HSPT Reading section. Problems grouped into Practice Tests are drawn from a variety of question types, allowing you to study comprehensively. After completing a Practice Test, detailed results are displayed about your performance, including correct answers and explanations of how to arrive at them for each question that was asked. If, after taking a few Practice Tests, you identify a question type that you find particularly challenging, you’re in luck—Varsity Tutors also organizes questions by question type and concept covered, so you can hone in on just questions that ask you to make inferences or articulate the main idea, for example.

You can also complete a Full-Length HSPT Reading Practice Test to get a more general overview of your understanding of the subject. The extended format of the practice tests can assist you as you work on increasing both your test-taking speed and your mastery of important concepts. The results pages for these longer practice tests provide all of the review materials provided by the concept-specific practice tests, including helpful statistics, thorough explanations, and links to further review of pertinent concepts. All of the complete practice tests can help you concoct a personalized HSPT study plan by informing you of the topics you should spend more time reviewing. This valuable feedback can aid you as you use the other free Learning Tools to work through your review plan. Then, follow up on your studies by taking another Full-Length HSPT Reading Practice Test to assess your progress.

By using Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools, you can make your studying as efficient as possible, and when you take the actual HSPT, you’ll have no reason to be nervous about how you’ll do on the Reading section!