Key literary devices to identify include imagery (vivid sensory descriptions), symbolism (objects with deeper meaning), irony (contrasts between appearance and reality), and tone or mood (emotional coloring revealed through word choice and setting). The source notes that questions often ask how these devices shape interpretation or reinforce central themes, making recognition essential for answering SAT-style questions.

Character motivation explains why characters behave in certain ways, often driven by personal or external conflicts. Understanding motivation helps you track character development, which frequently contains critical turning points in novel excerpts. The source emphasizes that examining relationships between characters can also reveal a protagonist's hidden traits, enabling stronger analysis of character-driven questions.

The narrative arc follows a structure of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. On the SAT, you may receive mid-story excerpts where the main conflict is hinted at, requiring you to infer the larger storyline from textual clues. Spotting your position within the narrative arc clarifies the emotional or thematic stakes of the passage, which aids in answering questions about conflict and purpose.

Active reading keeps you engaged with the text and helps you recall significant details needed for textual evidence questions. It involves annotating key phrases, circling unfamiliar vocabulary, asking questions about character motivations and plot, and summarizing each section. These practices ensure you track the story correctly and can support your answers with specific references from the passage.

Pathetic fallacy is a literary technique where natural elements mirror or reflect a character's emotional state. The source gives an example from a sample passage: a sudden gust of wind rattling windows while Lady Eleanor experiences inner turmoil represents pathetic fallacy, with nature mirroring her emotional conflict. Recognizing this device helps explain how setting and atmosphere contribute to meaning in SAT-style questions.

The source recommends reading varied genres including classics, contemporary fiction, and translated works to develop different analytical skills. Maintain a reading journal to record character notes, major themes, and striking passages, then review these regularly to build a mental library. Practice by summarizing chapters in a few sentences before analysis, and pay attention to sentence structure and word choice as indicators of character hesitation or tension.