The most common traps include confusing correlation with causation when passages only describe associations, falling for extreme wording like always, never, prove, or guarantee when passages rarely commit to absolutes, and scope creep where answers generalize results beyond the passage's specific context. Other traps include negation flips like confusing "not unlikely" with "unlikely" and part-to-whole fallacies where properties of a subgroup are attributed to the whole population.

Time management should be based on expected value rather than question count. Complete medium-difficulty questions first since they offer the highest points-per-minute return, and save harder inference questions for last. A practical approach is three passes: first answering direct evidence and data-visual questions, then handling inference and tone after mapping structure, and finally revisiting flagged items for head-to-head eliminations. Writing micro-marks like "MI" for main idea or "T" for tone beside question numbers helps prevent context switching.

Apply lab discipline by first naming the axes and units aloud, then describing the global trend: increasing, decreasing, plateau, or U-shape. Annotate a single concrete datapoint the question cites. Most wrong answers transpose axes, confuse absolute with relative change, or smuggle causation into correlations. When the passage interprets a graph, verify whether the author's claim matches the figure's direction and magnitude. The right answer never invents a pattern not visible in the figure.

Train your ear for valence (positive/negative) and force (mild/strong) by recognizing words like commend, question, or dismiss. Use transitional cues as operators: however flips direction, moreover extends, although limits scope, and for example instantiates a claim. Apply a SPAP check: Situation (topic context), Problem (gap or dispute), Approach (how the author proceeds), and Point (what the author wants you to accept). Always tag who owns a claim before evaluating tone choices, especially when passages quote other voices for contrast.