SAT ICE Method: 3-Step Strategy to Boost Reading Scores Fast (Part 1)

Quick answer:

The ICE Method helps you eliminate wrong SAT answers by spotting three key flaws: Irrelevant (off-topic), Contradictory (conflicts with passage), and Extreme (absolute or emotionally charged language). Correct answers are on-topic, consistent, and neutrally phrased.

Why the Digital SAT Reading & Writing Section Is Challenging?

The digital SAT Reading & Writing section presents unique challenges:

Unpredictable Content Mix

Unlike the old paper SAT, the digital version includes diverse genres and question types in rapid succession. You might analyze a science passage about nanoparticles one moment and interpret a Shakespearean sonnet the next.

Four Question Categories with Multiple Subtypes

The section includes:

• Craft and Structure questions
• Information and Ideas questions
• Standard English Conventions questions
• Expression of Ideas questions

Each category contains multiple subtypes, making it difficult to develop question-specific strategies quickly.

Time Pressure

With approximately 64 minutes for 54 questions (about 71 seconds per question), you need efficient elimination strategies, not lengthy analysis.

The ICE Method: How to Eliminate Wrong Answers on the SAT?

The ICE Method focuses on three common flaws in incorrect SAT answer choices:

1. Irrelevant (I)

Definition: Answer choices that introduce ideas not discussed in the passage or cite details that are not central to the author’s main point.

How to Spot Irrelevant Answers:

• Mentions topics never addressed in the passage
• References minor details unrelated to the question’s focus
• Introduces outside information not supported by the text

Example: If a passage discusses climate change’s effects on polar bears, an irrelevant answer might mention deforestation’s impact on tropical species.

Why This Works: SAT Reading & Writing questions test your ability to understand what the passage actually says. Irrelevant answers go off-topic and can be quickly eliminated by students who grasp the passage’s main idea.

2. Contradictory (C)

Definition: Answer choices that state something at odds with the author’s thesis, the passage’s main idea, or the question’s requirements.

How to Spot Contradictory Answers:

• States the opposite of what the passage argues
• Weakens a claim when the question asks for support
• Supports a claim when the question asks for contradiction
• Misrepresents the author’s position

Example: If a passage argues that renewable energy is cost-effective, a contradictory answer would claim renewable energy is too expensive.

Why This Works: The SAT rewards close reading. Contradictory answers directly conflict with the passage and are typically easy to eliminate once identified.

3. Extreme (E)

Definition: Answer choices that use absolute language or emotionally charged words that mischaracterize the passage’s tone or content.

Common Extreme Language on the SAT:

Absolutes:

• “the best,” “the only,” “the worst”
• “always,” “never,” “every,” “all,” “none”
• “must,” “cannot,” “impossible,” “inevitable”

Emotionally Charged Words:

• “criticize,” “condemn,” “attack,” “denounce”
• “praise,” “celebrate,” “champion,” “advocate”
• “argue,” “disagree,” “debate,” “dispute”

How to Spot Extreme Answers:

• Uses absolute terms when the passage is nuanced
• Overstates the author’s position (e.g., “controversy” when the passage describes “disagreement”)
• Assigns strong emotions the author doesn’t express

Example: If a passage neutrally discusses two scientific theories, an extreme answer might say the author “strongly criticizes” one theory.

Why This Works: SAT passages, especially in Reading & Writing, tend to use neutral, academic language. Extreme answers often mischaracterize the passage’s tone and scope.

What Do Correct SAT Answers Look Like?

While the ICE Method focuses on eliminating wrong answers, correct answers share common characteristics:

• On-Topic: Directly addresses the passage’s main idea or the specific detail the question asks about
• Consistent: Aligns with the author’s thesis and the passage’s overall message
• Neutral Language: Uses scientific, academic phrasing without emotional charge or absolute claims
• Accurate: Represents the passage’s content faithfully without exaggeration or distortion

Step-by-Step: Applying the ICE Method to a Real SAT Question

Let’s apply the ICE Method to an official-style SAT question:

Sample Passage:

“The 1967 release of Harold Cruse’s book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost all other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement. Though many of those thinkers disagreed with each other, he nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He thought that activists who believed that Black people such as himself should culturally assimilate were naïve. But he also sharply criticized Black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey who wanted to establish independent, self-contained Black economies and societies, even though Cruse himself identified as a Black nationalist.“