SAT Test Breakdown
The SAT is comprised of two sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math. The
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing is comprised of two tests, one focused on Reading and one
focused on Writing & Language. The Math section is comprised of a single test with two components
- a no-calculator portion and a calculator-allowed portion. The SAT also includes an optional Essay.
Some schools may require the Essay, so be sure to ask before you take the SAT.
SAT Reading Section
The SAT Reading Test makes up 50% of your score on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
section of the SAT. (The other half comes from the Writing and Language Test). That breakdown
makes the Reading Test important, but it’s not insurmountable. There are no formulas or comma
rules to memorize— you just need to know how to approach each reading passage.
Strategy
You will have 65 minutes to read five passages (taken from literature, history, social studies, and the
natural sciences) and answer a total of 52 questions. The questions will ask you to do everything
from determining the meaning of words in context, deciding why an author included a certain detail,
finding the main idea of a whole passage, comparing two passages, or even pinpointing information
on a graph.
Tips & Tricks
1. Choose your own order. Reading questions are not presented in order of difficulty, but they
are in chronological order. Don’t be afraid to skip a hard question, and don’t worry if you
can’t answer every question. Learn more about SAT strategies for working questions out of
order.
2. Read what you need. You don’t have to waste time reading every single word of the passage
and trying to become an expert on whatever the topic is. You have the passage right there in
front of you. So, move back and forth between the passage and the questions, focusing only
on what you need instead of getting mired down in all the little details.
3. Leave your opinions at the door.
4. Often, in an English class, you are asked to give your own opinion, supported by the text. Not
so on the SAT. Be careful when you see a question that contains the word infer, imply, or
suggest. The answer may not be directly stated in the text, but there will still be plenty of
evidence there to support the correct answer.
5. Take dual passages one at a time. One of your science or history/social studies passages will
be a set of dual passages—two shorter texts about one topic. Do questions about the first
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passage first, questions about the second passage second, and questions about both
passages last. This will save time and keep you from confusing the two passages when
you’re evaluating the answer choices.
6. Save main idea questions for last. For many of the Reading passages, the very first question
will ask a general question about the main idea or purpose of the passage, the narrative
point of view, or a shift that occurs through the passage. Those general questions are not
good to do first because you haven’t read the entire passage yet. Once you’ve done most of
the other questions, you'll have a really good idea of the overall themes of the text.
Sample Questions
Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage
I think that I love society as much as most, and am ready enough to fasten myself like a bloodsucker for the
time to any full-blooded man that comes in my way. I am naturally no hermit, (5) but might possibly sit out the
sturdiest frequenter for the bar-room, if my business called me thither.
I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. When visitors come in
larger and unexpected (10) numbers there was but the third chair for them all, but they generally economized
the room by standing up. It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain. I have
had twenty-five or thirty souls, with their bodies, (15) at once under my roof, and yet we often parted without
being aware that we had come very near to one another.
One inconvenience I sometimes experienced in so small a house, the difficulty of getting to a (20) sufficient
distance from my guest when we began to utter the big thoughts in big words. You want room for your
thoughts to get into sailing trim and run a course or two before they make their port. The bullet of your thought
must have (25) overcome its lateral and ricochet motion and fallen into its last and steady course before it
reaches the ear of the hearer, else it may plow out again through the side of his head. Also our sentences
wanted room to unfold and form (30) their columns in the interval. Individuals, like nations, must have suitable
broad and natural boundaries, even a considerable neutral ground, between them. I have found it a singular
luxury to talk across the pond to a companion on the (35) opposite side. In my house we were so near that we
could not begin to hear—we could not speak low enough to be heard; as when you throw two stones into calm
water so near that they break each other's undulations. As the conversation (40) began to assume a loftier and
grander tone, we gradually shoved our chairs farther apart till they touched the wall in opposite corners and
then commonly there was not room enough.
My "best" room, however, my withdrawing (45) room, always ready for company, on whose carpet the sun
rarely fell, was the pine wood behind my house. Thither in summer days, when distinguished guests came, I
took them, and a priceless domestic swept the floor and dusted the (50) furniture and kept the things in order.
If one guest came he sometimes partook of my frugal meal, and it was no interruption to conversation to be
stirring a hasty-pudding or watching the rising and maturing of a loaf of (55) bread in the ashes, in the
meanwhile. But if twenty came and sat in my house there was nothing said about dinner, though there might
be bread enough for two, more than if eating were a forsaken habit; but we naturally
practiced (60) abstinence; and this was never felt to be an offence against hospitality, but the most proper and
considerate course. The waste and decay of physical life, which so often needs repair, seemed miraculously
retarded in such a case, and the vital (65) vigor stood its ground. I could entertain thus a thousand as well as
twenty; and if any ever went away disappointed or hungry from my house when they found me at home, they
may depend upon it that I sympathized with them at least. So (70) easy it is, though many housekeepers
doubt it, to establish new and better customs in the place of the old. You need not rest your reputation on the
dinners you give.
As for men, they will hardly fail one (75) anywhere. I had more visitors while I lived in the woods than at any
other period in my life; I mean that I had some. I met several there under more favorable circumstances than I
could anywhere else. But fewer came to see me on trivial business. (80) In this respect, my company was
winnowed by my mere distance from town. I had withdrawn so far within the great ocean of solitude, into
which the rivers of society empty, that for the most part, so far as my needs were concerned, only the
finest (85) sediment was deposited around me.
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1. The main narrative point of view in the passage is of
A. a man adjusting to life in a big city after growing up on a farm.
B. a discussion of visitors to a small house away from city life.
C. a sailor discussing the pond on which he grew up and how it affected his friendships.
D. a man discussing the potential of big thoughts and their need to be expressed.
2. In the context of the passage, the phrase "as when you throw two stones into calm water so near, they break
each other's undulations," (lines 37–39) is best described as
A. a reference to the author's childhood days when he threw stones into a lake.
B. an analogy used to elaborate on a previous statement.
C. a way to expand on the reasons national boundaries are always changing.
D. a reason that the author and his companion had to continually move their chairs to be heard.
3. As used in line 27, "plow" most nearly means
A. push.
B. furrow.
C. cultivate.
D. walk.
Answers:
1. B is the best answer
2. D is the best answer
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3. A is the best answer
SAT Writing and Language Test
The SAT Writing & Language Test is the second section on the SAT, and it tests you on both
grammar and effective use of language. The SAT Writing section consists of 44 questions to
complete in 35 minutes, which means you have less than a minute to complete each question.
While this may seem fast, it is very doable with the right approach.
Strategy
Essentially, the SAT Writing Test is asking you to be an editor—to fix mistakes in sentences and
passages and revise them to make them better. But how are you supposed to pick an answer when
there’s no explicit question? Learn from the answer choices. The way we speak is often very different
from the way we write. Use the answer choices to reveal mistakes that you might not otherwise have
spotted (or heard) in the sentence.
Process of Elimination Does the Heavy Lifting
Once you have a sense of what the question is testing, Process of Elimination can get you closer and
closer to the answer. Cross off just one or two wrong answers, and the correct answer becomes more
obvious.
Tips & Tricks
1. ANSWER QUESTIONS AS YOU READ.
With roughly 48 seconds to answer each question, you certainly don’t have time to read with
much depth. Begin skimming through the passage to understand the main idea and to
identify the style. When you encounter an underlined segment, determine the issue—if there
is one—and select the best answer choice.
2. SAVE LONGER QUESTIONS FOR THE END.
In addition to the underlined segments scattered throughout the passage, you will also see
actual question stems that may ask you about sentence or paragraph placement.
Alternatively, they could ask you to determine whether the passage accomplishes the
author’s intended purpose and why or why not. Since these questions are based on the
passage as a whole, they are better answered after you’ve read through the whole passage.
3. MAKE SURE YOUR ANSWER IS BOTH CONCISE AND RELEVANT.
When more than one choice seems to work well grammatically in the passage, you should
gravitate towards shorter choices to eliminate wordiness. Furthermore, if an answer choice
seems to go off-topic, eliminate it immediately. The correct answer will always be relevant to
the material surrounding it.
4. KNOW YOUR PUNCTUATION.
Roughly two questions per passage on the Writing & Language section will specifically test
you on punctuation, and you’ll be able to use your punctuating skills to answer many others.
Here’s a summary of some important punctuation rules:
A. Commas (,) are used for many different reasons, but the SAT tests them in four main
ways:
a. separate three or more items in a list (apples, bananas, and oranges)
b. separate two or more independent clauses with a FANBOYS (For, And, Nor,
But, Or, Yet, So) conjunction (My mom was going to pick me up from school,
but my dad came instead.)
c. set off introductory information from the rest of the sentence (In 2008, the
Phillies won the World Series.)
d. set off non-essential descriptive information within or at the end of a
sentence (I ran across the floor, which was painted with school colors, to
meet Steve. OR I ran across the floor to meet Steve, who greeted me with a
high five.)
B. Semicolons (;) are used to join two independent clauses without the use of a FANBOYS
conjunction. The sentences on both sides of a semicolon must be complete and able
to stand alone. (I entered the competition early; however, I decided to withdraw a
week later.)
C. Colons (:) are used to introduce and/or emphasize short phrases, quotations,
explanations, examples, or lists. The portion of the sentence before the colon must
be an independent clause. (The greatest obstacle to completing my homework was
imminent: the finale of Grey’s Anatomy.)
D. Dashes (—) have 2 main purposes:
a. indicate a hesitation/break in thought (I saw John the other day and he
looked great—no, it was actually Greg.)
b. set off an explanatory example or list from the rest of the sentence. (Many
facets of Jill’s personality—among them empathy, respect, and kindness—
make her a great friend and human being.)
E. Apostrophes (‘) also have 2 main purposes:
a. indicate possession (Bob’s book, my friends’ phones)
b. create contractions (there’s the rabbit, it’s important, who’s in charge)
5. KNOW THE POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN IDEAS.
Questions on the Writing & Language Test will ask you to make appropriate and effective
transitions between ideas. In general, there are 4 relationships you’ll need to know, and you
should select the right type of transition word to establish the correct relationship. When you
see a transition word underlined, ask yourself, “How are these ideas related?”
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A. Reinforcement means one idea supports or builds off another, so transitions to use
include in addition, furthermore, for example, and also, among others.
B. Contrast means one idea opposes another. Here, the right transitions might
be however, on the other hand, despite, and unlike.
C. Cause-and-effect means one idea directly leads to another. To indicate this
relationship, use transitions like consequently, therefore, since, and because.
D. Sequence transitions are used for items part of a series. Words like first, then,
afterwards, and finally would establish this relationship.
Sample Questions
The following questions is based on the following passage and supplementary material.
A Life in Traffic
A subway system is expanded to provide service to a growing suburb. A bike-sharing program is
adopted to encourage nonmotorized transportation.1 To alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a
congested downtown area, stoplight timing is coordinated. When any one of these changes 2 occur,
it is likely the result of careful analysis conducted by transportation planners.
The work of transportation planners generally includes evaluating current transportation needs,
assessing the effectiveness of existing facilities, and improving those facilities or 3 they design new
ones. Most transportation planners work in or near cities, 4 but some are employed in rural
areas. Say, for example, a large factory is built on the outskirts of a small town. Traffic to and from
that location would increase at the beginning and end of work shifts. The transportation 5 planner’s
job, might involve conducting a traffic count to determine the daily number of vehicles traveling on
the road to the new factory. If analysis of the traffic count indicates that there is more traffic than
the 6 current road as it is designed at this time can efficiently accommodate, the transportation
planner might recommend widening the road to add another lane.
Transportation planners work closely with a number of community stakeholders, such as
government officials and other interested organizations and individuals. 7 Next, representatives from
the local public health department might provide input in designing a network of trails and sidewalks
to encourage people to walk more. 8 According to the American Heart Association, walking provides
numerous benefits related to health and well-being. Members of the Chamber of Commerce might
share suggestions about designing transportation and parking facilities to support local businesses.
9 People who pursue careers in transportation planning have a wide variety of educational
backgrounds. A two-year degree in transportation technology may be sufficient for some entry-level
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jobs in the field. Most jobs, however, require at least a bachelor’s degree; majors of transportation
planners are 10 varied, including fields such as urban studies, civil engineering, geography, or
transportation and logistics management. For many positions in the field, a master’s degree is
required.
Transportation planners perform critical work within the broader field of urban and regional
planning. As of 2010, there were approximately 40,300 urban and regional planners employed in
the United States. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts steady job growth in this
field, 11 projecting that 16 percent of new jobs in all occupations will be related to urban and
regional planning. Population growth and concerns about environmental sustainability are expected
to spur the need for transportation planning professionals.
1. Which choice best maintains the sentence pattern already established in the paragraph?
a. NO CHANGE
b. Coordinating stoplight timing can help alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a congested
downtown area.
c. Stoplight timing is coordinated to alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a congested
downtown area.
d. In a congested downtown area, stoplight timing is coordinated to alleviate rush hour
traffic jams.
Answers:
Choice C is the best answer because it most closely maintains the sentence pattern established by
the two preceding sentences, which begin with a noun and passive verb phrase (“A subway system
is expanded,” “A bike-sharing program is adopted”)
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