Digital SAT
54 questions · 64 minutes
SAT Reading and Writing
54 questions in two 32 minute modules. Each question has its own short passage, usually well under 150 words, so there is no long reading to slog through.
Questions are grouped by domain and run easiest to hardest inside each module. Craft and Structure and Information and Ideas together make up a bit more than half the section, Standard English Conventions is about a quarter, and Expression of Ideas covers the rest. Because each passage belongs to one question, reading speed matters less than precision.
Every reading and writing skill the test asks for
Information and Ideas
- Central ideas and detailsIdentify the main point of a short passage or locate a specific detail the passage actually states.
- Command of evidencePick the finding, quotation, or data point that would most directly support or weaken a stated claim.
- InferencesComplete a passage with the conclusion that follows most logically from what the text already says.
Craft and Structure
- Words in contextChoose the word or phrase that best fits the meaning and tone of a specific sentence in a passage.
- Text structure and purposeDescribe how a passage is organized or what a specific sentence is doing within it.
- Author purposeDetermine why the author wrote a passage or included a particular element in it.
- Cross-text connectionsCompare two short passages and state how the second author would respond to the first.
Expression of Ideas
Standard English Conventions
- Sentence boundariesPunctuate correctly between clauses so the passage has no run-ons, comma splices, or fragments.
- Subject-verb agreementMatch a verb to its real subject, even when phrases sit between them or the order is inverted.
- Verb tense and formPick the verb tense and form that fit the time frame the surrounding sentences establish.
- Comma useApply the small set of comma rules the SAT tests, including nonessential elements and introductory phrases.
- Punctuation within a sentenceChoose among commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes based on what each side of the punctuation is.
- PronounsChoose the pronoun that matches its antecedent in number and takes the right form for its role.
- Pronoun-antecedent agreementMatch a pronoun to the noun it refers to in number, especially with collective nouns and indefinite pronouns.
- Apostrophes and possessivesDecide between a plural, a singular possessive, and a plural possessive, and separate possessives from contractions.
- Modifier placementMake sure a descriptive opening phrase attaches to the noun it is actually meant to describe.
- Parallel structureKeep items in a list or a comparison in the same grammatical form so the sentence stays balanced.
Now do the other half
Your total score is Reading and Writing plus Math added together, so a strong section only gets you halfway. 44 questions · 70 minutes.
Go to SAT Math