SAT Reading and Writing Strategies

• SAT Reading & Writing Overview
• 54 questions in two 32-minute modules

Information & Ideas (12-14 questions)

• Main idea identification
• Detail retrieval
• Command of Evidence (Textual and Quantitative)
• Inference drawing

Expression of Ideas (8-12 Questions)

• Rhetorical Synthesis
• Understanding and using Transitions

Craft & Structure (13-15 questions)

• Words in Context
• Identifying the Purpose of Texts
• Recognizing Connections between Texts

Standard English Conventions (11-15 questions)

• Sentence Structure
• Punctuation
• Verb Agreement
• Pronoun Agreement
• Modifier Agreement

Method for Approaching Questions

• Step 1: Determine the question type. (For Standard English Conventions, look at the answer choices for clues.)
• Step 2: Identify what to look for in the text.
• Step 3: Choose the best answer strategy – Predict & Match or Eliminate.

Incorrect Answer Types to Avoid

• Out of Scope: too broad/narrow, goes beyond the text
• Extreme: wording too strong to be supported by the text (i.e. all, never, none)
• Distortion: misstates what author says or implies
• Opposite: contradicts what the correct answer must say
• Misused Detail: correct information based on the text but does not answer the question asked

Question Types and Strategies

Main Idea Questions

• Identify the main idea by summing up the author's point. It might be at the start, end or derived from entire text. Use predict and match.
• Avoid choices that are too narrow.

Detail Questions

• Find explicit details in the text and predict the answer. For "What is true..." questions, elimination might be needed

Command of Evidence (Quantitative)

• Understand the claim and analyze data relative to it. Use predict and match or eliminate.

Command of Evidence (Textual)

• Strengthen, weaken, or illustrate a claim by finding and paraphrasing it. Predict what would strengthen or weaken. The answer is NOT already in the text but is relevant

Inference Questions

• Read the entire text, note transitions, and predict the logical continuation. The correct answer should be supported completely by the text.

Rhetorical Synthesis Questions

• Restate the goal(s) and read with that in mind. The answer must address that stated goal(s).

Transitions Questions

• Identify the relationship between two ideas (continuation, contrast, cause/effect, sequence), then predict and match with appropriate word.

Words in Context Questions

• Look for clues like transitions and punctuation to predict and match a word that fits.

Purpose/Structure Questions

• Predict why the author wrote/included the item. Identify the item's role (e.g., example, introduction) as well as the structure (cause/effect, topic with examples).

Connections between Texts Questions

• Read each text, note viewpoints, and predict how texts relate (agree, disagree, etc.)

Standard English Conventions Questions

• Check the answer choices to see what grammatical rule is tested (punctuation, modifiers, verbs); then predict and match or eliminate.

Grammar at a Glance

Sentence Structure

• Independent clause: subject, verb, complete thought
• Fragment: lacks an independent clause
• Run-on: multiple independent clauses improperly combined, cannot use a comma alone
• Correcting a run-on: use period, semicolon, make a clause dependent, or use comma + FANBOYS

Punctuation

Commas

• Separate independent clauses with a FANBOYS conjunction.
• Separate three+ items in list.
• Separate introductory and modifying phrases.
• Separate nonessential information.
• Separate independent from dependent clauses

Semicolons

• Joins two independent clauses without FANBOYS
• Separates items listed that already contain commas.

Colons

• Introduce short phrases, quotes, explanations, examples, or lists after an independent clause.

Dashes

• Set off hesitations or breaks in thought within independent clause
• Set off nonessential information within a sentence

Apostrophes

• Indicate possessive forms of nouns
• Represent contractions

Verbs

• Verbs match surrounding context's tense

Present Perfect

• (Have/has + past tense): past actions continuing to present, recurring past actions, or past actions at unspecified times

Past Perfect

• (Had + past tense): past actions completed before other past actions

Future Perfect

• (Will have + past tense): future actions completed before other future actions

Subject-Verb Agreement

Verbs agree in person

• First person (I, we): I am going there. We are going, too.
• Second person (you): You are going to Paris.
• Third person (he, she, it, one, they, all nouns): He is going to Paris. The flight will take eight hours.

Verbs must agree in number

• Singular subject needs a singular verb
• Plural subject needs a plural verb.
• Verb's subject might not be the closest noun
• Collective nouns are grammatically singular
• Verbs should be parallel with other verbs in list

Pronouns

• Pronouns must agree in number with its antecedent.
• Use I, he, she, they, who if pronoun is the subject of a verb or after a linking verb
• Use me, him, her, them, whom if pronoun is the object of a verb, verb form, or preposition.
• Possessive pronouns don't have apostrophes (his, hers, its, theirs, ours)

Modifiers

• Adjectives modify nouns/pronouns
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs
• Modifying phrases should be as close as possible to the noun they modify, for clarity.