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10 Best SAT English Tips and Hacks For The Reading & Writing Section

Mastering the SAT English section can be a challenging task. With the right SAT English tips and strategies at your disposal, you’re sure to succeed. By focusing on essential SAT English tips that will help you tackle the test with confidence, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your desired score. In this blog post, we’ll share effective SAT English tips that clarify the concepts, provide you with a deeper understanding of the test’s structure, ensure a high level of clarity in your writing, and familiarize you with essential grammar and vocabulary rules. With these SAT tips in mind, you can take the exam with peace of mind and boost your chances of securing a place in the college of your dreams.

The Reading & Writing Section Of The SAT

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What the Reading and Writing Passages Are Like

The Reading and Writing section of the SAT presents short reading passages or passage pairs ranging from 25 to 150 words. Passages cover various subject areas such as literature, history/social studies, the humanities, and science.

What the Reading and Writing Questions Are Like

The Reading and Writing section consists of questions that fall into four content domains:

1. Information and Ideas

These questions measure comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills. They test the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information and ideas from texts and informational graphics.

2. Craft and Structure

These questions evaluate comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, synthesis, and reasoning skills. They assess the knowledge needed to understand and use high-utility words and phrases in context, evaluate texts rhetorically, and make connections between topically related texts.

3. Expression of Ideas

These questions measure the ability to revise texts effectively to match specific rhetorical goals and improve written expression.

4. Standard English Conventions

These questions assess the ability to edit text to conform to core conventions of Standard English sentence structure, usage, and punctuation.

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What To Expect In The SAT Reading & Writing Section

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When you’re preparing for the SAT, it’s essential to understand what to expect in the reading and writing section of the exam. This portion will assess your skills in reading and analyzing passages, explaining authors’ choices, revising text, and editing for standard English conventions. 

The reading and writing section is divided into two modules, each consisting of 25 operational questions and two pretest questions. You’ll be given 32 minutes to complete each module, bringing the total to 54 questions completed in 64 minutes. The passages you’ll encounter will cover areas such as:

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

To ensure you ace this section, make sure you are comfortable with reading and interpreting text, explaining why authors make certain choices in their writing, revising passages for clarity, and editing for proper sentence structure and punctuation.

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SAT English Tips: 11 Reading & Writing Tips For A Great Score

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1. Know what to expect

Understanding what to expect on the SAT Reading section is crucial in helping you improve your scores. The section consists of five passages from various subjects, including literature, history, social studies, and natural sciences. 

You will need to answer a total of 52 questions in 65 minutes. Questions on the SAT Reading section may ask you to determine the meaning of words in context, figure out why an author included certain details, identify the main idea of a passage, compare two passages, or locate information on a graph.

2. Choose your own order

Remember that the reading questions are not presented from easiest to hardest but in chronological order. Feel free to skip a difficult question and do not panic if you cannot answer every question. Consider the SAT strategies for working on questions out of order.

3. Read what you need

Instead of reading every word of the passage and attempting to become knowledgeable on the topic, focus on what you need by moving back and forth between the passage and the questions. Avoid getting stuck in the details.

4. Leave your opinions at the door

Unlike in an English class where you are often asked to provide your opinion supported by the text, keep your opinions out of the SAT. Be cautious when you see questions involving the words infer, imply, or suggest. The answer may not be directly stated in the text, but there will be ample evidence to support the correct answer.

5. Take dual passages one at a time

For science or history/social studies passages, take questions about the first passage first, questions about the second passage second, and finish with questions about both passages. This will save time and prevent confusion between the two passages when assessing the answer choices.

6. Save main idea questions for last

Avoid tackling main idea questions first. Instead, complete most of the other questions before addressing main idea questions so that you have a better understanding of the text’s overall themes.

7. Save the longer questions for the end

For questions based on the entire passage rather than a few sentences, it is advisable to save these questions for last. Only address such questions after thoroughly reading and rereading the passage.

8. Work on making your answer relevant and precise

In addition to writing grammatically correct sentences, prioritize using shorter sentences to eliminate wordiness. If an answer seems off-topic, eliminate it immediately. The answer or word choice should be concise, relevant, and precise.

9. Know the possible relationships between ideas

The SAT Writing & Language test requires you to make effective transitions between ideas. Understanding the correct transition words for various relationships is crucial. These relationships include contrast, reinforcement, sequence, and cause-and-effect.

10. Always answer some questions while reading

Skim through the passage to identify the style and main idea while reading. When you encounter an underlined statement, determine the issue and select the best answer.

11. Have a deep understanding of punctuation

Expect around two punctuation questions in each passage, so it is essential to have a clear understanding of punctuation rules. Key rules include the use of semicolons, dashes, colons, and apostrophes.

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5 Time Management Tips For Taking The SAT Reading & Writing Section Of The Test

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1. Save Time on Easier Questions

I always encourage my students to start with what they find easy. Don’t waste your energy on the hard ones, save that for later. This way, you’re able to cover more ground in less time and spend more time on the harder questions later.

2. Make Predictions

Whenever possible, try to predict what the correct answer might be. This can help you quickly eliminate choices that don’t align with your predictions, saving you time and avoiding unnecessary distractions.

3. Use the Process of Elimination

If you can’t predict the answer, eliminate the options that are clearly wrong. This way, you have fewer choices to pick from and can make a more educated guess.

4. Leave Time to Review Your Answers

I always suggest to my students to keep some time for reviewing their answers. This way, you can revisit the questions you weren’t sure about with a fresh perspective after completing the rest of the section.

5. Don’t Leave Any Questions Blank

Even if you’re unsure of an answer, make an educated guess. With no penalty for wrong answers, you could still get points for guessing right. Always make a choice, even if you plan to revisit the question later.

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