General Strategies
What should you read FIRST on a PSAT/SAT Reading & Writing question?
The question
A Main Idea question asks you to identify what?
The overall purpose or main point of the passage.
Which sentence is correct?
A. The pack of wolves hunt together.
B. The pack of wolves hunts together.
B. The pack of wolves hunts together.
Solve for x:
3x + 5 = 20
x = 5
What is the highest possible PSAT/NMSQT score?
1520
How many answer choices does each Reading & Writing question have?
4
For a Vocabulary-in-Context question, should you automatically choose the word’s most common dictionary meaning?
No. Choose the meaning that best fits the context.
Which punctuation mark can connect two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction?
A semicolon (;)
A $50 item is discounted by 20%. What is the sale price?
$40
How long does the PSAT/SAT take, not including breaks?
2 hours 14 minutes
About how much time do you have for each Reading & Writing passage and question?
About 1 minute 11 seconds
If a Main Idea answer focuses on only one small detail from the passage, what is probably wrong with it?
It is too narrow.
Fix this sentence:
Bianca scored a 1510 on her PSAT she was a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.
Bianca scored a 1510 on her PSAT; she was a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.
If f(x) = 2x² + 3, what is f(2)?
11
How many total questions are on the PSAT/SAT?
98 questions
When reading a passage, why should you pay attention to the author’s tone and attitude?
They help you understand the author’s purpose, stance, and argument.
In an Informational Graphic question, what should you check first before choosing an answer?
What the graph or table actually shows, including its categories and axes.
What is wrong with this sentence?
While in the bathtub, the cellphone rang.
It has a dangling modifier. It sounds like the cellphone was in the bathtub.
The average of 8, 10, 12, and x is 11. What is x?
14
Richard Aberle
John is an 11th-grade student at Faith Lutheran High School in Nevada. He scored 1320 on the PSAT/NMSQT last year, 2025, and qualified as a National Merit Semifinalist. What were his Reading and Writing and Math section scores?
Math: 590
In a Dual Passage question, what should you identify BEFORE comparing the two authors?
The main argument or claim of each passage separately.
What is wrong with this punctuation?
Faith Lutheran’s football team, off to a 6-0 start this season—is a threat to win the championship.
The parenthetical punctuation does not match. Use two commas or two dashes.
A rectangle’s length is 3 more than its width. Its area is 40. What is its width?
5
w(w + 3) = 40
w² + 3w - 40 = 0
(w + 8)(w - 5) = 0
w = 5
Which video game is the best-selling video game of all time?
Minecraft