Overview and Question Types
What is the best way to practice?
Read frequently and attentively.
What should you do if you are running out of time and haven't finished the reading test?
Guess ALL the rest of the questions!
Leave no questions unanswered!
True or False: the Literature passages of the test will never contain poetry.
True. The Literature passages will only contain prose fiction.
If there is a graph attached to a reading passage, how many questions may refer to the graph?
1 or 2.
True or False: the SAT reading test will contain one history passage and one Social Studies passage.
False. The SAT will contain two passages which will either be on history or social studies.
How many passages are included in the reading portion of the test, how many questions are there in total, and how many minutes long is it?
5 passages, 52 questions and 65 minutes.
How long should you spend reading a passage before you start answering questions?
4 - 4.5 minutes
True or false: All texts will be written by American or British Authors.
False. Most texts will be written by American or British Authors, but some may be written by authors elsewhere in the world.
True or False: Each paired passage is likely to try to convince the reader of a different point of view.
True. The text states that they are likely to try to persuade the reader.
True or False: Dates and names of historical people will be included in History passages.
True. The passages will include dates and names, but students do not need to memorize them before the test.
You are asked to provide the best evidence for the answer to a previous question. Which question type is this?
Information and Ideas
How many vocabulary focused questions will be found in each passage of the Reading test, and how many questions will ask you to provide evidence?
Two questions each, which will support the Words in Context and Command of Evidence subscores, respectively.
From what time periods will Literature passages be drawn?
Few texts will be from the ancient world. Most texts will be from the 1800s and the 1900s.
Which of the three following topics would not appear in an SAT science passage:
oceanography; genetics; atmospheric science; astrology
Astrology
True or False: Students don't need prior knowledge of any History/Social Studies topics on the SAT.
False. The statement is true for most topics, but students are strongly encouraged to become familiar with the principles of early American political thought.
You are asked to determine a character's opinion based on the last two paragraphs of a passage. Which question type is this?
Synthesis
What advice is given to help increase your chances of choosing the correct answer to a particular question?
Read carefully and eliminate wrong answer choices before making a guess.
What are "the Classics"?
The most famous or well respected fiction books in the English world.
What is a scientific hypothesis?
A possible explanation for an observed phenomena that can be tested.
In your own words, what is the "Great Global Conversation"?
Writings and speeches that deal with general political topics, like freedom and justice.
According to the text, the student will need to understand "what is explicitly stated in the passage and what can be reasonably inferred from a passage."
What does it mean for something to be "reasonably inferred"?
The text makes it clear that something is true without actually saying it.
Summarize the four strategies outlined at the end of this section in one grammatically correct sentence.
Example answer:
Answer as accurately as possible, but don't waste time and answer every question on the test at all costs.
The text lists authors who might appear on the Literature passages of the SAT.
Name one other author who might be included on the SAT.
Possible examples:
Emily Brontë, Daniel Defoe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Faulkner, Thomas Hardy, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Herman Melville, Mary Shelley, John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, and so on.
Deciding if an author should be accepted is left to the teacher. The following list can be consulted when in doubt:
https://www.marianhs.org/userfiles/994/Recommended%20reading%20list%20from%20Collegeboard.pdf
The end of the section lists examples of possible Science passages on the SAT reading. Suggest one more possible passage.
For example:
A history of the development of plastics; a description of how the life cycle of a moth impacts its ecosystem; or a comparison between two competing theories regarding the formation of black holes.
The end of the text lists examples of possible History/Social Studies passages on the SAT reading. Suggest one more possible passage.
For example:
A summary of modern Egytology; an analysis of the effect of smart phones on child development; or a comparison of the conflicting views of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on the Bill of Rights.