SAT scoring and structure
The Digital SAT consists of this many main sections.
2 (reading/writing and math)
When a question asks for the meaning of a word 'as used in the passage,' you should use this strategy first.
reading the surrounding sentences for context clues
The overall argument or central point an author is trying to make in a passage.
the main idea (or thesis)
In a Part A / Part B paired question, Part A asks you to do this.
identify a claim, inference, or answer to a reading question
This punctuation mark is used to join two independent clauses without a conjunction.
a semicolon
This is the maximum possible composite score on the SAT.
1600
The word 'ephemeral' most nearly means this.
short-lived or fleeting
If an author uses phrases like 'studies confirm' and 'evidence suggests,' the author's tone is best described as this.
objective or analytical
Part B of a paired question asks you to select the quotation that does this to your Part A answer.
provide the best evidence (or support)
When a pronoun's antecedent is unclear or missing, the SAT calls this type of error.
a vague or ambiguous pronoun reference
Each section of the Digital SAT contains this many modules, and the difficulty of the second module is determined by your first module performance.
2 modules
On the SAT, vocabulary questions test this rather than memorized definitions.
contextual meaning
These four types of passages appear in the SAT Reading & Writing section.
literature, historical documents, science, and social science
This is the key mistake students make on Part B — choosing a quote that sounds relevant but doesn't directly support Part A.
selecting an irrelevant or tangentially related quote
A group of words that contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence is called this.
a dependent (or subordinate) clause
This is the name for the SAT's adaptive feature where the second module's difficulty adjusts based on your first module score.
multistage adaptive testing (MST)
The word 'laconic' describes speech or writing that is this.
brief or using very few words
When asked about 'author's purpose,' the correct answer usually begins with one of these verbs.
'to argue,' 'to describe,' 'to analyze,' or 'to illustrate'
The best strategy for paired questions is to answer Part A first, then use this to find the Part B evidence.
returning to the passage and locating the lines that prove your answer
This grammatical error occurs when a modifier is placed too far from the word it describes, creating confusion.
a misplaced modifier
On the SAT, scores are calculated on this scale per section, and the two section scores are combined for the composite.
200–800 per section
When a word has multiple dictionary definitions, the SAT always wants the meaning that does this.
best fits the specific context of the passage
A passage that presents two sides without taking a position is said to have this type of tone.
neutral or objective
If Part A asks about the author's claim and you are unsure, you should do this before moving to Part B.
eliminate wrong Part A answers using the passage before committing to a Part B quote
On the SAT, when two items are connected by 'either/or' or 'neither/nor,' the verb must agree with this part of the sentence.
the subject closest to the verb (the nearer subject)