Here’s What You Need to Know About the SAT Reading and Writing Section

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17Dec

Here’s What You Need to Know About the SAT Reading and Writing Section

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Reading and Writing is the first section on the SAT. It features a wide variety of short passages (everything from science to poetry) paired with multiple-choice questions that test skills like vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about the SAT Reading and Writing section, including the section structure, strategies for success, and an overview of each question type. The sample questions in this guide are from our free SAT sample test. For the answers and a detailed explanation of each question, watch the accompanying video or take the free sample test on our platform.

Table of Contents

What is the format of the SAT Reading and Writing Section?

The SAT Reading and Writing section is 64 minutes long with 54 multiple-choice questions. It’s split into two modules, each 32 minutes with 27 questions. The SAT is adaptive, so your performance on Module 1 determines the level of difficulty of Module 2. Learn more about how the SAT is scored.

How many passages are there on the SAT Reading and Writing Section?

On previous versions of the SAT, there were a few long passages with 10+ questions per passage. Now, each question has its own short passage (or pair of short passages). There are 54 questions, so there are 54 passages on the SAT Reading and Writing section. The passages are around 25-150 words long and cover a wide variety of topics from science to literature (there’s even some poetry!). Some passages are accompanied by tables and graphs.

How are the questions organized?

The modules are organized by question type or “testing point” so that questions testing similar skills appear together. The testing points always appear in the same order, and the questions within each testing point are presented in order of increasing difficulty. For example, you will always start a module with the easiest “words in context” question and finish with the hardest “rhetorical synthesis” question.

What are some strategies for SAT Reading and Writing?

Here are two key strategies to help you succeed on the SAT reading and Writing section. For more SAT tips, please see SAT Do’s and Don’ts and watch the strategy videos below.

Find evidence to support your answer choice in the passage.

The most important rule of reading comprehension is that the passage will provide all the information needed to answer the question. There is no need to rely on outside knowledge. Indeed, if any part of the answer choice does not match the information in the passage, it is incorrect, even if it is a true statement. In short, you must find evidence in the provided passage to support your answer choice.

Come up with your own answer before looking at the answer choices.

For many questions, it can be very helpful to come up with your own answer before looking at the answer choices. Wrong answers on the SAT are designed to seem plausible. They are there to distract you. In fact, the incorrect answer choices are actually called “distractors.” If you have an idea of what the answer should be before looking at the choices, you are less likely to be distracted and influenced by these wrong answers.

What’s on the SAT Reading and Writing Section?

There are four content domains on the SAT Reading and Writing section: 

  1. Craft and structure
  2. Information and ideas
  3. Standard English conventions
  4. Expression of ideas

Within each content domain, there are 2-3 testing points. Read on to learn what to expect from each category.

Craft and Structure

Craft and Structure questions focus on vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reading analysis. This content domain is about 28% of the Reading and Writing section with 13-15 questions across both modules. There are three testing points in this content domain:

  1. Words in context
  2. Text structure and purpose
  3. Cross-text connections

Words in Context

Words in context questions are the first question type you will see in each module. These questions test your vocabulary by asking you to fill in the blank with the word or phrase that best fits the passage. Occasionally, they’ll ask you to interpret the meaning of an underlined word.

For these questions, try to come up with your own answer before looking at the choices. Which word(s) would you use in that context?

Sample Question: Words In Context

In recommending Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake, literary critic Michiko Kakutani praises the author’s ability in creating _______ characters, with their actions often revealing the complexity of their personalities. For example, one character’s meticulous upkeep of her address book reflects her desire to feel connected to others while also emphasizing her anxiety about feeling like an outsider.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
  1.      superficial
  2.      unemotional
  3.      disheartening
  4.      multifaceted

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Text Structure and Purpose

For these questions, you’ll need to identify how a passage is organized, determine the purpose of the text as a whole, or analyze how a smaller excerpt fits within the passage’s overall structure and purpose. 

Pay close attention to what the question is asking and watch out for distractors that contain accurate details from the passage but fail to answer the specific question.

Sample Question: Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from Leo Tolstoy’s 1867 novel War and Peace. In this scene, Pierre Bezukhov enters the battlefield for the first time.

“All that Pierre saw was so indefinite that neither the left nor the right side of the field fully satisfied his expectations. Nowhere could he see the battlefield he had expected to find, but only fields, meadows, troops, woods, the smoke of campfires, villages, mounds, and streams; and try as he would he could descry no military ‘position’ in this place which teemed with life, nor could he even distinguish our troops from the enemy’s.”
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
  1. It establishes a context for portraying the brutality and callousness of war.
  2. It introduces the contrast between Pierre’s preconceived notions of the battlefield and the reality of what he witnesses.
  3. It serves as an example to show Pierre’s sense of disorientation by depicting his confusion and uncertainty about where to go.
  4. It serves as a transition to describe the setting of the battlefield, from the troops to the campfire smoke.

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Cross-Text Connections

These questions require you to compare and contrast two short passages. This is the only question type where you’ll see a pair of passages.

Once again, you’ll need to pay close attention to what the question is asking. Some cross-text connections questions will ask you to find a similarity while others will ask you to find a difference. Avoid distractors by coming up with your own answer before reading the provided choices.

Sample Question: Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
In his review of The Great Gatsby, critic H.L. Mencken described the novel as “easy and excellent reading.” However, Mencken also criticized the book, saying that the character of Gatsby was not believable and that the novel suffered from a lack of unity.

Text 2
Despite The Great Gatsby’s mixed reception, renowned literary critic Gilbert Seldes argued that Gatsby’s larger-than-life personality and his unrealistic dreams are precisely what make him an intriguing and tragic character. Seldes went on to assert that the novel’s disjointed structure was an intentional reflection of the fragmented and chaotic nature of the Jazz Age.
Which choice best describes a difference in how Mencken and Seldes view The Great Gatsby?
  1. While Mencken agrees with Seldes about the novel’s lack of unity, he does not believe this is a strength of the story.
  2. Mencken indicates that the praise surrounding The Great Gatsby is unwarranted because the novel is fundamentally flawed, while Seldes views the novel as a masterpiece.
  3. Only Seldes believes The Great Gatsby came across as disjointed or chaotic.
  4. Unlike Seldes, Mencken did not find the main character charismatic, which Mencken believes negatively impacted the novel.

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Information and Ideas

Information and idea questions require you to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information from written passages. Some questions include supporting tables and graphs. This content domain is approximately 26% of the reading and writing sections with 12-14 questions across both modules. There are three testing points in this content domain:

  1. Central ideas and details
  2. Command of evidence: textual and quantitative
  3. Inferences

Central Ideas and Details

These questions ask you to identify a main or supporting detail about the passage. The wording of the questions will vary but you can expect to see things like:

  • Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
  • Based on the text, what is true about this character?
Sample Question: Central Ideas and Details

The following text is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life.

According to the text, what is true about Mr. Utterson?
  1. He struggles to connect with others due to the fact he never smiles and is awkward in conversations.
  2. When he feels comfortable enough around people, Mr. Utterson will let them know how he feels about them.
  3. Despite Mr. Utterson’s shortcomings, people still find him likable.
  4. Mr. Utterson rarely feels the need to be social, as he prefers his own company.

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Command of Evidence: Textual and Quantitative

This testing point has two subtypes: textual and quantitative. Textual command of evidence questions will ask you to select a quote or a detail that either supports or challenges a claim. You’ll want to identify the claim and select the answer choice that fully responds to it. Partial matches are common distractors.

Quantitative command of evidence questions are accompanied by tables and/or graphs. Beware of answers that misread the data and be sure to read the passage carefully to understand the full context.

Sample Question: Command of Evidence
In the 1889 poem “Transfiguration,” Louisa May Alcott reflects on the death of her mother, depicting the contrast of joy in the face of grief: _______
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
  1. “Mysterious death! who in a single hour / Life’s gold can so refine / And by thy art divine / Change mortal weakness to immortal power!”
  2. “But ere the sense of loss our hearts had wrung/ A miracle was wrought; / And swift as happy thought / She lived again — brave, beautiful, and young.”
  3. “The past years brought their harvest rich and fair; / While memory and love, / Together, fondly wove / A golden garland for the silver hair.”
  4. “The great deep heart that was a home for all— / Just, eloquent, and strong / In protest against wrong; / Wide charity, that knew no sin, no fall;”

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Inferences

Inference questions ask you, “Which choice most logically completes the text?” For this type of question, it’s critical to find evidence in the passage to support your answer choice. Avoid making assumptions based on your outside knowledge and be wary of answers that go beyond the scope of the text.

Sample Question: Inferences
Nearly a quarter of the total CO2 emissions are absorbed by the Earth’s oceans every year. Despite being the second-smallest ocean, the Southern Ocean has absorbed almost 40 percent of the CO2 emissions created by humans. The University of Colorado Boulder research team analyzed over one million surface ocean observations spanning 13 years, revealing subtle differences between CO2 trends in the atmosphere and the surface ocean. Their findings indicated that during winter, CO2 absorption was particularly significant near the frigid Drake Passage. Although the researchers aren’t sure of the exact reason why the Southern Ocean serves as an effective CO2 emissions “sponge,” they have concluded _______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
  1. there is insufficient data to make any reasonable assumptions.
  2. the Southern Ocean likely only absorbs CO2 emissions during the winter.
  3. the Southern Ocean is just as efficient at absorbing CO2 emissions compared to other oceans, but the size increases its impact.
  4. the colder temperatures contribute to higher CO2 absorption rates.

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Standard English Conventions

The Standard English conventions domain tests your knowledge of grammar and punctuation. It’s approximately 26% of the reading writing section with 11-15 questions across both modules.

There are two testing points in this content domain:

  1. Boundaries
  2. Form, structure, and sense 

Unlike the other content domains, Standard English conventions questions are not separated by testing point—boundaries and form, structure, and sense questions are mixed together.

Boundaries

Boundaries questions test your knowledge of punctuation and how it can be used to separate or connect clauses. You’ll want to make sure you know when to use commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes, as well as when to start a new sentence.

Sample Question: Boundaries
Uganda has earned its reputation as a prominent global hub for coffee production due to its lush and fertile terrains. The country boasts an impressive annual coffee yield of approximately 6.85 million _______ its position as one of the leading coffee-producing nations worldwide.
Which choice completes the sentence so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
  1.     bags solidifying
  2.     bags, solidifying
  3.     bags; solidifying
  4.     bags, and solidifying

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Form, Structure, and Sense

These questions test your grasp of grammar rules. For many reading and writing questions, it’s helpful to come up with your own answer before looking at the answer choices. However, for these questions, it’s helpful to look at the answer choices first because they will reveal which concept is being tested.

Sample Question: Form, Structure, and Sense
Scientists believe that Mars potentially _______ a hospitable environment for microbial life forms billions of years ago due to the presence of water on its surface and a denser atmosphere compared to today.
Which choice completes the sentence so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
  1.      has had
  2.      has
  3.      had
  4.      was having

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Expression of Ideas

Expression of ideas is the final content domain and tests your ability to convey information clearly. It’s about 20% of the reading and writing section with 8-12 questions across both modules. 

There are two testing points in this content domain

  1. Transitions
  2. Rhetorical synthesis

Transitions

Transitions questions are similar to words and context questions. You’ll need to select the word or phrase that “completes the text with the most logical transition.”

If you struggle with this kind of question, spend some time familiarizing yourself with some common transition words and phrases. Our free Quizlet set is a great place to start.

Sample Question: Transitions
The early Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli was a respected painter with his own workshop and apprentices, but after his death, his work was mostly disregarded. It was only in the late 19th century that the Pre-Raphaelites rediscovered its beauty. _______ his artwork reclaimed its rightful place in the annals of art history.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
  1.      Subsequently,
  2.      To illustrate,
  3.      Lastly,
  4.      Meanwhile,

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

Rhetorical Synthesis

Rhetorical synthesis questions are the last question type you’ll see on each module. While these questions might seem intimidating, they tend to be fairly straightforward. You’ll see a bullet-point list accompanied by a goal. You’ll have to select the choice that “uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish the goal.” Make sure your choice addresses every part of the goal. Common distractors will be partially correct but leave something out.

Sample Question: Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, using carbon dioxide (CO2) and H2O from the air and soil to produce simple sugars that plants can use.

  • Emersed plants grow above the water surface to extract CO2 from the air, but their roots are submerged in the water or in damp soil near water.

  • Floating-leaved plants are rooted in the soil at the bottom of a body of water, but their leaves float on the surface of the water to extract CO2 from the air.

  • Terrestrial plants grow on land, in soil, or in other types of substrates to extract CO2 from the air.

  • Submersed plants grow completely underwater, with leaves and stems that have adapted to living in aquatic environments, so they are able to extract CO2 from the water.
The student wants to explain how the photosynthesis process might differ depending on plant type. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
  1. Emersed plants, floating-leaved plants, and terrestrial plants extract CO2 from the air, while submersed plants extract it from the water.
  2. Plants that live in water are able to extract the CO2 needed for photosynthesis from the water.
  3. Photosynthesis is a process that converts light energy into chemical energy; all kinds of plants undergo this process.
  4. Terrestrial plants convert CO2 from the air into energy in a process known as photosynthesis.

Test Innovators. Free Sample Test.

How can you improve your SAT Reading and Writing score?

Take a practice test to find out where you need to improve.

The first step to improving your SAT score is figuring out what exactly you need to work on. The best way to do that is to take a full-length practice test and analyze your performance.

Look at the questions you missed and see if you can find a pattern. Were your mistakes concentrated in one of the content domains? Is there a particular kind of passage that was difficult? Perhaps you found poetry or 19th-century literature especially challenging. Did you run out of time? Do you need to review punctuation and grammar rules? 

Focus on the areas that need work.

Once you’ve learned what you need to focus on, you can get to work. Spend some time reviewing any content that you need to, such as grammar and punctuation rules. Then, practice the specific SAT question types that gave you trouble. If you’re using Test Innovators, head over to your Practice Exercises tab. There, you’ll find over 1,400 practice questions organized into sets targeting specific testing points and concepts. 

Review grammar and punctuation rules.

Standard English conventions are just over 1/4 of the SAT Reading and Writing section. Knowing your grammar and punctuation rules will help you master 26% of the questions. Additionally, it will let you answer these questions swiftly, leaving you extra time for the more nuanced reading analysis questions. If you need to review Standard English conventions, our free Guide to SAT Punctuation and Grammar is a great place to start.

Read.

Being a strong reader is a huge advantage on the SAT Reading and Writing section, and the best way to become a strong reader is to read…a lot. Ideally, you would build your skills over time by reading challenging books. But let’s face it—by the time you’re studying for the SAT, there’s just not enough time to pick up War and Peace for fun. That said, adding reading into your daily routine can augment your SAT prep. Get in the habit of reading one chapter of a book every night before bed. It’s a great way to practice your reading comprehension skills while relaxing.

If a particular kind of passage is challenging (such as poetry, literature, or quantitative command of evidence), find something in that category. If you find poetry questions difficult, subscribe to the Poetry Foundation’s poem of the day. If you struggle with the 19th-century literary passages, choose a novel from that period. If the tables and graphs on the quantitative command of evidence questions throw you off, find a newspaper column that discusses data. Pick something that interests you because you’ll be more likely to follow through and actually read.

Practice!

Improving your SAT Reading and Writing score can seem like an impossible task. It’s not uncommon for students to make relatively quick gains on the Math section but struggle to move the needle on the Reading and Writing section.

Real improvement on Reading and Writing is possible, but it takes time and deliberate practice. Set aside 30-45 minutes a day for focused studying. After a week or two, take another full-length practice test. See how you’ve improved and what you still need to work on. Then, repeat the process by focusing on the areas that need improvement and taking another practice test to gauge your progress.

Boost Your SAT Reading and Writing Score with Test Innovators

Get the complete self-paced practice solution for high-achieving students. Our online platform includes 10 full-length practice tests and over 1,400 additional questions for targeted practice.

Explore SAT Practice from Test Innovators
Sara Laszlo

Sara Laszlo has nearly ten years of experience in private tutoring and test preparation, with a special focus on helping students prepare for the SAT and ACT. An opera singer by training, Sara is especially interested in exploring better ways to practice and improve skills, whether musical or test-related. She holds a B.A. in Classical Civilization from Duke University and a Certificate of Merit in Voice from the New England Conservatory of Music.

Originally published on June 29, 2023. Updated on December 17, 2024. 

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