Here’s What You Need to Know About the Digital SAT Reading and Writing Section
The transition to the digital SAT brings big changes to the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion of the exam. The Reading section and Writing section have been combined into a single section, which is split into two modules of equal length. The entire Reading and Writing section on the digital SAT is 64 minutes long with 54 multiple-choice questions.
Each module is 32 minutes long with 27 questions. The modules are organized by question type, with similar skills grouped together. The questions within each group are presented in order of increasing difficulty.
The digital SAT is computer adaptive — your performance on the first module will determine the level of difficulty for the second module. The first module you encounter will have easy, medium, and hard questions, with a medium average difficulty. However, the second module will have either a higher or lower average question difficulty, based on your performance in the first module. This means that if you answer enough questions correctly in the first module, you will see a greater number of hard questions and fewer easy questions in the second module.
Instead of 4–5 long passages with 10 questions each, the new digital SAT has a short passage for each of the 54 questions. The passages are between 20–150 words and cover a wide range of topics, including literary excerpts and poetry.
One of the biggest advantages of transitioning to shorter passages is that there are lower stakes for each passage. It’s okay if you do not understand a specific passage — each passage will only affect a single question, as opposed to 10 questions. Additionally, questions that test similar skills and knowledge are grouped together and arranged from easiest to hardest. This can help with time management!
On the other hand, there are now 54 unique short passages, which means you will be reading multiple passages, each with different context. It can be mentally draining to switch contexts so frequently within a short amount of time.
Which concepts are covered on the Reading and Writing section of the digital SAT?
Although the question format is quite different from the paper SAT, the concepts and skills tested are very similar. The following is a breakdown of the content on the digital SAT.
| Content Domain | Percentage | NUMBER OF QUESTIONS |
|---|---|---|
|
Craft and Structure
|
28% of the section |
13-15 questions
|
|
Information and Ideas
|
26% of the section |
12-14 questions |
|
Standard English Conventions
|
26% of the section |
11-15 questions |
|
Expression of Ideas
|
20% of the section |
8-12 questions |
Craft and Structure
Craft and Structure questions focus on understanding vocabulary and how passages are organized. They test your ability to interpret words and text in context. Some of these questions will have a pair of short passages on the same topic and will ask you to make connections between the two different texts.
Questions will ask you to:
- Select the most appropriate word to complete the text based on context clues
- Evaluate the text structure and how the author chose to organize information
- Determine the primary purpose of the text
- Compare two related texts
Information and Ideas:
Information and Ideas questions focus on using information that’s either stated or implied in the text to evaluate the ideas in the text and draw conclusions based on the text. Some of these questions will include informational tables and graphs.
Questions will ask you to:
- Determine main idea of the passage
- Interpret details supporting the main idea of a passage
- Use evidence from the test to support or respond to a claim
- Use evidence from the graphs and tables provided to support or respond to a claim
- Draw a reasonable inference based on the information presented in the text
Standard English Conventions:
Standard English Conventions questions focus on grammar and editing text to ensure it conforms to standard English sentence structure, punctuation, and usage.
Questions will ask you to:
- Identify proper punctuation to join and separate sentences and clauses
- Identify the best choice to complete the sentence so that it adheres to conventional usage such as proper agreement and verb tense
Expression of Ideas
Expression of Ideas questions focus on improving the effectiveness of written expression. Test takers are asked specifically about topic development, accuracy, logic, cohesion, and rhetorically effective language use and how you can improve upon them.
Questions will ask you to:
- Analyze a list of bullet points in order to identify the choice that most effectively combines information to achieve a certain goal
- Identify the flow and structure
Start preparing for the digital SAT today!
Danielle Sheikholeslami
Danielle has been tutoring for the last eight years. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from UC Davis, a Masters of Science in Biomedical Sciences fom Rosalind Franklin University of Science and Medicine, and is currently pursing a medical degree. In her free time, Danielle enjoys baking, rock climbing, and playing with her German Shepard puppy.
