SAT Reading and Writing Section

The SAT reading and writing section has two modules, each of which includes questions from all four different domains to check reading and writing skills.

The total test time for the section is 64 minutes, and it has 54 questions. Each module is 32 minutes.

The Reading and Writing section presents short reading passages (or passage pairs) followed by a single multiple-choice question. The passages range from 25 to 150 words, which represent the subject areas:

• Natural sciences
• Humanities
• Social sciences
• Literary fiction

Passage in reading and writing section: Reading passages fit the general high school students and are taken from different fields. Theoretically, the passages can be any English materials from various sources.They should have narrative, argumentative, or expository elements and are possibly paired with other related passages.

Information and Ideas Measures comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills and knowledge and the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information and ideas from texts and informational graphics. (Reading skill)

Craft and Structure Measures the comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, synthesis, and reasoning skills and knowledge needed to understand and use high-utility words and phrases in context, evaluate texts rhetorically, and make connections between topically related texts.(Reading skill)

Expression of Ideas Measures the ability to revise texts to improve the effectiveness of written expression and to meet specific rhetorical goals.(Writing skill)

Standard English Conventions Measures the ability to edit text to conform to core conventions of Standard English sentence structure, usage, and punctuation.(Writing skill)

The reading questions are supposed to test:

• Knowledge of making sentences, namely grammar and logic;
• Knowledge of the meanings of words, namely vocabulary.

Commonly, your job in the reading test is to:

• Decide the meanings of words from the context
• Show understanding of part or full passages, such as the main idea
• Identify cause and effect in passages
• Make inferences among full context
• Understand the logic of analogies or arguments
• Analyze the author's assumptions and techniques

Commonly, your job in the writing test is to:

• Communicating clearly, good vocabulary, and no wordy
• Improving existing sentence
• Recognizing sentence-level errors
• Syntax elements and structures for complex sentence
• Clearly express multiple ideas within paragraphs or sentence
• Improve coherence of ideas within and among paragraphs

The writing questions are presented in three basic formats:

1 - Choose the best version This question type gives a sentence in which part, or all, is underlined. You then see options to replace the underlined one. The questions try to check the knowledge of:

• Syntax, especially the sentence structure
• The Conventions of Standard Written English

2 - Identifying sentence errors This question type gives a sentence with some portions underlined. You need to select which of the underlined parts is wrong, or, if there are no errors in your view, select the choice "No error." The questions try to check the knowledge to:

• Recognize syntax faults
• Recognize the correct sentences by conventions of Standard Written English.

3 - Improving paragraphs This question type presents a passage and asks questions about it. The questions commonly involve more than one sentence, and you will be asked to improve sentence structure or word choice. The questions try to test the ability to:

• Edit and revise sentences
• Organize and develop paragraphs in a logical manner
• Apply the conventions of Standard Written English.