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Colorful Book Spines

SAT Reading & Writing

The SAT Reading section is an integral part of the SAT exam, designed to assess students' reading comprehension skills and their ability to analyze and interpret texts from various genres. This section consists of multiple-choice questions based on passages drawn from literature, social sciences, natural sciences, and historical documents. Students are required to read and analyze the passages carefully, identify main ideas, draw inferences, and understand the author's tone and purpose. With a time limit of 64 minutes and a range of challenging texts, the SAT Reading section tests critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and the ability to extract information accurately. Effective preparation and practice can enhance performance and boost overall SAT scores.

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Studying Strategies for SAT R&W

Image by Roman Kraft

Improve Reading Comprehension

Enhance your overall reading comprehension skills by reading a variety of texts, including fiction, non-fiction, and news articles (such as Vox, linked below). Practice identifying the main idea, supporting details, tone, and author's purpose in different passages.

Vox.com
Image by Edho Pratama

Build Vocabulary

Strengthen your vocabulary by learning and practicing SAT-specific words. Review commonly tested vocabulary words and their definitions. Use flashcards or online resources to practice and reinforce your knowledge. Below is a PDF with commonly tested vocabulary terms on the SAT. 

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SAT Vocab
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Active Reading Techniques

Develop active reading techniques such as underlining or highlighting key points, summarizing paragraphs, and making notes. This will help you engage with the text and retain information more effectively. Below is a FREE worksheet to help practice.

Worksheet
Image by Lukas Blazek

Practice Time Management

Time management is crucial in the Reading section. Simulate real exam conditions during your practice sessions and set a time limit for each passage. Practice reading and answering questions within the allotted time to improve your speed and accuracy.

In the Classroom

Understand Different Question Types

Familiarize yourself with the different question types in the Reading section, such as main idea, supporting evidence, inference, vocabulary in context, and author's tone. Understand the specific requirements of each question type and practice answering them accordingly.

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Elimination and Evidence-Based Answers

Use the process of elimination to eliminate obviously incorrect answer choices. Additionally, rely on evidence from the passage to support your answer choices. The correct answer will always have clear support within the passage.

Image by Valentina Dominguez

My top SAT Resource:

I know people sometimes spend a lot of money on prep books and online courses, but honestly, the one thing that helped me increase my score on the SAT was doing a lot of practice tests in a timed setting. This is especially true for the reading section, where time is often a limiting factor in students' scores. Therefore, I have to say the Khan Academy SAT prep section is one of the best free resources to practice for the SAT out there, especially their practice tests. 

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