SAT Reading Tips Sheet

What You Are Reading?

1 passage on US/World History

2 History/Social Studies Passages
2 Science Passages

You have 65 minutes to complete 52 questions based

on the four different passages.

SAT Reading Tip #1: Follow the recommended SAT Reading

Comprehension method
1. Read the passage and write short notes next to each paragraph.
-Read the short introduction before the passage
-Focus on the topic and purpose of the passage
-Keep track of different people and opinions
-Focus on topic sentences and conclusions
2. Read the question and identify helpful hints.
-Line references and keywords can help you find the answer
3. Predict an answer BEFORE you look at the answer choices.
4. For long passages, read the passage first, and then answer the questions. For short passages,
read the question first,
and then the passage.

SAT Reading Tip #2: Use different short and long SAT reading
passage approaches
You dont need to take notes for the short passages. Instead, use the question stems to guide
the questions you ask yourself as you read.
For long passages, after you read each paragraph, write down concise notes that explain the
main idea of that paragraph in relation to the rest of the passage.

SAT Reading Tip #3: Know the SAT Reading Comprehension

question types
Main Idea questions Ask about the passage as a whole
Inference questions Ask you to understand something that isnt directly stated in the
passage
Detail questions Ask about specific parts of the passage
Vocab-in-Context questions Ask about a word as it is used in the passage
Function questions Ask about the purpose of a specific part of the passage

SAT Reading Tip #4: Know the SAT Reading Comprehension

trap answers
1. Distortion twists details from the passage so they are no longer correct
2. Misused detail a true statement from the passage, but one that doesnt answer the
question
3. Out-of-scope includes information not included in the passage
4. Extreme too extreme to reflect the authors purpose (often includes words like always,
never, best, worst, etc.)
5. Opposite contradicts the information in the passage

SAT Reading Tip #5: Approach all SAT Sentence Completion

questions with the same method
1. Read the sentence, looking for keywords.
2. Predict an answer BEFORE you look at the answer choices.
3. Find the answer choice that matches your prediction.

No Penalty for Guessing!

When students take an assessment in the redesigned SAT Suite, they simply earn points for the
questions they answer correctly. This way, every score represents a best effort because students
can give their best answer to every question theres no advantage to leaving any blank.