SAT

The Reading and Writing section measures your ability to comprehend, analyze, interpret, and revise written English. Every question is built on a short passage (or a pair of passages) of roughly 25 to 150 words drawn from literature, history, social studies, the humanities, and science, and each passage has exactly one question. The questions fall into four content domains, and questions of the same type are grouped together within each module.

Information and Ideas questions test what a passage says directly and what it reasonably implies. You locate and evaluate evidence, identify central ideas, draw logical inferences, and use data from tables and graphs. The common thread is command of evidence: identifying textual support for conclusions, locating evidence that strengthens or weakens arguments, and analyzing how authors use evidence to build their cases.

Command of Evidence: Textual Evidence

Textual evidence questions ask you to identify the quotation, detail, or finding that best supports a given claim. First, understand exactly what claim needs support. Then examine each answer choice and determine which one most directly and completely supports the assertion. Avoid choices that are only tangentially related or that address a different aspect of the topic.

➜

➜

➜

Identify exactly what needs

Find statements that address the

Drop tangential or off-topic

The most direct and complete

support

claim

choices

support

Command of Evidence: Quantitative Evidence

Some passages include graphs, charts, or tables. Questions may ask how the data support or contradict a claim, what conclusion the data allow, or how to combine information from the passage and the graphic. Read axis labels carefully, note units of measurement, identify trends, and compare specific data points. Then determine whether the graphic confirms, contradicts, or extends the information in the text.

Graphic	WhatItShows	WhattoCheck
Table	Dataorganizedinrowsandcolumns	Whateachrowandcolumnrepresents;patterns
		andnotablevalues
Linegraph	Changeovertimeortherelationshipbetween	Wherevaluesrise fall orleveloff , ,
	variables
Bargraph	Quantitiescomparedacrosscategories	Whichcategoriesarehighestandlowest;
		differencesbetweenbars
Scatterplot	Therelationshipbetweentwovariables	Positive negative ornoassociation;outliers , ,

How Authors Use Evidence

Authors support arguments with several kinds of evidence. Understanding how each kind works helps you evaluate the strength of an argument.

EvidenceType	HowtoEvaluateIt
Statisticalevidence	Statisticsprovidenumericalsupport Checkwhethertheyarerelevant whethersamplesizesare . ,
	adequate andwhetherthenumbersactuallyprovewhattheauthorclaims Watchformisleading , .
	presentationsofdata .
Experttestimony	Expertslendcredibility Considerwhethertheexpertisqualifiedintherelevantfield whetherthe . ,
	testimonyiscurrent andwhetheropposingexpertviewsexist , .
Examplesandanecdotes	Specificexamplesillustrateabstractpoints andanecdotesmakeargumentsrelatable buttheymay , ,
	notrepresentbroaderpatterns Checkwhethertheyarerepresentative . .
Researchstudies	Considermethodology samplecharacteristics andwhetherconclusionsareappropriatelylimited , , .
	Correlationdoesnotestablishcausation .
Logicalreasoning	Checkthateachstepfollowsfromtheonebeforeandthattheconclusiondoesnotgobeyondthe
	premises .

EvidenceThatStrengthens					EvidenceThatWeakens
Directlysupportstheclaim eliminatesalternativeexplanations , ,					Contradictstheclaim supportsanalternativeexplanation or , ,
oraddressespotentialcounterarguments .					revealsaflawinthereasoning .

Not all information in a passage serves as evidence for a particular claim. Distinguish among background information, main arguments, supporting evidence, counterarguments, and concessions. Evidence-based conclusions must be fully supported by the text: avoid conclusions that require outside knowledge, make unsupported inferences, or extend beyond what the evidence proves.

For "which finding would most directly support the claim" questions, restate the claim in a few words before reading the choices. The correct choice matches the claim's exact subject and direction; a choice about a related topic, or one that supports only half of the claim, is a trap.

Central Ideas and Summaries

Every passage conveys a central idea: the most important point that the other details support and develop. To find it, consider what point the author emphasizes most, examine the opening and closing sentences, which often state or restate the central claim, and note which ideas receive the most development. Supporting details illustrate, explain, or prove the main idea but are not themselves the central point. A passage about climate change might include statistics, examples, and expert quotations, but these details support a main idea about causes, effects, or solutions.

TooNarrow	TooBroad	Distorted
Focusesononlyonepartofthepassage	Includesinformationbeyondthe	Misrepresentstheauthor'sclaimsor
	passage'sscope	changesthemeaning

Summary questions ask for an accurate, concise representation of the passage; eliminate the three kinds of wrong answers above. Questions about explicit information test whether you can locate what is directly stated, so return to the passage and avoid answers that add information not present in the text.

Making Inferences

Inference questions ask you to draw logical conclusions from passage information. Valid inferences connect explicitly stated information to reach conclusions the author implies but does not directly state. On the digital test, many inference questions ask which choice "most logically completes the text."

Analyzing Arguments

Argumentative passages make claims and support them with evidence and reasoning. Understand each part of the structure.

Element	WhatItIs
Claims	Assertionstheauthorwantsreaderstoaccept:thecentralclaimandanysubsidiaryclaimsthatsupportit
Evidence	Facts statistics examples andexpertopinions;evaluatewhetheritisrelevant sufficient andaccurately , , , , ,
	represented
Warrants	Thelogicalconnectionsthatexplainwhytheevidencesupportstheclaim;sometimesstated often ,
	implied
Counterarguments	Opposingviewstheauthormayacknowledgeandrefute partlyconcede ordismissasflawed , ,