SAT Reading and Writing: Learn-to-Master Notes

Digital SAT Reading and Writing Section

The SAT section that asks you to read short texts or notes and make precise, evidence-based decisions about meaning, logic, organization, word choice, or grammar.

Surgical questions

Questions that require one exact answer rather than a broad interpretation or personal opinion.

Evidence-based decision

A choice that can be justified directly by the text or by a grammar rule.

Author's claim

The main point the author is trying to say or argue.

Support

The evidence or reasoning that backs up the author's claim.

Topic

The general subject of a passage, stated in a few words.

Central idea

The passage's main claim or message.

Purpose

The reason the author wrote the passage, such as to explain, argue, compare, critique, or propose.

Staying inside the text

Basing your answer only on what the passage supports, not on outside knowledge or assumptions.

Detail question

A question that asks what the passage explicitly states.

Inference

A conclusion supported by the text even if it is not directly stated.

Command of Evidence (textual)

Questions that ask which line best supports a claim or which claim is supported by the passage.

Command of Evidence (quantitative)

Questions that require you to match a claim to data from a chart or table.

Main idea question

A question asking for the passage's central idea or overall takeaway.

Active elimination

The process of ruling out answer choices by identifying exactly why they are wrong.

Words in Context

Determining a word's meaning based on how it is used in the passage rather than its most common dictionary definition.

Text structure

The way ideas are arranged in a passage, such as contrast, example, cause-effect, or problem-solution.

Rhetorical function

The job a sentence or phrase performs in a passage, such as providing evidence, giving an example, or qualifying a claim.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject, often shown through word choice.

Point of view

The perspective from which ideas are presented in a passage.

Cross-text connections

Comparisons between two texts to determine where they agree, disagree, or differ in emphasis.

Relevance

Whether a detail supports the paragraph's purpose instead of distracting from it.

Transition

A word or phrase that shows the logical relationship between ideas, such as contrast, addition, or cause.

Precision

Using words that match the intended meaning exactly.

Concision

Expressing an idea clearly without unnecessary words.

Organization

The logical arrangement of ideas so that a passage flows clearly.

Rhetorical synthesis

Using bullet-point notes to write a sentence that accurately achieves a stated goal.

Standard English Conventions

The grammar, punctuation, and usage rules tested on the SAT.

Sentence boundary

The correct separation of complete thoughts so sentences are not fragments or run-ons.

Fragment

An incomplete sentence that lacks a complete thought, a subject, or a finite verb.

Run-on sentence

Two complete sentences joined without correct punctuation or a conjunction.

Comma splice

An error in which two complete sentences are joined by only a comma.

Coordinating conjunction

A word such as and, but, or so that joins equal grammatical structures.

FANBOYS

The seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

Subordinating conjunction

A word such as because, although, since, while, or if that makes a clause dependent.

Nonessential information

Extra information that can be removed without changing the core meaning of a sentence and should be set off with commas.

Essential information

Information needed to identify a noun and therefore not set off with commas.

Semicolon

Punctuation used to join two closely related complete sentences.

Colon

Punctuation that introduces a list, explanation, or elaboration after a complete sentence.

Dash

Punctuation that can emphasize an interruption or set off information, often acting like strong commas or a colon.

Subject-verb agreement

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number.

Verb tense consistency

Keeping verb tenses logically consistent unless the time frame changes.

Pronoun antecedent

The noun a pronoun refers to, which must be clear and unambiguous.

Pronoun case

Using the correct pronoun form for its role in a sentence, such as I versus me or they versus them.

Modifier

A word or phrase that describes another word and should be placed next to what it modifies.

Dangling modifier

A misplaced descriptive phrase that seems to modify the wrong word or nothing at all.

Parallelism

Using the same grammatical form in a list or paired structure.

Logical comparison

A comparison that matches like with like and avoids comparing unlike things.

Apostrophe

A punctuation mark used to show possession or to form certain contractions.

Rhetorical effectiveness

Choosing language that is appropriate, purposeful, and most effective for the passage's goal.