SAT

1. The Reading Test

The SAT Reading Test is formally a Test of Reading Comprehension. It uses passages from Science, History/Social Studies, and Fiction to test how well you ‘interpret, synthesize, and use evidence from a wide range of sources’. In addition to questions about the passages, it will also have questions that require you to interpret accompanying tables, charts, and graphs. However, improving your vocabulary should be part of your SAT preparation Since the Reading passages are often complex and sometimes technical or abstract, good vocabulary skills will help you to understand the passages better and answer the questions more easily.

The SAT Writing section tests your knowledge of grammar and punctuation and the effective use of language. Fortunately, SAT tests you on just a handful of common grammar rules. By mastering those rules and having a systematic approach you can ace these questions with ease. Definitions of rules are not tested; what is tested is the correction and identification of errors. Some grammar concepts and rules that you will need to know are subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, parallelism, and modifiers. Quite a few questions will test your knowledge of punctuation and the linking of phrases and clauses. The Writing section also asks questions about style, tone, word choice, transitions between paragraphs, passage structure, and passage coherence.

3. The Math Test

For most of the SAT Math section, you need to know 6th to 10th Grade math covering arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, and basic trigonometry. Some Advanced Math and “Additional Math” concepts will involve Quadratic and Exponential functions, Geometric and Trigonometric concepts, and Complex Numbers. One part of the Math test does not allow the use of the calculator, the other one does.