SAT Reading & Writing Rules

Sentence structure rules.

1) All complete sentences must have a subject and verb. 2) An "-ING" or "to" verb (such as swimming or to swim) cannot be the main verb in a sentence. 3) two verbs that apply to the same subject must be in the same form. 4) Statements provide information, while questions ask for it.

Questions about sentence structure (making complete sentences)

1) Always check whether the sentence already has a main verb. if it does not, then the blank needs to provide the main verb. Remember that "it" or ING form can only be correct if the sentence already has a main verb.

Plural vs. Possessive Pronoun Rules

1) Apostrophes on pronouns represent contractions (he is becomes he's) 2) Possessive pronouns (their) do not get apostrophes.

Basic approach when you see apostrophes changing on nouns.

1) Determine whether the first word is possessing anything. If not, eliminate options with apostrophes on that word. 2) determine whether any additional words are possessing anything. Remember that a possessive noun must be followed by something that can be possessed (usually another noun). 3) Use POE

Extra Information Rules

1) Extra information can come before or after the noun or pronoun it's describing (describing phrase) 2) Extra information can be removed and produce a sentence with the same meaning, just a little less detail. It's not needed for specifying which person or thing you're talking about. 3) Extra information must always have commas, dashes, or parentheses both before and after the phrase. 4) if you're not sure whether the information is Extra or Specifying, try removing it from the sentence. if it is Extra, its removal will not affect your understanding of who or what the sentence is about. Extra information can be removed and must be separated from the sentence on both sides of the phrase (unless it appears directly at the start or end of a sentence).

Approach to questions where the verb is changing in the answer choices

1) If there is a 'to" form and/or an -ING form, check for a complete sentence. 2) Otherwise, find the subject and eliminate any answers that aren't' consistent in number with the subject. 3) if needed, check tense (time-change clues and surrounding verbs).

Rules Questions: Describing Phrases

1) Labels that precede a person's name, a book title, or any other potentially unfamiliar noun are never followed by a comma

Basic approach when you see pronouns changing in the answer choices

1) Look for and highlight the noun or pronoun that the blank refers to 2) Eliminate any answers that are not consistent with the noun or pronoun in terms of singular versus plural 3) If apostrophes are changing, determine whether a contraction or a possessive pronoun is needed and use POE accordingly

Subject Verb Agreement: common singular subjects

1) Most nouns that don't end in -s (dog, book, airplane, bravery) 2) Nouns that end in -s but refer to only one thing (boss, dress, gas, glass) 3) -ING verbs (swimming, running, watching, dancing) 4) Collective nouns (team, group, family, army) 5) Singular pronouns (she, he, it, this, each, everybody, anyone, nothing, everywhere) These are all singular and will be paired with singular verbs.

Specifying Information Rules

1) Phrases that begin with 'that" are always considered Specifying information and never get commas 2) prepositional phrases are usually Specifying and don't get commas unless they appear at the start of a sentence. Specifying information is needed in order to tell which person or thing the sentence is discussing. Specifying information should not be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas, dashes, or parentheses.

What is the basic approach to Claims questions?

1) Read the Question 2) Identify Question Type (Keywords: illustrate, support, weaken) 3) Read the text (focus on finding the claim or argument referenced by the question) 4) Highlight the claim referenced by the question 5) POE: be on the lookout for half-right, opposite, extreme language, and could-be-true trap answers.

What is the basic approach for purpose questions?

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type 3) Highlight what can help you (see later cards). Even if you don't have much to annotate, make a quick note of what you think the overall purpose of the text is. This will get you thinking about how to approach the specific question. 4) Process of elimination Ultimately, you are looking for the most supported reason the author wrote something - although the author will likely not explicitly state why they wrote something, the thrust of the main ideas, at all levels (structural, sentence, etc), gives you insight into what the text is actually meant to achieve.

What is the basic approach for main idea questions?

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type 3) Read the text (focus on the person, place, o thing that is the central idea of the text. This should be an idea that each sentence describes or expands upon ins one way). 4) Annotate the text (highlight the topic no which the text is focused. Make sure you're not putting too much emphasis on a single detail and take a wide view of the information). 5) Use POE: be extra careful for 1) right answer, wrong question 2) recycled language and 3) could be true answers

What is the basic approach for retrieval questions?

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type 3) Read the text (focusing on the person, place, or thing referenced in the question. Keep an eye out for details about that subject that will help you answer the question). Make sure to annotate those details. 4) USE POE (keep an eye out for recycled language, could be true answers, and answers that contain extreme language).

What is the basic approach for vocabulary/words-in-context question?

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type 3) Read the text and focus on the underlined word or blank (if you are completing the sentence, think about the tone and context that makes sense given the rest of the sentence. If you are choosing the most likely meaning of a given word, pay close attention to the text itself (main claim as well as context and tone). 4) Highlight any unique clues (such as describing words) 5) Process of elimination 6) If you don't know one of the possible answer choices, examine the root to see if there are similar words that you do know. Make sure to not be afraid of selecting a word oyu don't know if you are affirmatively able to eliminate the other three based on existing knowledge. Regardless of what you know, if you can eliminate three properly, you will always get the right answer.

Reading Questions - Basic Approach

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type 3) Read the text in accordance with the strategy for that question type 4) Highlight/annotate the text as needed to answer the question 5) Use process of elimination.

Basic approach to Conclusions questions.

1) Read the question 2) Identify the question type ("which choice most logically completes the text") 3) Read the text: (find the central claim, which is likely going to be followed by some additional data. This information could support or contradict the original claim). 4) Annotate the relationship between the original/main claim and the other data presented in the text. 5) POE: watch out fr recycled language, could be true, and right answer wrong question trap answers.

What is the basic approach for dual text questions?

1) Read the question (Pay attention to the specific tasks it asks you to complete) 2) Read text 1 and identify (highlight/annotate) the main idea and the author's viewpoint on it. 3) Read text 2 and identify the main idea and viewpoint on the same information discussed in text 1. Note if the direction of the ideas has changed at all, if the author's disagree or agree with each other. 4) Write down a one-sentence summary of the relationship between each author's perspective on the main idea in the annotation box 5) Use POE to eliminate answers that re inconsistent with one or both texts. Then use POE to eliminate any answers that are inconsistent with the direction/nature of the relationship you wrote in the annotation box.

Charts questions basic approach

1) Read the question carefully (as with claims, make sure you understand whether you're being asked to illustrate, support, or weaken a statement from the text). 2) Read the title, key/legend, variables and units from the table or graph (attention to detail is key and you want to orient yourself to the graph before the answers influence your decision making). 3) Read the text (look for the same information in the text that you saw in the table or graph. Pay close attention to sentences with specific numbers in them as well, and what ideas they relate to. Identify the claim). 4) Highlight the claim 5) POE: be careful for right answer wrong question, half-right, and opposite traps answers on Charts questions.

What is the basic approach to Rules (Writing) questions?

1) look at the answers to see what's changing amongst them. use this to determine the topic. 2) Apply the rules associated with that topic 3) use POE

Subject Verb Agreement: common plural subjects

1) nouns that end in -2 where the version without the -s or -es is singular (dogs, books, teams, bosses, dresses, buses). 2) irregular plurals that don't end in -s (children, men, teeth, men, women, deer). 3) Plural pronouns (we, they, these, those, both) 4) Two or mor thins joined with "and" (my parents and I, Hallie and Amelia).

Rhetorical Synthesis Basic Approach

1) read the question and highlight each goal that is mentioned 2) Eliminate any answer choices that does not completely fulfill the goal or goals in the question 3) read the bullet points to confirm the answer if needed.

Rhetoric: Transition questions basic approach

1) read the text and highlight any ideas that support or contradict each other. 2) make an annotation indicating whether the ideas surrounding the blank agree or disagree. 3) Eliminate any answers that go the wrong direction. Then, use POE on any remaining options.

Rules for linking independent and dependent clauses

An independent and dependent clause (in either order) can be joined with: 1) a comma (,) 2) no punctuation at all An independent and dependent clause can never be joined with 1) a period (.) 2) a semicolon (;) 3) a colon (:) 4) a coordinating conjunction (FANBOY) alone 5) A dash, unless the dependent clause is considered extra information.

What are the singular pronouns on the SAT?

I (first person), you (second person), he/she/it (third person)

Purpose Questions: What should you focus on if the question asks for the "function" of a specific sentence?

If a question asks for the function of a sentence, the sentences before and after are your best hints. The sentences that sandwich the underlined sentence will refine the ideas that the sentence in the question interacts with. Highlight in ideas that persist across the sentence before, the sentence itself, and/or the sentence after will help you understand the connections.

Extra vs. Specifying Tip

If the phrase being asked about already has punctuation, then the answer choice must have matching punctuation. If the phrase does not have punctuation, then the answer choice needs to match. Use these hints alongside POE.

Purpose Questions: What should you focus on if the question asks for the "main purpose" of a text?

If you get asked to identify the main purpose of the text, the SAT creators have included an identifiable claim within the text itself. Each sentence will in someway contribute to this claim (although not always supporting it necessarily - nuance can be contributing as well). If get a question like this, the first thing to pay attention to is the main claim. The correct answer choice will reflect the main claim you identified.

How to test whether a verb is singular or plural?

If you're not sure whether a verb is singular or plural, try putting "it" and "they" before the verb. If it matches with "it" it's singular. if it matches with "they" it's plural.

How can you join two independent clauses

Independent clauses are identified by their ability to stand alone as sentences because they have a subject and verb. Independent clauses can be joined with: 1) A semicolon (;) at any time 2) A common with a (fanboy) 3) a colon or dash, if the score one part of the sentence explains or elaborates on the first part in some way. Independent clauses can NEVER be joined with: 1) Just a comma alone 2) just a coordinating conjunction alone 3) No punctuation at all. Two independent clauses can only be joined with some form of punctuation.

How do you identify a words in context/vocabulary question?

These questions almost always ask the following "most logical and precise word or phrase" or "most nearly mean." If you see either of these phrases in the question, you know that it is a vocabulary question.

Purpose Questions: What should you focus on if the question asks for the "overall structure" of the text?

These questions are a hybrid of the first two types of purpose questions discussed above. For these, you want to find the main idea and then you want to examine how each sentence interacts with that claim (supports, disagrees, neutral, etc). Look in particular to highlights words that show some type of chronology, comparison, or contrast between ideas.

How do you identify retrieval questions?

These questions can be identified by the following phrase in the question stem: "according to the text" or "based on the text." Ultimately the key thing to remember for this question type above all else is that whatever answer you choose must be directly supported by the text. This is straightforward reading comprehension. Don't overthink or try to make deductions from what you read. Compare the answer you find in the text directly to the four answer choices and use POE.

How can you identify Conclusions questions?

These questions can be identified by their inclusion of the following keywords in the question stem: "which choice most logically completes the text."

How do you identify main idea questions?

These questions can be identified by their inclusion of the following phrase in the question stem: "main idea." The key thing to remember for Main Idea questions is that you need to search for highlight the person, place, or thing that teaches sentence seems to be discussing or describing. While these questions are different from purpose questions, both are concerned with finding the main focus o topic of the text. Avoid latching onto a single detail as the main idea and focus on how the ideas build off one-another, and what the direction those relationships go in.

What are the plural pronouns on the SAT?

We (first person), you (second person), they (third person)

Linking Independent Clauses - Transitions

When transitions and punctuation are changing, determine whether the transition belongs with the first or the second part of the sentence.

How to test if the subject is singular or plural?

if you're not sure whether the subject of a sentence is singular or plural, try putting "is" and "are" after the word. if it matches with "is" it's singular. if it matches with 'are," it's plural.

Common Answer Choice Traps for Reading Questions

1) recycled language: these answer choices retreat exact words and phrases from the text but put the words together to say something that the ext didn't actually say. they often establish relationships between the recycled words and phrases that do not exist in the text. 2) Could be true: these answers might initially look good because they make sense or seem logical based on outside reasoning, but they lack support within the text itself. Make sure to stick with the logic and reasoning in the text, and not to make reasonable conclusions that aren't supported by the specific text. 3) Extreme language: These answers look just about perfect except for a word or phrase that goes too far beyond what the text can support. This also includes answers that could be called insulting or offensive to a person or a group. 4) Right Answer, Wrong Question: these answer choices are true based no the text, but they don't answer the question that was asked. For example they might state what the author said when the question was asking why the author said it. Be extra careful here because you can't just use the rule of whether there is evidence in the text or not by itself - you must also consider what the question is specifically asking for. 5) Opposite: These answer choices uses a single word or phrase tht make the answer convey a tone, viewpoint, or meaning not intended by the author. This can include a word such as not in the answer or a negative vocabulary word when the tone of the text was positive. 6) Half-right: these answers address part but not the entire question task. They can also have one half of the answer address the question perfectly and the other half contain one of the traps mentioned above. Always remember, if you are stuck between two questions, ask yourself "which answer is the trap?"

How can you identify charts questions?

Charts questions will always have some sort of graphic or visual representation accompanying the text. With Charts questions, it's critical that the correct answer is consistent with both the chart AND the text. There can (and usually will) be several answers consistent with the chart, but only one will also be consistent with the stated claim in the text.

How to identify claims questions?

Claims questions can be identified by their inclusion of the following keywords in the question stem: "illustrating" "supporting" or "weakening." Your job is going to be to choose which answer does one of the above mentioned actions to the central idea of the text (illustrate, support, or weaken). The key thing to keep in mind for Claims questions is to focus on finding the claim and what specific action you are tasked with. Remember that the answers to a support or weaken question do not need to be supported by the text but rather, if true, would best support or weaken the claim in the text.

How do you identify dual text questions?

Dual text questions are easy to identify because they always have two texts for you to read. Dual text questions will address the same claim or idea in some way - your task is to find that claim and understand the perspective in which it is referenced in both texts.

When to use no punctuation

Only choose no punctuation for the following scenarios when linking clauses: 1) Specifying Information 2) Never put punctuation between the subject and its verb 3) never put punctuation after a preposition Always remember - only use punctuation when you have to.

How do you identify purpose questions?

Purpose questions almost always include one of the following key action words in the question stem: "purpose" 'function" or "structure." These questions might be why a text was written, why a specific sentence was included, or why the text is organized in a certain way.