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Introduction
1. SAT Reading and Writing
1.1 Intro to SAT Reading/Writing
1.2 SAT Reading/Writing Strategies
1.3 Standard English Conventions
1.4 Craft and Structure
1.5 Information and Ideas
1.6 Expression of Ideas
2. SAT Math
Wrapping Up
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1.1 Intro to SAT Reading/Writing
Achievable SAT
1. SAT Reading and Writing

Intro to SAT Reading/Writing

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SAT Reading/Writing occupies two sections, the first two you’ll face on test day. The first 27-question section, or “module”, is the same for everyone. The second section, also 27 questions, is adaptive; see the detailed explanation in the introduction to the course. Put simply, those who do well on the first section get a harder second section and thereby have the best chance to do better overall. If that second Reading/Writing section feels hard to you, that’s good news!

The SAT Reading/Writing unfolds more or less sequentially along four major areas: “Craft and Structure”, “Information and Ideas”, “Standard English Conventions”, and “Expression of Ideas” (the first two of these overlap slightly). But it may be easier to anticipate the questions in terms of format: you’ll begin with 4-8 vocabulary-based fill-in-the-blank questions, followed by 8-12 passage-based questions where the questions concern the information in the passage (and, at times, the accompanying data figure). Then you’ll head into grammar questions, 5-7 of them. At the end, you’ll typically get 2-3 questions asking about transition words (fill-in-the-blank) and 2-3 passages with bullet point summaries, asking you to locate the information most relevant to a question.

The SAT has its own names for all these subtypes (like Words in Context for the vocabulary questions and Standard English Conventions for the grammar questions). We’ll follow these where it makes sense to do so, but in some cases, we decided that further subdivision was necessary. For example, we divided Central Ideas and Details into separate lessons on Main Idea and Detail. We did the most subdividing in grammar, to make sure we drilled down effectively on punctuation, sentence structure, verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and possession. You don’t need to be concerned about this; just pay careful attention to the topic that each lesson unfolds and make connections along the way wherever you can (e.g., “hey, I noticed that Sentence Structure questions can also be about punctuation!”).

Final notes

Make sure to take the quizzes at the end of each lesson to make sure you have mastery of the content! And for the lesson-based questions that go from Difficulty 1 to Difficulty 5, you might skip Difficulty 1 questions if you generally find them too easy, or Level 5 questions if you find them generally too hard. Up to you! The course is at your service, to use as most suits your needs.

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