The 4 SAT Sections: What They Test and How to Do Well

Whether you're actively preparing for the SAT or simply want to learn more about the ubiquitous college entrance exam, it’s important you start with the basics: how many sections are on the SAT? What are the names of the SAT sections? And what kinds of skills does each section measure?

In this article, we answer all of your burning questions about the SAT sections. We'll begin by discussing how many sections are on the SAT as well as how these sections differ from one another. Then, we’ll go over the different skills on which you'll be tested, giving you our expert tips for combating each of the SAT test sections with confidence. Finally, we'll take a look at whether certain sections of the SAT are more important than others and what this means for you and your college applications.

UPDATE: SAT Essay No Longer Offered

In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). It is now no longer possible to take the SAT Essay, unless your school is one of the small number who choose to offer it during SAT School Day Testing.

What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications? Check out our article on the College Board's SAT Essay decision for everything you need to know.

What Are the SAT Sections?

The SAT (which was redesigned in 2023) consists of two sections: 

• Reading and Writing (which consists of two modules)
• Math (which consists of two modules, both of which allow a Calculator)

As the College Board (the creator of the SAT) puts it, both sections of the SAT work together to test “what you learn in high school” and “what you need to succeed in college.” In other words, the goal of the SAT is to ensure you possess the appropriate reading, writing, and math skills deemed necessary for success as a college student.

Each of the SAT test sections is made up of two modules, so you’ll complete a total of four modules on test day. Both modules in the Reading and Writing section will contain the same number of questions and you’ll be given the same amount of time on both. This also applies to both of the modules in the Math section. 

The following table showcases some of the major features of the SAT test sections:

According to this table, determining which section is the longest depends on whether you’re asking about the number of questions or the amount of time per section. The Reading and Writing section has more questions, but you’ll have more time on the Math section. However, it’s a pretty close race: there are just 10 more questions in the Reading and Writing section and 6 more minutes in the Math section.

Lastly, the above table highlights how both sections of the SAT are predominantly multiple choice. Most questions on the SAT contain four answer choices from which you must select one answer. On the Math section, however, you will also face a handful of grid-in questions for which you must come up with your own answers.

Now that we've covered all of the fundamentals, let’s take a closer look at each of the two sections of the SAT.

The SAT Reading Section

Questions on the Reading and Writing section will ask you about many different types of knowledge and skills needed to read and write effectively.

The Reading and Writing section consists of two 32-minute modules with 27 questions each, so you’ll see a total of 54 Reading and Writing questions on the SAT—all of which will be multiple choice.

Each of the 54 questions in this section will be based on at least one passage, which will be anywhere from 25-150 words long and cover subjects like literature, history/social studies, the humanities, and science. 

Most questions will ask about a single passage (that won’t be reused for any other questions); however, you will see a few paired passage questions, which ask about two passages for a single question. You may also encounter graphs, charts, or other forms of data representation in these questions. (Note that you will not have to use any math for these questions, though you will be expected to know how to interpret the data provided.)

As illuminated in the table above, the Reading and Writing section includes questions within four main content categories:

• Information and Ideas: measures your comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills and knowledge, as well as your ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information and ideas from texts and graphics (like tables and graphs).
• Craft and Structure: measures your comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, synthesis, and reasoning skills, as well as your knowledge on understanding words and phrases in context, evaluating texts rhetorically, and making connections between two different texts/passages. 
• Expression of Ideas: measures your ability to improve the effectiveness of written expressions and to meet rhetorical goals.
• Standard English Conventions: measures your ability to edit text to conform to Standard English sentence structure, usage, and punctuation.

Each of these four content categories is divided further into question types. Here are all the question types you’ll see on SAT Reading and Writing:

• Central Ideas and Details
• Command of Evidence (Textual)
• Command of Evidence (Quantitative)
• Inferences
• Words in Context
• Text Structure and Purpose
• Cross-Text Connections (Paired Passage Questions)
• Rhetorical Synthesis
• Transitions
• Boundaries
• Form, Structure, and Sense

Below, I describe each of these content categories and question types and then provide you with our best tips for doing well on the SAT Reading and Writing section.

SAT Reading and Writing Question Types

Here are the different types of content categories and questions you'll encounter on the SAT Reading and Writing section.

 #1: Information and Ideas

You’ll see 12-14 questions from the Information and Ideas category on SAT Reading and Writing. These questions will ask you about details from passages, tables, or infographics. You’ll be asked to determine the main idea of passages, what the best piece of evidence (from the passage/table/graph) is to support a claim, what the most logical way to complete the sentence/excerpt is, as well as general comprehension questions. 

The major question types you’ll see in the Information and Ideas category include:

• Central Ideas and Details
• Command of Evidence (Textual)
• Command of Evidence (Quantitative)
• Inferences

I’ll break each of these question types down and explain what you can expect from them below.

Central Ideas and Details

Central Ideas and Details questions on the SAT Reading and Writing section test your reading comprehension skills. You’ll either be asked to identify the main idea of the passage, or you’ll need to answer a specific question based on the passage. 

You can think of the questions within the Central Ideas and Details category as focusing on two different kinds of details: big picture and little picture details. Big Picture questions focus on the main idea of a passage, whereas Little Picture (or Function) questions focus on the function of specific lines or sentences within a passage. 

You’ll need to comprehend the passage as a whole to answer the Big Picture questions. 

For the Little Picture/Function questions, you’ll have to answer specific questions about the passage or to identify the function of specific lines or sentences within it. Your job, then, is to use contextual evidence to decipher either the author’s overall message or the function of a selected area of the text. 

Command of Evidence

The next question type within the Information and Ideas category is command of evidence questions. These types of Reading and Writing questions ask you to find concrete evidence to support a claim or to answer specific questions. Depending on the question type, this “evidence” will either come from a textual passage or an informative graph or table.

There are two types of Command of Evidence questions within the Information and Ideas section: textual and quantitative. 

Textual Command of Evidence questions ask you to read a passage and then use textual evidence (either directly from the passage or provided to you in the answer choices) to support a specific claim. Remember, these passages can be from a number of different subjects, so the textual evidence used in each question will look different depending on the subject of the passage.

Take a look at this Textual Command of Evidence question from a literature passage:

And here’s a Textual Command of Evidence Question from a science passage:

The second type of Command of Evidence question on SAT Reading and Writing is Quantitative Command of Evidence. These are data interpretation questions that ask you to look at a graph or table (as opposed to a textual passage) and complete a sentence by using data from the graph or table.

Inferences

For this last Reading and Writing question type within the Information and Ideas category, you must make inferences to correctly interpret the meaning of a sentence, a group of sentences, or the entire passage or choose the most logical option to complete the text.

#2: Craft and Structure

There are 13-15 questions from the Craft and Structure category on SAT Reading and Writing. These questions will ask you to define words and phrases that appear in passages, to evaluate how a passage/its author is making an argument, and to connect ideas between two different passages (these are paired passage questions, where you’ll be presented with two passages per question). 

The following question types are including in the Craft and Structure category:

• Words in Context
• Text Structure and Purpose
• Cross-Text Connections (Paired Passages)

Words in Context

These types of Reading and Writing Questions test your ability to decipher the meanings of vocabulary words within the context of the passage. They also test your ability to understand how word choice influences the style and tone of a text.

Words in Context questions use similar phrasing as Inference questions (which are housed in the Information and Ideas category), but they ask you to use two different skill sets. 

A common Inference question is, “Which choice most logically completes the text?” 

And a common Words in Context question is, “Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?”

See the difference? Whereas Inference questions ask you to complete an entire sentence or passage, Words in Context questions ask you to plug in a very precise word or phrase within a sentence. 

Words in Context questions on SAT Reading and Writing also ask you about vocabulary in context. For these questions, you’ll have to choose the specific meaning of a specific word or phrase within the passage. These words and phrases may not always appear to be difficult but will usually take on lesser-known alternative meanings.

Text Structure and Purpose

Text Structure and Purpose questions within the Craft and Structure category ask you to identify the main purpose or overall structure of a passage. Don’t confuse main purpose with main idea—questions asking you to summarize a passage or choose the text’s main idea are found in the Information and Ideas category (they’re Central Ideas and Details questions). 

Just keep an eye out for that keyword—purpose—and you’ll know that the question is asking you to analyze the whys behind the passage, not just the passage’s content and main ideas. Purpose isn’t always explicitly stated, so you might have to ask yourself: what’s the passage trying to accomplish and why?

And just like the questions that focus on the text’s purpose, questions within the Text Structure and Purpose category that focus on structure will also use this clear keyword. 

Analyzing a passage’s structure is a lot like analyzing its purpose: you usually have to dig a little deeper to really understand how a passage is organized. If you can understand its purpose (why the author wrote it and what they wanted to accomplish), then you can begin to see how the passage works to achieve its purpose in incremental steps.

Cross-Text Connections (Paired Passages)

Most of the questions on SAT Reading and Writing will focus on a single passage, but there are a few that will focus on two. These are Cross-Text Connections questions, and they ask you to read through the two passages and then compare the point of view of the authors and of the texts. 

This might sound extra challenging since you have to focus on two passages instead of just one, but the good news is that both passages focus on the same topic. So, you’ll use both of them together to build more of an understanding of the other.

#3: Expression of Ideas

Eight to 12 questions on SAT Reading and Writing come from the Expression of Ideas category. For these questions, you’ll need to select transition words or phrases to make the author’s meaning clearer. You’ll also be asked to determine which answer choice best achieves a particular purpose based on a short set of provided notes (these bulleted notes will be these questions’ passages).

The following question types are including in the Expression of Ideas category:

• Rhetorical Synthesis
• Transitions

Rhetorical Synthesis

The Expression of Ideas questions that focus on Rhetorical Synthesis are unique because you’re given a set of bulleted notes instead of a full passage. Here’s an example:

After you read through the notes, the question will tell you a specific goal that the student (who took the notes) had in mind, and you’ll be asked to choose the answer that most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal. 

The important thing to keep in mind for Rhetorical Synthesis questions is that you’re being asked to synthesize the information in the notes—not to become an expert on what the notes are about. Keep your eyes on the prize with these questions. You’re given the goal the student has in mind, so all of your focus needs to be on which bullet points contain relevant information that’s directly related to achieving this goal. 

Transitions

Transition questions on SAT Reading and Writing ask you to focus on—you guessed it—transitions. You’ll be asked to choose the most logical transition word or phrase to connect information and ideas within the question’s passage. 

You’ll really need to understand each of these passages to effectively answer these questions, so make sure to read them in detail. You won’t be able to choose the most logical transition word or phrase if you don’t understand the relationship between the sentences you’re being asked to transition between!

#4: Standard English Conventions

Last but not least, SAT Reading and Writing has 11-15 questions that fall within the Standard English Conventions category. These questions are all about conventional grammar and mechanics, so make sure to brush up on the basic rules of English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. To put it simply: this is where your knowledge of grammar comes in!

For these questions, you’ll be given a passage with a blank somewhere within it, and you’ll need to choose the best answer in order to complete the text and conform to the conventions of Standard English. 

The Standard English Conventions category has two question types: 

• Boundaries
• Form, Structure, and Sense

Boundaries

Boundaries questions in the Standard English Conventions category focus on how phrases, clauses, and sentences are linked together in Standard English. More specifically, Boundaries questions ask you to “mark boundaries” for sentences using punctuation conventions of Standard English. 

These punctuation questions might also be coupled with information on linking clauses or supplemental words, phrases, or clauses. 

Form, Structure, and Sense

Like Boundaries questions, Form, Structure, and Sense questions within the Standard English Conventions category will give you a single passage with a blank somewhere within it. These questions can focus on lots of different grammar rules, like subject-verb agreement, verb tenses and forms, plural and possessive nouns, and more. 

Top 5 SAT Reading & Writing Tips

Once you've familiarized yourself with all of the Reading question types, it's time for you to employ our top three tips for the SAT Reading section!

#1: Practice Reading Passages

Because the Reading and Writing section revolves heavily around passages, it's critical you dedicate the bulk of your SAT Reading and Writing prep to working with SAT-esque passages.

You'll also want to examine how the author builds his or her argument or main point throughout the text. What evidence does he or she provide? Is it ultimately effective? Why or why not?

The best resources for passages similar to those you’ll encounter on the SAT are official SAT practice tests. These mock SAT tests created by the College Board offer a plethora of realistic Reading and Writing passages that closely mimic the style and form of the passages you'll be given on test day.

In addition to official practice tests, you can also use unofficial SAT Reading and Writing materials — as long as they contain high-quality Reading passages similar to those on the SAT.

Finally, it's a smart idea to read real-life texts, such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Psychology Today, from which SAT passages are often borrowed. This way you can familiarize yourself with the type of materials you'll see on test day.

#2: Use Process of Elimination

Process of elimination is an excellent strategy (and even one recommended by a perfect scorer!) that will aid you significantly on the Reading and Writing section.

As we already know, each Reading and Writing question offers four possible answer choices of which just one is correct. This means that the other three choices must contain clear signs indicating they’re incorrect. Some of the most common reasons answer choices are eliminated are that they're:

• Too specific
• Too broad
• Too loosely connected to the overall purpose or message of the passage

Remember, even a single word in an answer choice can make it incorrect, so look closely for any reason to eliminate a choice before deciding on the correct one. Be sure you avoid getting caught up in answer choices that sort of sound correct — if a choice doesn’t 100-percent answer the question or is ambiguous in any way, chances are it's wrong!

#3: Study Vocabulary Sparingly

Unlike the old (pre-2016) SAT, which often tested obscure vocabulary words in complete isolation, the new Digital SAT only tests vocabulary knowledge within the context of passages. Additionally, current SAT vocabulary is only about medium difficulty, meaning many of the words tested are ones you've likely seen and may have even used before. (Woo hoo!)

The challenging part of SAT vocabulary, however, is being able to identify lesser-known tertiary meanings of common words. What this means is, while you no longer need to dedicate hours upon hours to memorizing thousands of vocabulary words, you do need to familiarize yourself with some of the rarer meanings of common words. Likewise, you should also know how to decipher a vocabulary word's meaning based on how it's being used in a passage.

These days, many SAT vocabulary words are similar to those on the ACT; thus, we recommend studying vocabulary for either test with both our list of SAT vocabulary words and our ACT list of 150 medium-level vocabulary words.

 #4: Master Common SAT Grammar and Punctuation Rules

There’s an entire content category dedicated to Standard English conventions on SAT Reading and Writing, so naturally you can’t expect to do well on this section of the test if you haven’t mastered the basic rules of English grammar and usage!

This doesn't mean you must review every single grammar rule in existence — just the ones most commonly tested on the SAT. For more details on what these rules are and how you can master them, check out our in-depth guides to SAT grammar and SAT punctuation. 

#5: Hone Your Writing Skills

To be a sharp reader and editor, you must understand how to write well. And to write well, you must learn from the feedback on your own writing.

Begin by noting any red marks on essays you turn in at school, making yourself aware of any errors you continuously make on your writing. If you’re confused about a mistake you've made, ask your teacher to explain the mistake and give you tips on how you can avoid making it again.

As you write essays for school, make sure you're also paying attention to the structure of your arguments. Consider the simple "hamburger" structure of essays: you've got your introduction (top bun), your evidence and supporting details (lettuce, tomato, and meat), and your conclusion (bottom bun). Knowing how to effectively structure your own essays should over time allow you to develop a keener understanding of how SAT passages are organized.

The SAT Math Section

Onto the world of numbers! Unlike the English-centered Reading and Writing section, the SAT Math section consists of practical, real-world math and measures the problem-solving abilities most useful for college-level coursework and future employment.

The Math section consists of two 35-minute modules, and you’re allowed to use a calculator on both.

The Math section is the only section on the SAT to contain a non-multiple-choice question format called the grid-in. 25 percent of Math questions are grid-ins, so although it’s not the main question format on SAT Math, it’s crucial you understand how it works.

The Math section tests you on the following concepts:

• Algebra
• Advanced Math
• Problem Solving and Data Analysis
• Geometry and Trigonometry

Below, I describe each of these Math question types and give you expert tips for securing an excellent SAT Math score.

SAT Math Question Types

Here are the four types of Math questions you'll see on the SAT.

#1: Algebra

This content area constitutes one of the largest focuses of the SAT Math section, accounting for approximately 13-15 questions. Algebra questions focus on (you guessed it!) algebra — primarily linear equations, systems of equations, inequalities, and absolute values.

#2: Advanced Math

Advanced Math is also one of the largest focuses of the SAT Math, with 13-15 questions. These advanced questions test your understanding of the structure of equations and expressions, including your ability to rearrange and rewrite them. For these questions, you may be asked to solve a quadratic equation, create an exponential function, or manipulate polynomials.

#3: Problem Solving and Data Analytics

There are 5-7 Problem Solving and Data Analysis questions on the SAT. These questions focus on data interpretation (i.e., how to read charts, graphs, tables, etc.) as well as rates, ratios, percentages, linear and exponential relationships, and probability.

#4: Geometry and Trigonometry

The last topic on SAT Math, which has approximately 5-7 questions, is geometry and trigonometry. These questions focus on things like area, volume, angles, triangles, and circles.

Top 3 SAT Math Tips

Use our top tips below to get your best score ever on SAT Math!

#1: Review Basic Math Concepts

You can’t expect to score highly on the Math section if you’re not familiar with most or all of the basic math concepts being tested on the SAT.

To get started, take a look at our giant stockpile of SAT Math resources you can use (for free!). This guide contains links to several Math guides offering a solid overview of critical math concepts you should know for the SAT, including algebra, numbers, coordinate geometry, and plane and solid geometry.

You can also check out our guide to the best SAT Math prep books and browse your options for high-quality Math content review and practice.

#2: Memorize Common Formulas

Another tip is to memorize all critical SAT Math formulas you’ll need for test day. Doing this will allow you to solve many math problems that you can't solve without knowledge of a particular formula.

But what about the reference diagram on the test? Do you really need to memorize formulas if you'll be given a list of them on the SAT? Although you may think memorizing these formulas is a waste of time, in reality memorizing them will actually save you time on test day. Here are the formulas exactly as you'll see them on the SAT:

By memorizing the formulas above, you won't need to constantly flip back to the diagram and will therefore be able to solve math problems more quickly. This will effectively give you more time to put toward other math problems that are more challenging.

However, there is one caveat: the 12 formulas on this reference diagram deal specifically with geometry, a topic which makes up a significantly small portion of the new SAT. So while it’s crucial you memorize these formulas, it’ll be far more advantageous for you to prioritize other major laws and formulas that will not be given to you on test day and are more likely to come up on the SAT.

#3: Plug In Answers and Numbers

Our final tip for SAT Math is a popular test-taking strategy: plugging in answers and numbers. In this strategy, if you’re faced with a math problem you’re unsure how to solve, you can attempt to solve it by either plugging in random numbers or plugging in answer choices one by one. Doing this will reveal which answer choice yields the correct result.

Use the plug-in answer strategy for multiple-choice math questions that ask you to solve for a specific value. Always start with answer choice B or C, so you can determine whether to work your way up or down to get a higher or lower answer.

For multiple-choice and grid-in questions you don’t understand, try plugging in your own numbers (or sets of numbers) to see whether equations and inequalities hold true for various values.

Note that these strategies, though helpful, should generally only be used if you’re unsure how to solve a math problem using other methods, such as simplification and algebra. Ultimately, though, the SAT doesn’t care how you get an answer — just that it’s the correct one! So if you don't know what to do, get in there and plug away.

Are Certain SAT Sections More Important Than Others?

Because the SAT has two sections (with four total modules), you may be wondering which (if any) are the most important in regards to scores.

Generally speaking, the SAT Reading and Writing and SAT Math sections are each of fairly equal importance. Most schools report SAT scores using the total score (a combination of the R&W and Math scores), implying there is equal consideration of the Reading and Writing and Math sections. Furthermore, any school requiring the SAT will always require scores from the Reading and Writing and Math sections, so both of these sections are evidently essential for college admission.

In spite of these trends, there may be cases in which one of the two scores (R&W or Math) will hold slightly more weight than the other. For example, if you are applying to an engineering school like MIT, admissions committees may pay a little extra attention to your SAT Math score — the more relevant score to your program — and less to your R&W score.

In the end, it's best to think of both your R&W and Math scores as being equally important.

Key Takeaways for the SAT Sections

The SAT is composed of two sections: the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. These sections target an array of academic skills deemed necessary for college, from reading comprehension to proofreading to problem solving.

To ultimately do well on the SAT, you must understand what each of the SAT sections measures, what each section tests you on, and what approaches you can use to get the scores you want.

What’s Next?

Want to learn more about the SAT? Take a look at our complete guide to what the SAT is and get tips on when to start studying and what resources you can use to get the scores you need for college!

Thinking of taking the ACT, too? Start with our introduction to the ACT sections and then check out our guide to what a good ACT score is to learn how you can get a great ACT score.