You’ve been studying hard, and now the time has come to really test what you have mastered! Are you ready to try out 12 of the toughest questions to grace the digital SAT’s Reading and Writing section?
I've combed all the official practice tests to find the absolute hardest SAT Writing questions. If you get all of these right, you're truly a master of this section.
Why Should I Care About the Hardest Questions?
Knowing what to do when you hit tough questions is a key part of your test-taking strategy that you should work out ahead of time. Your target scores will help you determine what to do.
It's especially important to think about writing questions now that reading and writing have become one section on the digital SAT test. You can learn more about all the changes to the digital SAT in our expert article.
700 - 800 scorers
Are you looking to score between a 700 and 800 on Reading and Writing? If so, these are the sorts of questions that you'll have to master in order to get your score where you want it to be.
500 - 600 scorers
In contrast, if you are looking to score in the 500 – 600 range on Reading and Writing, you don't have to answer every question correctly on SAT Reading and Writing to hit your target score. So, if you're taking the test and run across a question as confusing as the ones listed below, you officially have permission to guess!
Either way, good study strategies are your best bet for getting the score you want. Not sure how to start? Check out our guide to studying for the new digital SAT, and then read our complete explanation of all the grammar rules that the SAT Reading and Writing section will test.
Don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems.
Which Questions Are the Hardest?
As a quick refresher, the SAT Reading and Writing section asks multiple choice questions based on reading passages. The questions test your understanding of grammar, punctuation, word choice, and writing logic. For a full overview of all the grammar tested on the Writing SAT, see our guide.
The College Board used to rank SAT questions according to difficulty, but they no longer do this. So how did I pick out the hardest questions? And what makes some questions harder than others?
Even though the digital SAT no longer features trick questions, there are still many times when several of the answer choices seem to be valid. Sometimes, this is because questions test several skills at the same time: a punctuation detail combined with your ability to understand the logic of a passage, for instance, or a grammar rule combined with correct idiom usage. Other times, this is because questions make you simultaneously focus on a small sentence-level issue and a larger problem involving several paragraphs.
These questions are really hard...but not as hard as rolling this hay bale is for these kids.
Spoiler Alert
Before I show you the hardest SAT Reading and Writing questions, I have to write a little spoiler alert.
These are real questions taken from the official full-length practice SAT tests. If you’re likely to remember them and their answers forever, then it's probably best for you to read the rest of this article after you’ve taken all the practice SATs.
On to the Questions!
These questions represent a variety of concepts the SAT thinks students will struggle with the most. Remember: all of these questions come from 25 to 150 word passages, since the entire Reading and Writing section of the SAT is passage-based.
Try them out and see how you do - if you really want to challenge yourself, limit your timing for each question to 40 seconds.
Each question is followed by the answer and an explanation.
Question 1
Volunteering, or giving time for a community service for free, is a valuable form of civic engagement because helping in a community is also good for society as a whole. In a survey of youths in the United States, most young people said that they believe volunteering is a way to help people on an individual level. Meanwhile, only 6% of the youths said that they think volunteering is a way to help fix problems in society overall. These replies suggest that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A. many young people think they can volunteer only within their own communities.
B. volunteering may be even more helpful than many young people think it is.
C .volunteering can help society overall more than it can help individual people.
D. many young people may not know how to find ways to volunteer their time.
The Challenge
The main goal of this question is to see if you can figure out how a paragraph should flow logically.
What makes it hard is that two of the answers (B and C) seem equally logically plausible.
Answer
B
Explanation
In a paragraph, a concluding sentence should logically complete the discussion, using what previous sentences said to push the point of the passage a little bit further.
In this paragraph, choice B is the best answer because it most logically concludes the paragraph’s discussion of volunteering. Why? Because data in the paragraph suggests that many young people don’t understand the full scope of how helpful volunteering is to society. That suggests that it’s true that “volunteering may be even more helpful than many young people think it is” (choice B).
Choices A, C, and D are all incorrect because they draw conclusions based on information that isn’t suggested in the text. There’s no suggestion that young people believe they can only volunteer in their own communities (choice A), that volunteering can benefit society more than individual people (choice C), or that many young people don’t know how to volunteer (choice D).
You’ll see this pattern in other SAT Reading and Writing Questions that deal with the logic of texts: one answer choice draws a conclusion based on suggestions made in the text, and the other three answer choices draw conclusions based on information that isn’t included in the text.
One way to make volunteering more popular? More dogs.
Question 2
Etched into Peru’s Nazca Desert are line drawings so large that they can only be fully seen from high above. Archaeologists have known of the lines since the 1920s, when a researcher spotted some from a nearby foothill, and they have been studying the markings ever since. ______ archaeologists’ efforts are aided by drones that capture high-resolution aerial photographs of the lines.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Currently,
B. In comparison,
C. Still,
D. However
The Challenge
This question is checking whether you understand how to use transitions. Transitions should provide a logical signal that information in the current sentence builds on action described in a previous sentence.
Answer
A
Explanation
One trick is just to cover up the transition that’s been put there, and read the two sentences without it. This way you can focus on the information that’s being presented and make up your own mind about how to make sense of the logical flow of this information.
“Currently” (correct answer choice A) logically signals that the use of drones for present day research builds on the archaeological research described in the previous sentence.
“In comparison” (choice B) sets up an illogical comparison between the use of drones for present day research described in the current sentence and the ongoing archaeological research described in the previous sentence.
“Still” (choice C) illogically signals that the use of drones for present day research is happening despite the archaeological research described in the previous sentence.
“However” (choice D) sets up an illogical contrast between the use of drones for research described in the current sentence and the ongoing archaeological research described in the sentence before it.
Choices B, C, and D are all incorrect because they don’t convey that the use of drones is a present-day continuation of the research described in the previous sentences in the text.
Get questions like these right, and you'll be giving the College Board their just "deserts." (See what we did there?)
Question 3
In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______ have missed his equally deep engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but
B. Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who
C. there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they
D. the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they
The Challenge
This question is testing your understanding of subject-modifier placement. In other words, it’s testing your knowledge of where a modifier should be placed in relation to a noun phrase in a sentence.
The challenge here is that, at first glance, it can be tough to figure out who the subject of the sentence actually is. That’s because the subject isn’t stated in the passage! You’ll have to use context clues and find it in the answer choices.
Answer
A
Explanation
Choice A is the correct answer because it makes the noun phrase “many critics” the subject of the sentence. It also places the subject in the most logical place within the sentence structure: right after the modifying phrase, “in assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.”
Choices B, C, and D are all incorrect because they result in dangling modifiers. A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that modifies a word that isn’t stated in the sentence. Each of these choices suggest that a subject other than “many critics” assess Kurosawa’s films, which is illogical and incorrect.
Dangling modifiers are notoriously tricky. If you need some extra practice, check out our guide to faulty modifiers!
If you want to get these questions right, make sure the modifier placement "matchas" the subject.
Question 4
During a 2014 archaeological dig in Spain, Vicente Lull and his team uncovered the skeleton of a woman from El Algar, an Early Bronze Age society, buried with valuable objects signaling a high position of power. This finding may persuade researchers who have argued that Bronze Age societies were ruled by men to ______ that women may have also held leadership roles.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. waive
B. concede
C. refute
D. require
The Challenge
SAT Reading and Writing includes several Words and Phrases in Context questions. This one asks you to choose the answer choice that most logically completes the text’s discussion of the importance of the 2014 archaeological dig at El Algar.
This question is hard because two of the answers (answers B and C) can logically complete the sentence. But if we look at the sentence in the context of the whole paragraph, only one answer (answer B) logically completes the entire discussion.
Answer
B
Explanation
Answer B is correct because the meaning of the word “concede” logically fits into the larger context of the reading passage. In this context, “concede” means to admit something is true after originally denying that truth. While the text suggests that some researchers believe Bronze Age societies were ruled by men,” the burial of a woman with “valuable objects” suggests that women may have held positions of power too. Because of this, the text implies that the claim that only men held leadership positions in these societies is invalid. That means that researchers who hold this belief may have to reconsider their opinion.
Both answer choice A and D are incorrect because the meanings of “waive” and “require” don’t logically apply to the actions taken in this context.
Answer choice C is illogical because “refute” means to show that something is false. Because the previous sentences in the text present evidence that women held leadership positions, stating that the finding may persuade researchers to “refute” this evidence doesn’t make sense in context.
The key to Words and Phrases in Context questions is placing each answer choice in the sentence provided, then reading it in the greater context of the entire passage. If an answer choice makes sense in the passage as a whole, there’s a good chance it’s correct!
This is Bill. He got stuck on a Words and Phrases in Context question. Don't let this be you!
Question 5
Seneca sculptor Marie Watt’s blanket art comes in a range of shapes and sizes. In 2004, Watt sewed strips of blankets together to craft a 10-by-13-inch ______ in 2014, she arranged folded blankets into two large stacks and then cast them in bronze, creating two curving 18-foot-tall blue-bronze pillars.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. sampler later,
B. sampler;
C. sampler,
D. sampler, later,
The Challenge
To get this one right, you have to understand how to coordinate main clauses within a sentence using semicolons specifically.
What makes this one hard is the presence of multiple answer choices that split the main clauses using a comma instead of a semicolon. Each answer choice that uses a comma would result in a comma splice, which is a really common punctuation error.
Answer
B
Explanation
The text provided includes two main clauses, which always need to be separated by either a period, a semicolon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, not, for, so, yet). None of the answer choices that use commas include a coordinating conjunction, so answer choice B, which uses a semicolon, is the only correct option.
Answer choices A, C, and D all result in a comma splice because they separate two main clauses using a comma but no coordinating conjunction. That means these three answer choices are incorrect!
This is what Marie Watt's art looks like.
(Marie Watt / Tacoma Art Museum)
Question 6
The city of Pompeii, which was buried in ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, continues to be studied by archaeologists. Unfortunately, as ______ attest, archaeological excavations have disrupted ash deposits at the site, causing valuable information about the eruption to be lost.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. researchers, Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn,
B. researchers, Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn
C. researchers Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn
D. researchers Roberto Scandone, and Christopher Kilburn
The Challenge
This is another punctuation question, but this one asks you to show that you know how to punctuate a restrictive coordinated noun phrase.
This question can be tricky because nonrestrictive clauses that appear in the middle of a sentence often include proper nouns…and those clauses always use commas. These answer choices include a set of proper nouns, but because they create a restrictive clause in the context of the sentence provided, they don’t need commas.
Answer
C
Explanation
Answer choice C is the correct answer because there’s no need for punctuation to set apart the coordinated noun phrase “researchers Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn.” Using punctuation would separate the noun “researchers” and the coordinated noun phrase “Roberto Scandone and Christopher Kilburn” is a way that isn’t logical.
Because choices A, B, and D all separate the noun phrase using commas, each of these answer choices is incorrect.
This is Pete. Pete got stuck on a punctuation question during his Digital SAT test. Poor Pete.
Question 7
As Mexico’s first president from an Indigenous community, Benito Juarez became one of the most ______ figures in his country’s history: among the many significant accomplishments of his long tenure in office (1858–1872), Juarez consolidated the authority of the national government and advanced the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. unpredictable
B. important
C. secretive
D. ordinary
The Challenge
At the heart of this question is understanding precision in word choice. What makes this text confusing is the fact that each answer choice is grammatically correct when placed in the sentence provided.
Answer
B
Explanation
To find the correct answer to this question, you have to consider each answer choice in the context of the entire passage. The way that President Juarez is described in the text indicates that he had significant accomplishments while in office. Because of this, “important” (answer choice B), which means “marked by significant work or consequence,” is the correct answer.
“Unpredictable” (choice A) is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that President Juarez acted in ways that couldn’t be predicted.
The same is true for answer choices C and D. Nothing in the text suggests that President Juarez was “secretive,” and the text implies that he was far from “ordinary”!
Because answer choices A, C, and D aren’t logical and precise in the context of the passage, they are incorrect.
Benito. Bonito!
Question 8
Atoms in a synchrotron, a type of circular particle accelerator, travel faster and faster until they ______ a desired energy level, at which point they are diverted to collide with a target, smashing the atoms.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. will reach
B. reach
C. had reached
D. are reaching
The Challenge
This question tests your knowledge of verb tenses.
What makes this question complicated is that there are multiple present tense verbs represented in the answer choices. You’ll have to read the answer choices and pick the verb that matches the tense of the other verbs in the sentence, “travel” and “are diverted.”
Answer
B
Explanation
Because the present tense verb “reach” is consistent with the present tense verbs “travel” and “are diverted,” answer choice B is the correct answer. All three of these verbs provide a general description of how atoms tend to move.
Choice A is incorrect because “will reach” is a future tense verb. It’s true that the atoms’ behavior is a recurring movement, but because the other verbs in this sentence are in the present tense, “will reach” is illogical when paired with them.
Choice C is incorrect because “had reached” is in the past tense and the other verbs in this sentence are in the present tense.
Choice D is incorrect because “are reaching” is in the present progressive and is illogical when paired with the other present tense verbs in this sentence.
Yeah, it can accelerate particles. But can it figure out subject/verb agreement?
Question 9
In winter, the diets of Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are influenced more by food availability than by food preference. Although the monkeys prefer to eat vegetation and land-dwelling invertebrates, those food sources may become unavailable because of extensive snow and ice cover, ______ the monkeys to hunt for marine animals in any streams that have not frozen over.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. forces
B. to force
C. forcing
D. forced
The Challenge
Here, the challenge comes in two parts. First, the second sentence is a long, complex sentence that sandwiches an independent clause in between two dependent clauses. You have to really slow down to find the correct verb.
Second, this question is testing the use of finite and infinitive verb forms in a sentence. Your task is to determine whether a finite or infinite verb complements the sentence’s main clause, “those food sources may become unavailable because of extensive snow and ice cover.”
Answer
C
Explanation
First things first: let’s define the difference between finite and infinite verbs.
Finite verb forms show tense, person, and number (I go, she goes, we went, etc.), while infinite, or nonfinite, verb forms don’t show tense, person, or number. These verbs usually appear in the infinitive form, either with or without “to” (to go, go). Sometimes they appear in -ing or -ed forms as well.
Subordinate clauses, like the one we’re filling in in the question above, usually use nonfinite verbs.
The nonfinite present participle “forcing” correctly forms a participial phrase that supplements the main clause, so choice C is the correct answer.
The present tense verb “forces” (choice A) and the past tense verb “forced” aren’t correct here because they are finite verbs and can’t be used to supplement the main clause.
Choice B is a bit tricky. “To force” is a nonfinite to-infinitive and could be used to create a subordinate clause that supplements the main clause. But to-infinitives are typically used to express purpose. Because nothing in the sentence implies that food sources become unavailable for the purpose of forcing monkeys to hunt, answer choice B is incorrect.
That feeling when monkeys have a better pool than you do.
(Brian Jeffery Beggerly / Flickr)
Question 10
Literary agents estimate that more than half of all nonfiction books credited to a celebrity or other public figure are in fact written by ghostwriters, professional authors who are paid to write other ______ but whose names never appear on book covers.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. people’s stories
B. peoples story’s
C. peoples stories
D. people’s story’s
The Challenge
To get this question right, you have to have a solid grasp of plural and possessive nouns. This question is hard because each answer choice includes two nouns, and each one has to be in the correct form for the context of the sentence provided.
Answer
A
Explanation
Choice A is correct because the plural possessive noun “people’s” and the plural noun “stories” correctly signal that there is more than one story from more than one person.
Choice B includes the plural noun “peoples” and the singular possessive noun “story’s,” which aren’t correct in the context of the sentence provided.
Choice C also includes the plural noun “peoples,” which is incorrect. In choice D, the singular possessive noun “story’s” appears again, which is incorrect because the text requires a plural noun to adhere to the conventions of Standard English.
This is Larry. Larry got stuck on a writing question. Poor Larry.
(Dall-E)
The Bottom Line
The hardest questions on the SAT Reading and Writing section are challenging because they:
- test several grammar, editing, or punctuation skills at once
- have two or more very plausible answer choices
- have answer choices that make it look like the question is testing one concept, when it's really testing something totally different
One way to work through these difficult parts of the test is to cover up the answer choices (including the original text), and read the parts of the passage that aren't in question. This way, you can form your own uninfluenced opinion about:
- the logical progression of the passage's argument
- the way the different sentences, or the different parts of one sentence, relate to one another
- how you would fill in the missing piece
Then, you can find the answer choice that most closely matches your own thoughts, rather than being led astray by working backwards from the answer choices.
What’s Next?
The Digital SAT has tweaked how the Reading and Writing section works. Get the whole scoop in our ultimate digital SAT guide.
Did you make any mistakes? If so, you can use these problems to help pinpoint the areas you struggle with and focus your studying to get a great score on SAT Reading and Writing.
Want to learn other strategies for SAT Reading and Writing? Check out our articles on improving your score, getting a perfect score, and how best to study.
