If you're aiming for a really high SAT score, you'll need to learn how to beat the most difficult questions on every section of the test. Here, I'll go through a few of the most difficult reading questions I've seen on the SAT Reading and Writing section and how to solve them.
Why exactly are they so hard? How do you tackle them? How well will you do? Challenge yourself for that top score.
A Note About the Digital SAT
As of 2024, the SAT is now a completely digital exam. The old paper-and-pencil version is no longer offered, unless you’ll be testing with accommodations.
The structure of the digital SAT is a bit different from the old paper version, and one major difference is that reading and writing are now rolled into one section, called SAT Reading and Writing. On the paper SAT, reading and writing were divided out into two separate sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.
Throughout this article, we’ll refer to the reading section of the SAT as “Reading and Writing,” but know that the questions featured in this article test you on reading skills! If you want to learn more about the writing skills you’ll be tested on, check out our article on the hardest writing questions on the digital SAT!
Now, let’s get down to the hardest reading questions on the SAT!
Example 1: Command of Evidence Questions
Command of evidence questions ask you to demonstrate your understanding of how authors present and develop their ideas, claims, and points. These questions can be very difficult because you need to have a deep understanding of the author's viewpoint and how different writing techniques work to develop arguments.
Here's one of the most difficult command of evidence questions I have seen:
“To You” is an 1856 poem by Walt Whitman. In the poem, Whitman suggests that he deeply understands the reader, whom he addresses directly, writing, ______:
Which quotation from “To You” most effectively illustrates the claim?
A. “Your true soul and body appear before me.”
B. “Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem.”
C. “I should have made my way straight to you long ago.”
D. “Whoever you are, I fear you are walking the walks of dreams.”
I think this question is so difficult because it requires a very specific and nuanced understanding of the author's goals and technique…but you’re given very little information about the poem itself in the text provided. It also provides answer choices that are overall pretty confusing.
Let's figure out how to solve it!
First, we need to understand the question.
This question is asking you to complete the sentence provided with the answer choice that most effectively illustrates the claim that Walt Whitman deeply understands the reader. That means we’re looking for an answer choice that uses language or imagery that conveys a sense of understanding another person.
Now let's look at the answers, remembering to be very picky and specific about eliminating any answers that are even a little bit wrong!
Choice A: “Your true soul and body appear before me.”
If a person’s “true soul and body” appear before Whitman, it’s safe to say that he’s seeing their true self. When we say that we see someone’s “true self,” it typically means that we’ve gained a deeper understanding of who they are.
The question asks us to select the answer choice that most effectively illustrates the claim that Walt Whitman deeply understands the reader. Since that’s the most logical interpretation of the meaning of this answer choice, we can assume that “A” is correct!
Choice B: “Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem.”
Answer choice A refers to the reader’s “true body and soul.” This one, choice B, refers to the reader as “whoever you are now.” If I’m not quite sure who someone is, it’s probably safe to assume that I don’t really understand them.
We can say the same for Walt Whitman. Right out of the gate, this answer choice shows it’s not the one by questioning the identity of the reader. Answer choice B is incorrect!
Choice C: “I should have made my way straight to you long ago.”
We can eliminate this one pretty quickly. Answer choice C reveals no information about how well Whitman understands the reader. Instead, it conveys that Whitman should have gone to be with the reader…which isn’t the same thing as understanding the reader.
That makes choice C incorrect!
Choice D: “Whoever you are, I fear you are walking the walks of dreams.”
This one’s similar to answer choice B. At the beginning, it tells us it’s wrong by referring to the reader as “whoever you are.” When I understand someone deeply, I know who they are! I don’t have to wonder about that.
Since this answer choice suggests that Whitman questions who the reader is, we can say that choice D is incorrect.
Choice A s correct!
This question was really hard because it gave a few answer choices that conveyed information about Walt Whitmans’ understanding of the reader. But when we look more closely, we see that the wrong answer choices don’t specifically suggest that he understands the reader well.
This is why you need to always be sure to keep reminding yourself what you are being asked: to avoid just choosing an idea you saw in the passage or that was stated in the question…but that doesn't answer it correctly.
If you think it will help, write down a paraphrased wording of what the question is asking that's easier for you to understand so you can stay focused while you look at the different answer choices.
Example 2: Analyzing Text Purpose Questions
Text purpose questions can be really tough. They require you to read a passage and use your higher-order thinking skills to interpret what the entire thing means.
This means first reading the entire passage, analyzing it, and pulling a central purpose from what you’ve read and analyzed. From there, you have to find the answer choice that sums up that purpose in the most accurate and effective way.
Let's take a look at one of the harder text purpose questions:
The following text is from the 1924 poem “Cycle” by D’Arcy McNickle, who was a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
There shall be new roads wending,
A new beating of the drum–
Men’s eyes shall have fresh seeing,
Grey lives reprise their span–
But under the new sun’s being,
Completing what night began,
There’ll be the same backs bending,
The same sad feet shall drum–
When this night finds its ending
And day shall have come…
Which choice best states the purpose of the text?
A. To consider how the repetitiveness inherent in human life can be both rewarding and challenging
B. To question whether activities completed at one time of day are more memorable than those completed at another time of day
C. To refute the idea that joy is a more commonly experienced emotion than sadness is
D. To demonstrate how the experiences of individuals relate to the experiences of their communities
First, let's figure out what the question is asking.
Fortunately, the question itself is straightforward. It’s asking which answer choice best states the main purpose of the text. You have one goal in vetting answer choices, and it’s to narrow it down to the one that states the main purpose of the text.
Remember, though: the question asks you to choose the answer that best states the purpose of the text. The correct answer choice might not describe the text’s purpose perfectly, so we’re simply looking for the answer that’s more accurate than all the other ones.
Ok, let's find the best answer choice now!
Choice A: To consider how the repetitiveness inherent in human life can be both rewarding and challenging
To determine whether this answer choice is correct, we have to look back at the passage and figure out the core ideas it’s asking us to consider. The text starts by talking about positive things about the future, making references to ideas that suggest renewal, like “new roads,” “new beating of the drum,” and “fresh seeing.” But with the future, or “the new sun,” the text states, there will still be “the same backs bending” and “the same sad feet” drumming. This implies that difficulties will follow people into the future.
The poem is saying that the future brings rewards, but achieving those rewards asks humanity to face repetitive challenges. Answer choice A states that the main purpose of the text is “to consider how the repetitiveness inherent in human life can be both rewarding and challenging.”
Thus, we can conclude that answer choice A is correct!
Choice B: To question whether activities completed at one time of day are more memorable than those completed at another time of day
This one doesn't work. The text doesn’t talk about how memorable the activities discussed are. It also doesn’t ask any questions about whether activities completed at one time of day are more memorable than others.
Cross this one out!
Choice C: To refute the idea that joy is a more commonly experienced emotion than sadness is
This one is tricky, because the text does contrast hope with difficulty, and that’s a central theme of the text. However, the text doesn’t make a case that joy is a feeling that’s experienced more frequently than sadness.
This one is also incorrect!
Choice D: To demonstrate how the experiences of individuals relate to the experiences of their communities
This one is a little tricky too. The text does talk about the experiences of humans, but it doesn’t make a distinction between the experiences of individuals and the experiences of their communities. Since these ideas aren’t explored in the text,
Choice D is also incorrect!
So through a process of elimination, we know that Choice A is the right one!
Text purpose questions like this require you to think at a pretty high level. You have to look at the ideas presented in the passage collectively, and think about what they mean when taken together.
As you read the answer choices, you may have to refer back to the passage to determine which answer choices sum up its main purpose. You’ll have to work quickly while evaluating each answer choice in the context of the passage.
Machu Picchu—I think I need to go there.
Example 3: Analyzing Quantitative Information Question
Unlike the ACT, the SAT does not have a section devoted specifically to science. Instead, the SAT includes graphs and data in other sections of the exam, such as Reading. For quantitative information questions (which are a subtype of Command of Evidence questions), the student will need to interpret the data in the figure and place it in the context of the overall passage.
Because the SAT doesn't expect high-level data analysis skills from students, most data reasoning questions aren't typically among the hardest you'll see on the Reading section. However, every now and then they have a particular question, such as the one below. It's challenging because you must have strong graph analysis, reading comprehension, and inference skills in order to answer it correctly, and there is a lot of room for misinterpretation.
Based on figure 2, the engineers surveyed were most skeptical of the idea that in the event of a reallocation of road space, drivers would change
A. when they travel.
B. their means of traveling.
C. how often they make a journey.
D. their driving style.
To solve this question, first let's figure out what figure 2 is showing us. Figure 2 shows data from an opinion poll of transportation engineers. According to the y-axis label, the engineers were asked whether a road space reallocation could cause people to change various aspects of their driving. There are four answer possibilities: "yes," "yes (in exceptional circumstances)," "no," and "don't know."
Now, this question specifically wants to know what aspect of driver behavior that the engineers thought least likely to change. Of the four choices, "driving style," received the smallest percentage of "yes" and "yes (in exceptional circumstances)" responses, as well as the largest percentage of "no" responses. This means that the engineers were most skeptical of drivers changing their driving style, which means Choice D is the correct answer.
Example 4: Analyzing Multiple Texts Question
Paired passage questions contain some of the most difficult questions on the SAT Reading and Writing section because they ask you to look at arguments from different viewpoints and make inferences about the views of passage authors.
It's a real mental challenge when these questions ask you to put yourself in someone else's shoes (especially someone whose opinion is different from your own or unfamiliar to you) and then take it one step further and analyze another person's opinion from that viewpoint.
Here's one of the hardest paired passage questions I've seen:
Text 1
In 2007, a team led by Alice Storey analyzed a chicken bone found in El Arenal, Chile, dating it to 1321–1407 CE—over a century before Europeans invaded the region, bringing their own chickens. Storey also found that the El Arenal chicken shared a unique genetic mutation with the ancient chicken breeds of the Polynesian Islands in the Pacific. Thus, Polynesian peoples, not later Europeans, probably first introduced chickens to South America.
Text 2
An Australian research team weakened the case for a Polynesian origin for the El Arenal chicken by confirming that the mutation identified by Storey has occurred in breeds from around the world. More recently, though, a team led by Agusto Luzuriaga-Neira found that South American chicken breeds and Polynesian breeds share other genetic markers that European breeds lack. Thus, the preponderance of evidence now favors a Polynesian origin.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
A. By broadly agreeing with the claim but objecting that the timeline it presupposes conflicts with the findings of the genetic analysis conducted by Storey’s team
B. By faulting the claim for implying that domestic animals couldn’t have been transferred from South America to the Polynesian Islands as well
C. By critiquing the claim for being based on an assumption that before the European invasion of South America, the chickens of Europe were genetically uniform
D. By noting that while the claim is persuasive, the findings of Luzuriaga-Neira’s team provide stronger evidence for it than the findings of the genetic analysis conducted by Storey do
How should we go about solving this question?
This is the type of SAT Reading question where it actually is important to read and absorb the whole passage. We need to have a strong idea of the author of Text 2’s ideas about how chickens were introduced to South America.
Let’s start with the conclusion the author draws in Text 1. The author’s research found that chicken bones in South America “shared a unique genetic mutation with the ancient chicken breeds of the Polynesian Islands in the Pacific.” Based on these findings, the author of Text 1 concludes that “Polynesian peoples, not later Europeans, probably first introduced chickens to South America.”
The question asks how the author of Text 2 would respond to the conclusion made by the author of Text 1. From reading the passage, it's clear that the author of Text 2 favors “more recent research” that “found that South American chicken breeds and Polynesian breeds share other genetic markers that European breeds lack.” This suggests that the author of Text 2 would agree with the author of Text 1!
The next step is to see if there’s an answer choice that supports this conclusion.
Choice A: By broadly agreeing with the claim but objecting that the timeline it presupposes conflicts with the findings of the genetic analysis conducted by Storey’s team
Hmm no, I don't think so.
Both texts suggest that chickens were introduced before Europeans arrived in South America. Text 1 says that the El Arenal chicken bone dates from “1321–1407 CE—over a century before Europeans invaded the region” and concludes that these chickens were likely brought to South America by Polynesians. Text 2 doesn’t make any statements about the time period, but it also doesn’t contradict the timing of events that are presented in Text 1.
Since there’s no disagreement about the timeline between the authors, we can conclude that choice A is incorrect.
Cross it out!
Choice B: By faulting the claim for implying that domestic animals couldn’t have been transferred from South America to the Polynesian Islands as well
Both texts agree with the underlined claim: that chickens were first brought to South America by Polynesian peoples. There isn’t anything in Text 2 that suggests that the underlined claim is lacking because it doesn’t explicitly address the idea that animals could’ve been transferred from South America to Polynesia.
This is definitely an irrelevant answer—get rid of it!
Choice C: By critiquing the claim for being based on an assumption that before the European invasion of South America, the chickens of Europe were genetically uniform
This one’s a little tricky. Text 2 does criticize Text 1, but only based on whether the single genetic mutation cited by the author of Text 1 actually supports the notion of a Polynesian origin for South American chickens. Nothing in Text 2 implies that the underlined claim is lacking because it makes the assumption stated in answer choice C.
This one’s wrong as well–cross it out!
Choice D: By noting that while the claim is persuasive, the findings of Luzuriaga-Neira’s team provide stronger evidence for it than the findings of the genetic analysis conducted by Storey do
Choice D is the best answer because it accurately describes how the author of Text 2 would most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1.
The authors of Text 1 and Text 2 end up drawing the same conclusion. They just disagree on the evidence that supports that conclusion!
Text 1 states that the author found a genetic mutation in South American chickens from before the European invasion. They found the same mutation in Polynesian chickens. This implies that chickens were first brought to South America by Polynesian people.
But Text 2 is working with different evidence. That evidence shows that the genetic mutation found by the author of Text 1 is in chickens from all over the world, which undercuts the mutation as evidence of a Polynesian origin.
However, Text 2 goes on to say “[m]ore recently” Luzuriaga-Neira and colleagues found multiple genetic markers shared by South American and Polynesian chickens but “that European breeds lack.” This evidence strongly suggests a Polynesian origin for the South American chickens.
In the end, the author of Text 2 believes more recent evidence for a Polynesian origin, which undermines the evidence presented by the author of Text 1. Thus, the author of Text 2 would most likely agree with the underlined statement with the caveat that the findings presented by Luzuriaga-Neira and colleagues’ are stronger than Storey’s findings.
Choice D is correct!
I thought this question was particularly tricky because it asked you to do some high-level inference work and provided long answer choices that make complex claims.
In these types of questions, it's important not to doubt yourself and to use process of elimination very strictly. Even if you're being asked to infer something about one passage author from the point of view of another, your inference will still be based on direct evidence from the passages.
Congrats on making it this far. You deserve a puppy!
Review
The most difficult command of evidence questions on SAT Reading and Writing will expect you to demonstrate your understanding of how authors present and develop their ideas, claims, and points.
As long as you work quickly, it can be helpful to write down a paraphrased wording of what the question is asking that's easier for you to understand. That way, you can stay focused while you look at the different answer choices and analyze them in order to eliminate incorrect ones!
The most difficult text purpose questions require you to read a passage and use your higher-order thinking skills to interpret what the entire thing means.
This means first reading the entire passage, analyzing it, and pulling a central purpose from what you’ve read and analyzed. From there, you have to find the answer choice that sums up that purpose in the most accurate and effective way. Process of elimination applies here too!
The most difficult quantitative information questions include graphs and data and ask you to interpret the data in the figure and place it in the context of the overall passage. For these, you’ll need strong graph analysis, reading comprehension, and inference skills in order to answer correctly, and there is a lot of room for misinterpretation.
To answer these correctly, you need to understand what information the figure is providing and which answer choice provides an accurate representation of that data.
The most difficult passage-based questions on SAT Reading and Writing will ask you to understand and compare abstract concepts and points of view.
It's important to always be clear on what the question is asking first. Some choices might be relevant to information in the passage without being a direct answer to the question.
Above all, BE PICKY. The hardest questions are relying on your inability to eliminate slightly incorrect answers. If you can't find direct evidence for a choice, you have to get rid of it.
Even the hardest Reading questions can be answered confidently with enough practice!
What's Next?
Want more tips on how to master the SAT Critical Reading section? Check out our article on how to get an 800!
Also, take a look at these articles for more tips if you're still struggling with running out or time or reading the passages on for Critical Reading.
Finally, here are six strategies you can use to improve your score. Take a practice test to get started!
