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SAT Exam Verbal

Digital SAT Exam Verbal

 

The SAT Verbal or the Reading and Writing section consisting of two modules contributes towards the 200-800 Verbal score. This section consists of short reading passages or passage pairs with about 25 to 150 words per passage. The Passages are derived from a broad range of literature that falls into the subject areas of history or social studies, literature, humanities, and science.

Each of these passages comes with one multiple-choice question per passage. These questions come from four content areas – Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions. The questions are grouped together according to the skills tests and ordered from easiest to hardest in each module.

 

SAT Reading and Writing Section Structure

Section Number of questions Number of passages Time allotted Scores
Module 1 25 + 2 Pretest Questions 25 + 2 Pretest 30 minutes 200 to 800
Module 2 25 + 2 Pretest Questions 25 + 2 Pretest 30 minutes

 

Here are some types of sample questions that you would like to see in your reading and writing section of the SAT as shared by the College Board:

 

Domain: Information and Ideas

These questions ask what the author or the passage says. The student has to find evidence from the passage to support the answer.

Sample:

Many animals, including humans, must sleep, and sleep is known to have a role in everything from healing injuries to encoding information in long-term memory. But some scientists claim that, from an evolutionary standpoint, deep sleep for hours at a time leaves an animal so vulnerable that the known benefits of sleeping seem insufficient to explain why it became so widespread in the animal kingdom. These scientists, therefore, imply that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) it is more important to understand how widespread prolonged deep sleep is than to understand its function.
B) prolonged deep sleep is likely advantageous in ways that have yet to be discovered.
C) many traits that provide significant benefits for an animal also likely pose risks to that animal.
D) most traits perform functions that are hard to understand from an evolutionary standpoint.

Key: B Skill:  Inferences

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  • Domain: Craft and Structure

Another subset of this question type is the Words in Context question. This tests the ability of the student to identify the contextual meaning of a word as used in the passage.

Sample

In recommending Bao Phi’s collection Sông I Sing, a librarian noted that pieces by the spoken-word poet don’t lose their ______ nature when printed: the language has the same pleasant musical quality on the page as it does when performed by Phi.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) jarring
B) scholarly
C) melodic
D) personal

Key: C Skill:  Words in Context

 

Domain: Expression of Ideas

These questions expect the students to have a good understanding of a passage’s content, tone, and purpose to improve the text from the perspective of accuracy, logic, topic development, and rhetorically impactful language use.

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • Maika’i Tubbs is a Native Hawaiian sculptor and installation artist.
  • His work has been shown in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Germany, among other places.
  • Many of his sculptures feature discarded objects.
  • His work Erasure (2008) includes discarded audio cassette tapes and magnets.
  • His work Home Grown (2009) includes discarded pushpins, plastic plates and forks, and wood.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two works. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Erasure (2008) uses discarded objects such as audiocassette tapes and magnets; Home Grown (2009), however, includes pushpins, plastic plates and forks, and wood.
B) Like many of Tubbs’s sculptures, both Erasure and Home Grown include discarded objects: Erasure uses audio cassette tapes, and Home Grown uses plastic forks.
C) Tubbs’s work, which often features discarded objects, has been shown both within the United States and abroad.
D) Tubbs completed Erasure in 2008 and Home Grown in 2009.

Key: B Skill:  Rhetorical Synthesis

 

Domain: Standard English Conventions

The questions that fall into this domain expect the students to make sentences consistent with standard grammar, usage, and punctuation conventions.

Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan highlands. Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king, ______ had once been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) Rabinal Achí tells the story of K’iche’ Achí, a military leader who
B) K’iche’ Achí, the military leader in the story of Rabinal Achí,
C) there was a military leader, K’iche’ Achí, who in Rabinal Achí
D) the military leader whose story is told in Rabinal Achí, K’iche’ Achí,

Key: A Skill :  Form, Structure, and Sense

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Important Point to Note:

In the Reading and Writing Section, have a strategy to deal with the passage and the questions. Remember time is the key in this section. Learn to tackle the different types of questions.

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FAQ's

What type of questions are asked in the SAT exam?

The questions asked are multiple-choice questions.

In the SAT Verbal section, the questions are evidence-based and questions are asked based on passages. The Comprehension skills, interpretational skills, grammar knowledge, and analytical skills are put to test through questions.

SAT Math on the other hand needs the basic formulae in Algebra, Geometry, and Arithmetic to be thorough. Some questions need the reasoning skills too.

What are the tips to prepare for the SAT?

  • Brush up on all approaches to different question types on SAT Verbal and SAT Math
  •  Take a good number of mock tests before your actual test date. Have them reviewed with your mentor to help you understand your errors and do better gradually
  • Always take full-length tests to build up your endurance for the 3-hour long test
  • Take the easy questions first and get them all right. Give a good shot at the harder questions. Finish the paper

What Is the SAT Format?

The SAT is a 4 hour test inclusive of the essay, which is a 50 minutes task right at the end of the 4 Sections. Section 1-Evidence based Reading- 52 questions from 5 passages -65 minutes Break-10 minutes Section 2- Evidence based Writing & Language- 44 questions from 4 passages- 35 minutes Section 3- No Calculator Math -15 MCQs and 5 Grid in questions- 25 minutes Break- 5 minutes Section 4- Calculator Math- 30 MCQs and 8 Grid in questions- 55 minutes Essay (Optional)- 1 Topic- 50 minutes. Each MCQ has 4 answer choices. Questions come as easy, medium, and hard. Each comprises only 1 point. Questions in Math do have a rough order of difficulty, but there is no order of difficulty in the Verbal sections. Each of the Verbal and Math sections are scored on a scale of 200-800 which makes the Total SAT score on a range of 400-1600. The SAT is a Paper-pencil Test.

How do the digital SAT questions look now?

The questions on the digital SAT are exactly the same as it was for the paper and pencil SAT except for a few changes in the wording and reduction in the length of the passages.

To get a sense of types of the questions that you are likely to face in the digital SAT, check out the sample questions that have been released by the College Board in the link below.

https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/digital-sat-sample-questions.pdf

How is the Digital SAT different from the SAT paper?

In terms of reading and writing the passages are cut and short which is only 1-3 paragraphs with only one question for each paragraph, rather than the offline SAT paper thus this one of the basic differences between Digital SAT and SAT paper.

How will the digital SAT be different from the CURRENT paper and pencil SAT?

While there are many things that stay the same between the digital SAT and the Pencil and paper-based SAT, there are a few major changes that stand out in the new form of the test.

CURRENT SAT DIGITAL SAT
Tests a range of high school level math concepts and reading/writing skills Nothing new; some small changes in distribution and naming of concepts
Scored on a scale of 200-800 per section; 400-1600 overall No change; College Board to provide score linking
Total Testing Time ~3 Hours Total Testing Time reduced to ~2 Hours
Time intensive test: 1.17/question (average) More time per question: average 1.37 min/question (+17% more time)
Reading Intensive test: long reading passage (500-750 words) Shorter passages (25-150 words); math word problems also shortened.
Math includes a “no calculator” section Built-in calculator can be used for all math sections
Paper and Pencil Computer based test; range of student of center provided devices
Linear test; familiar correlation between correct answers and scores Adaptive by section; uncertainty around calculation of scores
Question formats unchanged since 2016 Single question, shorter passage reading questions; some other small changes
College Board practice resources: 10 Official released tests Some uncertainty around exact timing and quantity of practice resources
Familiar Timelines International testing, Digital PSAT, more school administration, etc.
Scored on a scale of 200-800 per section; 400-1600 overall No change; College Board to provide score linking

Is the Online Digital SAT difficult?

No, The majority of the student find Online Digital SAT relatively intuitive and simpler than offline SAT.

What is the exam structure of the Digital SAT?

Characteristic Reading and Writing (RW) Section Math Section
Administration Two-stage adaptive test design: one Reading and Writing section administered via two separately timed modules. Two-stage adaptive test design: one Math section administered via two separately timed modules.
Test length (number of operational and pretest questions) 1st module: 25 Operational Questions and 2 Pretest questions

2nd module: 25 Operational Questions and 2 Pretest questions

1st module: 20 Operational Questions and 2 Pretest questions

2nd module: 20 Operational Questions and 2 Pretest questions

Time per module 1st module:32 minutes

2nd module: 32 minutes

1st module:35 minutes

2nd module: 35 minutes

Total number of questions 54 questions 44 questions
Total time allotted 64 minutes 70 minutes
Average time per question 1.19 1.59

What are the best book for the preparation for SAT exam to score 1500+?

The best book for the preparation of SAT exam for English (Erica Meltzer), & Math (Barron’s Workbook). Manya-The Princeton Review offers a Digital SAT test to help you to score 1500+ in SAT.

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