SAT Reading and Writing
The Digital SAT Reading and Writing section evaluates vocabulary precision, rhetorical structure, textual evidence, grammar conventions, and synthesis of research notes.
Explore SAT Reading & Writing by Domain
Craft & Structure (Words in Context & Text Structure)
Craft and Structure evaluates your ability to comprehend high-utility vocabulary in context, analyze rhetorical purpose and text structure, and make cross-text comparisons.
- Words in Context: Selecting the most precise vocabulary word based on surrounding tonal and semantic clues
- Text Structure and Purpose: Analyzing the overall function of a sentence or paragraph within an academic excerpt
- Cross-Text Connections: Comparing arguments, hypotheses, or perspectives between two short paired passages
Information & Ideas (Central Ideas, Details & Inferences)
Information and Ideas tests your capacity to locate central ideas, interpret textual and quantitative evidence (charts/graphs), and deduce valid logical completions.
- Central Ideas and Details: Identifying main arguments and supporting evidence
- Command of Evidence (Textual): Finding which finding supports or weakens a researcher’s claim
- Command of Evidence (Quantitative): Reading bar charts, line graphs, and data tables accurately
Standard English Conventions (Grammar & Punctuation)
Tests core English syntax, sentence boundaries, subject-verb and pronoun agreement, modifier placement, and standard punctuation usage.
- Sentence boundaries: avoiding run-ons, comma splices, and sentence fragments
- Punctuation: semicolons, colons, dashes, apostrophes, and non-essential clauses
- Subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement across intervening prepositional phrases
Expression of Ideas (Transitions & Rhetorical Synthesis)
Evaluates your ability to improve the rhetorical effectiveness of written texts, including selecting logical transition words and synthesizing bulleted student research notes.
- Transitions: Connecting sentences with precise logical relationships (cause/effect, contrast, addition, exemplification)
- Rhetorical Synthesis: Choosing the sentence that best achieves a specific stated research goal based on bulleted notes
Featured Reading & Writing Questions
View All Verbal QuestionsReading & Writing FAQs
How many questions are in the SAT Reading & Writing section?
The Reading & Writing section contains 54 questions divided into two 32-minute modules (27 questions per module).
Are the reading passages long on the Digital SAT?
No! The Digital SAT replaced long 800-word passages with short, bite-sized excerpts (25 to 150 words) accompanied by exactly one question per passage.
How many vocabulary questions appear on the SAT?
Words in Context questions make up roughly 10 to 14 questions across the two modules.