The SAT can seem daunting. That is probably why you are here, reading about it. It is a behemoth of an exam that lasts over three hours and can greatly affect your college applications. But don't worry! With some hard work and the right preparation, an excellent score is always attainable.
While working with a tutor, teacher, or study group is absolutely the best way to prepare, there are still plenty of ways you study on your own for the SAT. Here is a quick study guide for all areas of the exam.
While the SAT has changed somewhat in recent years, one thing remains the same: you will still need to have a strong handle on English to succeed. The first two modules of the Digital SAT will test your Reading and Writing capabilities
The first module you will encounter during the SAT contains 27 Reading and Writing questions. You will have 32 minutes to complete it. Module 1 contains a mixture of easy, medium, and hard questions, covering everything from grammar rules to contextual analysis to structure and organization.
In many ways, Module 2 is identical to Module 1. It also contains 27 Reading and Writing questions, which you will have 32 minutes to complete. The question types are also the same. The only difference between Module 1 and Module 2 is the difficulty of the questions.
While Module 1 is a mixture of easy, medium, and hard, the difficulty of Module 2's questions is determined by how well you did in Module 1. For example, if you scored very high in Module 1, the questions you face in Module 2 will be harder. If you struggle in Module 1, the questions in Module 2 will be easier.
In previous iterations of the SAT, you were required to read lengthy bodies of text and answer a series of questions corresponding to those texts. However, in its current Digital form, the SAT uses much shorter texts—typically only a paragraph or two—for each question. Thus, you will answer question per short text, rather than 10 to 11 questions per long text.
While there is no substitute for studying with a tutor who understands the intricacies of the SAT, there are a few tips and tricks you can utilize to improve your score.