SAT
study guide
Every chapter of the course summarized, with each section linked to its lesson.
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This free SAT study guide summarizes both chapters of Achievable's SAT course: what each covers, the points to remember, and its 45 sections in order. Read each chapter after you study it, or work through the whole guide before exam day.
Each section links to its full lesson in Achievable, with the review quizzes and full-length practice exams.
Chapter 1: SAT Reading and Writing
20 sections
- Section structure: SAT Reading/Writing has two sections (modules), each with 27 questions, and the second section is adaptive and harder if you do well.
- Content areas: The four major content areas are Craft and Structure, Information and Ideas, Standard English Conventions, and Expression of Ideas.
- Question sequence: The test starts with 4-8 vocabulary fill-in-the-blank questions, then 8-12 passage-based questions, 5-7 grammar questions, 2-3 transition questions, and 2-3 summary passages.
- Grammar foundation: Sentence structure questions depend on SVO, every sentence must have a finite verb, and independent clauses need strong punctuation.
- Clause and punctuation rules: Dependent clauses cannot stand alone, the Clause Test decides punctuation, and the Handlebar Rule says never interrupt SVO with a single punctuation mark.
- Agreement and possession: Subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, verb tense, modifiers, and apostrophes each follow fixed rules about number, context, placement, and possession.
- QUICKER method: Read the question first, understand the question type, identify the kind of information, use context, knock out wrong answers, examine the preferred answer, and review in original context.
- Reading and writing tasks: Words in Context, Main Idea, Inference, Strengthen, Detail, Illustration, Data, Transition, and Rhetorical Synthesis questions all require matching the answer to context, tone, and logical relationships.
In this chapter
- Intro to SAT Reading/WritingFree
- SAT Reading/Writing Strategies
- Standard English Conventions
- Craft and Structure
- Information and Ideas
- Expression of Ideas
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Chapter 2: SAT Math
25 sections
- Section structure: SAT Math has two modules, each with 22 questions, and the second module’s difficulty adapts to first module performance.
- Difficulty progression: Questions generally get harder as the section progresses, so early easy questions are likely truly easy while late easy questions may be traps.
- Content weighting: Algebra and Advanced Math are each 35%, Geometry is 15%, and Problem-Solving and Data is 15%.
- Study habits: Complete end-of-lesson quizzes for mastery, adjust practice difficulty as needed, and use the course flexibly to fit personal needs.
- UnCLES method: Understand, Clarify, Look, Establish, and Solve is a five-step process for standardized test problems.
- Formula sheet: The SAT reference sheet provides circle and triangle formulas, Pythagorean theorem, special right triangles, and selected volume formulas, but you must memorize other formulas.
- Algebra skills: Use inverse operations and reverse PEMDAS to isolate variables, and remember that “in terms of” means isolate the target variable using only the other specified variables.
- Math tools and models: Desmos is built in for every Math question, and SAT math also emphasizes functions, quadratics, exponent rules, geometry, rates, percents, and data interpretation.
In this chapter
- Intro to SAT Math
- SAT Math Tools and Strategies
- SAT Algebra
- SAT Geometry
- SAT Advanced Math
- SAT Problem Solving and Data
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SAT exam at a glance
- Questions
- 98 questions
- Time
- 2 hours and 14 minutes
- Exam fee
- $68
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