The document provides an overview of the SAT exam, including what it tests, how it is scored, and tips for taking the exam. It notes that the SAT assesses reading, writing and math skills to predict college performance. It consists of multiple choice sections testing these areas, along with an optional essay. Scores range from 400-1600, with subscores of 200-800 for reading/writing and math. The document emphasizes that there is no penalty for wrong answers, so test-takers should guess on all questions if unsure of the answer. It debunks common misconceptions about guessing and advises answering every question.

1. The SAT . . ?
Review

2. Introduction
The SAT Tests is a suite of tools
designed to assess academic readiness
for college/ University.
This exam provides opportunities,
financial support and scholarships, in a
way that's fair to all students at
national and international level.

3. What Does the
SAT Test?
Just because the SAT features math, reading,
and writing questions doesn’t mean that it
reflects what you learned in school or college.
The test-writers claim that the test predicts
how well you will do in college/university by
measuring “reasoning ability,” but all the
SAT really measures is how well you take the
SAT. It does not reveal how smart—or how
good—a person you are.

4. Even though colleges and universities make wide
use of the SAT, they’re not the ones who write the
test. That’s the job of the College/University
Board, the organization that creates the tests and
decides how they will be administered and used.
The important takeaway here is that the people
who write the SAT are professional test-writers,
and, with some practice, it’s possible to beat them
at their own game, if one understands it properly.
Who write the SAT?

5. The SAT is 3 hours long, or 3 hours and 50
minutes long if you choose to take the
optional 50 minutes essay.
Note that while the essay is optional for
some colleges, many schools do require it.
Be sure to research the colleges/
universities you’re interested in to find out
if they require the essay.
What’s on the SAT . . ?

6. The SAT consists of the following:
• Multiple-choice Reading Test
(52 questions, 65 minutes)
• Multiple-choice Writing and Language Test
(44 questions, 35 minutes)
• Math Test, consisting of a No Calculator section
(20 questions, 25 minutes) and a Calculator section (38 questions, 55
minutes)
• The optional essay (50 minutes)

7. The Reading Test is 65 minutes long and consists of 52
questions, all of which are passage based and multiple choice.
Passages may be paired with informational graphics, such as
charts or graphs, and there will be a series of questions based on
a pair of passages. The selected passages will be from previously
published works in the areas of world literature, history/social
studies, and science. Questions based on science passages may
ask you to analyze data or hypotheses, while questions on
literature passages will focus more on literary concepts like
theme, mood, and characterization. The main goal of the
Reading Test is to measure your ability to understand words in
context as well as find and analyze evidence.
Reading Test

8. The Writing and Language Test is 35 minutes long and
consists of 44 questions, which are also multiple choice
and based on passages. However, instead of asking you
to analyze a passage, questions will require you to
proofread and edit the passage. This means you will
have to correct grammar and word choice, as well as
make larger changes to the organization or content of
the passage.
Writing and Language Test

9. The essay requires you to read a short passage and explain
how the author builds his or her argument. The test writers
want to see how you comprehend a text and demonstrate
that understanding in writing, using evidence from the
passage.
Optional Essay

10. The essay requires you to read a short passage
and explain how the author builds his or her
argument. The test writers want to see how
you comprehend a text and demonstrate that
understanding in writing, using evidence from
the passage.
Optional Essay

11. ● Total Score (1): The sum of the two
section scores (Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing, Math), ranging
from 400 to 1600
● Section Scores (2): Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing, ranging from
200 to 800; Math, also ranging from
200 to 800
Scoring on the SAT

12. You will NOT be penalized on the
SAT for any wrong answers. This
means you should always guess,
even if this means choosing an
answer at random.
No Wrong-Answer Penalty!

13. All but a handful of the questions on the
SAT are multiple-choice questions, and
every multiple-choice question has four
answer choices. One of those choices, and
only one, will be the correct answer to the
question. You don’t have to come up with
the answer from scratch. You just have to
identify it.
You Already Know Almost All of the Answers

14. Why? Because wrong answers are usually
easier to find than the right ones. After all,
there are more of them! You didn’t know
the right answer but you can assume the
right answer by eliminating the three
obviously incorrect choices.
In other words, you used Process of
Elimination, which we’ll call POE for short.
Look for the Wrong Answers Instead of the
Right Ones

15. What good is it to eliminate just one or two
choices on a four-choice SAT question?
Here’s an example:
What is the capital of Qatar?
● A) Paris
● B) Dukhan
● C) Tokyo
● D) Doha
Process of Elimination (POE)

16. There is no guessing penalty on
the SAT, so you should bubble
something for every question. If
you get down to two answers,
just pick one of them. There’s no
harm in doing so.
Close Your Eyes and Point

17. You’re going to hear a lot of
mixed opinions about what you
should bubble or whether you
should bubble at all. Let’s clear
up a few misconceptions about
guessing.

18. FALSE:
Don’t answer a question
unless you’re absolutely sure
of the answer.

19. You will almost certainly have
teachers and guidance counselors
who tell you this. Don’t listen to
them! The SAT does not penalize
you for wrong answers (though it
used to). Put something down for
every question: you might get a
freebie.

20. FALSE:
If you have to guess, guess
(C).

21. This is a weird misconception, and
obviously it’s not true. Each answer
choice appears roughly equally on
the SAT (we’ve checked!). As a
general rule, if someone says
something really weird-sounding
about the SAT, it’s usually safest
not to believe that person.

22. FALSE:
Always pick the [fill in the
blank].

23. Be careful with directives
that tell you that this or that
answer or type of answer is
always right. It’s much safer
to learn the rules and to have
a solid guessing strategy in
place.

24. As far as guessing is
concerned, we do have a
small piece of advice. First
and foremost, make sure of
one thing:

25. Answer every
question on the
SAT. There’s no
penalty.

26. Thanks!