23 SAT Tips and Tricks Your Students Can Use

Overall SAT Study Tips

Tip 1: Eliminate 3 Wrong Answers

The most important rule to remember for the SAT is that there is only one correct answer for each question, and you should be able to eliminate all the others. This means that your number one strategy on the test is process of elimination. If you’re struggling with a question, try to find reasons to rule out most of the answers rather than reasons why certain options could work.

Learn to be extremely picky about which answers to eliminate. This especially applies to the Reading and Writing sections. If a question seems subjective, keep reminding yourself that it’s an illusion. All incorrect choices are incorrect for good reasons, and it’s your job to find those reasons until you narrow your answers down to one possibility.

Tip 2: Always Understand Your Mistakes

This is vital if you want to see dramatic improvements. If you take the time to understand each mistake you make on practice questions, why you made it, and what you will do to avoid it in the future, you’re virtually guaranteed a good score on the test.

Mistakes usually fall into one of four categories:

#1: Content weakness
#2: Time pressure
#3: Question comprehension issue
#4: Careless error

After you finish a practice test, catalog all the questions you answer incorrectly so you can work on detecting error patterns. Did you consistently answer a particular type of math question wrong (content weakness)? Did you keep missing the words “except” or “least” (careless error) in questions? Did you consistently miss questions at the end of sections (time pressure)?

Whatever your issues, you have to understand them completely so you can fix the problems you’re having and see positive changes in your scores!

SAT Reading Tips

Tip 3: Pay Attention to Connotation and Context

This tip is critical for answering tough questions in the Reading section. Look for words that indicate positive or negative connotation in the part of the passage that the question references. This can help you to eliminate at least a couple of choices even if you have no idea which of the remaining choices is correct.

Context is also very important! Don’t just look at the exact line that is referenced in the question—look at the sentences around it too. Look for contrast words such as “however”, “rather than” or “still”. You should also pay attention to strong adjectives that might help you to determine connotation.

Positive or negative connotation—you decide. Also to whoever made this image: I think we know what thumbs up and thumbs down mean. The faces are overkill.

Tip 4: Use Find the Evidence Questions to Your Advantage

The new SAT has questions that ask you to choose an excerpt from the passage that serves as the best evidence for your answer to the previous question. These new questions can help you tremendously in identifying mistakes and clearing up ambiguities.

For example, say you’ve picked out two answers that you think could be correct for a reading question. If the next question asks you to identify the best evidence for your answer, you can read through all the options the find-the-evidence question gives you and see which choice most directly connects to one of your two potential responses for the previous question. In almost every case, it will become abundantly clear which of the two choices is correct because only that one will have a corresponding tidbit of direct evidence tucked away in one of the answer choices for the find the evidence question.

Tip 5: Read Passages Strategically

Try to nail down a good passage reading strategy for the SAT before test day. This will save you time and stress later. There are a few methods you might use depending on how comfortable you are with the test and where you are in your reading comprehension skills.

Method 1: Skim the Passage First

This is the method I would be most inclined to recommend. You can get a sense of the main ideas of the passage without wasting too much time reading it closely. To skim effectively, just read the introductory paragraph, conclusion paragraph, and first and last sentences of each body paragraph.

Answer main idea questions first while the overall point of the passage is still fresh in your mind. Then you can read specific sections of the passage more closely as needed to answer questions about smaller details.

Method 2: Skip Straight to the Questions

Because the SAT gives you line numbers for questions on the Reading section, skipping the passage altogether can be an effective initial strategy. If you do this, you should answer questions about small details in the passage first, so you end up reading a bit of the passage while answering questions. Then, when you move on to main idea questions later, you’ll already have a solid sense of the message of the passage as a whole.

Method 3: Read the Passage in Full

If you’re both a quick and thorough reader, you might be able to pull this off without any problems. Just make sure it’s not slowing you down. There’s more material to read on the new SAT, so this strategy might be less feasible than it was in the past.

If you’re reading this way and find you can save a few minutes (and not lose any points) by using one of the other methods, then you should do that instead. It’s always better to have extra time at the end so you can double-check your answers!

Tip 6: Don’t Ignore Passage Introductions

At the beginning of every passage on the SAT, there is a little italicized blurb giving you a bit of context about the passage and its author. This introductory blurb contains valuable information, and if you skip it, you could miss out on easy points. 

At the very least, passage introductions give you context for what you’re about to read so you aren’t too confused about who’s who or where the passage is set. Even if your method of attack for SAT passages is to skip straight to the questions, you should still make a point of reading the italicized intro before you do anything else. 

Tip 7: Get Interested in the Passages

If you want to retain information as you’re reading passages on the SAT, the best way to do it is to force yourself to engage with the material. Treat this as a learning experience, not a chore, and you’ll find it much easier to remember what happened in the passage. If your brain is in “wow, interesting” mode rather than “blah, blah, just have to get to the questions” mode, you’ll have a more pleasant experience on the test and a better time answering the questions overall.

Tip 8: Look for Direct Evidence

Though questions on SAT reading may sometimes seem subjective, the reality is that you should always be able to find direct evidence in the passage or chart you are referencing to support your answers.

Even inference questions, which ask you to look beyond the literal facts in the passage, will be backed up by logical deductions that can be made from the evidence that is presented. For inference questiosn especially, you might end up looking beyond the sentence referenced in the question to find the evidence you need. But the evidence is always in there somewhere!

If you’re thinking about choosing an answer that seems like it could be correct, but you can’t find any evidence for it, hold off. Any answer that can’t be backed up by specific information in the passage has to be incorrect.

SAT Math Tips

Tip 9: Focus on Filling Content Gaps First

If you have problems with basic math skills, it doesn’t matter how many practice SAT questions you do—you’re going to have to fix those knowlege gaps before you can improve your SAT Math score.

If you notice you’re missing practice SAT Math questions because you are uncomfortable in a certain content area, work on your content weaknesses before you do anything else. This is the fastest way to improve your scores dramatically. You can go from here to fix other types of mistakes that are more surface-level (such as reading questions wrong or basic carelessness).

Tip 10: Re-Solve Questions You Missed Before Looking at the Answer Explanations

This is the best way to make sure you truly understand how to solve questions you initially messed up on the Math section. It’s one thing to read the answer explanation and say “oh, of course, that’s how you solve it,” but it’s a completely different matter to work out the problem yourself.

The process will stick in your mind much better if you go through it, rather than if you just read about it. Look at what the correct answer choice should be and try to get there yourself before you read the explanation.

Tip 11: Underline Key Parts of the Question

You should use this tip on the math section if you’ve been missing questions by accidentally solving for the wrong value. Underline what you need to find in the question so you don’t get confused during the calculation process.

Sometimes math questions ask you to solve for a value that necessitates solving for something else along the way. That something else will often be one of the incorrect answer choices (though this sort of tricky incorrect answer choice is less likely to show up on the new SAT). Many students accidentally pick the trick answer choice because they lose track of the value that they were originally supposed to find. You can avoid this by underlining relevant parts of the question to maintain your focus.

Tip 12: Memorize Formulas

Although the SAT math section does provide you with a list of formulas, you’ll lose time and momentum by constantly turning back to reference them. It’s best to have all the formulas memorized beforehand. Check out our article on the formulas you need to know for the SAT Math section to make sure you’re prepared.

SAT Writing Tips

Tip 13: Memorize Grammar Rules

The SAT Writing section has a specific standardized approach to grammar, so it’s useful to memorize the rules to reduce confusion. Even if you think you’re pretty good at grammar, it’s not always enough to just go by what “looks right” to you.

If you’re not used to some of the more archaic grammar rules tested on the SAT, you should memorize them. This will prevent you from accidentally choosing NO CHANGE for phrases that have errors according to the SAT’s formal grammar guidelines. Check out this article for a review of all the grammar rules you’ll see on the SAT!

Tip 14: Be Careful with NO CHANGE Answers

If you notice that you’re answering NO CHANGE for lots questions on the Writing section, you should go back and double-check your answers. NO CHANGE will only be the answer for 25 percent or less of the questions where it’s an option. If you’re choosing it more than that, you might be missing something. Be sure to verify it again before you commit.

On the flip side, you also shouldn’t be overly worried about choosing NO CHANGE. It will inevitably be the correct answer a few times, so don’t get too caught up in second-guessing yourself.

Tip 15: Skim the Paragraph Before Answering Rhetoric Questions

Unlike grammar questions, which only require reading through a couple of sentences at most to answer correctly, rhetoric questions challenge you to examine entire paragraphs or the passage as a whole to find the right answer. Examples of rhetoric questions are questions about sentence function, the logical sequences of sentences, and the author’s style and tone.

The SAT mostly sticks to asking Writing questions chronologically, so you’ll likely find yourself answering several grammar questions about specific sentences, followed by a couple of rhetoric questions that relate to the paragraph as a whole.

Don’t be lulled into complacency and think you can answer rhetoric questions just by reading through the specific sentence the question asks about and using vague memories of the content of the other sentences you just answered grammar questions on. Instead, skim through the paragraph as a whole and then attempt the rhetoric question.

Tip 16: If Both Answers Are Grammatically Correct, Pick the More Concise One

One of the skills SAT Writing tests is conciseness, or the use of as few words as necessary to convey meaning clearly. Being able to answer concision questions correctly requires knowing not just what the grammatically correct choice is, but which is the best grammatically correct choice.

This might be daunting, especially if you’re not a native English speaker, so we recommend following this tip: if both answers are grammatically correct, choose the most concise one. Here’s an example of a real SAT question with multiple grammatically correct answer choices:

One of the artist’s most famous images showed Tweed with a bag of money in place of his head.

A) NO CHANGE
B) famous and well-known
C) famous and commonly known
D) famous, commonly known

Answer choices A), B), and C) are all grammatically correct replacements for “famous” in the question sentence. So which one is correct? By following the rule of choosing the most concise answer, we can rule out B) and C) to arrive at the correct answer, A).

Note that the correct concise answer isn’t always going to be the shortest (even though it was in this case); it’s the shortest answer that preserves the meaning of the original sentence. In this case, “famous and well-known” and “famous and commonly-known” are both wordier and redundant ways of saying “famous,” so there’s no reason to change the sentence.

SAT Essay Tips

Tip 17: Analyze, Then Write

Essay prompts on the new SAT ask you to analyze an argument presented in a passage. The graders want to see that you fully grasp the author’s point and can write a clear explanation of how he or she builds the argument. You have fifty minutes for the essay, and you should spend a good 10-15 minutes making sure you understand exactly what the author is saying and how you’ll outline your essay based on your analysis.

Tip 18: Use Specific Evidence

Don’t just describe how the author builds the argument in your own words; prove your points with specific examples. When you’re first reading through the passage, underline sentences or phrases that provide evidence of the author’s persuasive techniques. Direct quotes should be used in your essay to reinforce the most important points.

SAT Test Day Tips

Tip 19: Get Ready the Night Before

On the morning of the test, you’ll inevitably be nervous. There’s a lot of stuff you need to bring to the SAT, and you don’t want to forget something at the last minute while you’re distracted by your nerves.

Here’s a checklist to ensure that this doesn’t happen:

• Admission ticket
• Photo ID
• #2 pencils and eraser
• Calculator

We also recommend that you bring snacks and water as well as a watch to monitor your pacing. Just put everything in your bag the day before. Don’t procrastinate!

Tip 20: Skip Difficult Questions

This is a key tip if you struggle with time pressure on the SAT. If you’re having trouble with a question, skip it and move on before you waste too much time. Lingering on hard questions could cost you easy points if it means you’re not getting to questions later in the section.

• For the Math and Reading sections, don’t spend more than a minute trying to figure out each question.
• For the Writing section, don’t spend more than 30 seconds.

Circle any questions that you skip so that they’re easier for you to pick out when you go back through the section. You might find that after you’ve answered the rest of the questions, you’ll feel less pressure and be able to think more clearly on questions that initially stumped you.

If you still can’t figure out the answer, take a guess! The new SAT has no guessing penalty, so it’s always better to guess than to leave a question blank.

Tip 21: Bubble at the End

A good way to save a few minutes of time is to fill in all your answers at the end of the section. Circle your choices in your test booklet as you go along, then go back and bubble them in when you’re done with the section. With this tip, you’ll avoid going back and forth between your test booklet and answer sheet, which is not very efficient and adds a few seconds to your time for each question.

Make sure you only use this strategy if you already know you’re capable of finishing the section with at least 3-5 minutes to spare! It would be terrible to answer all the questions in your booklet and not have time to fill in your choices on the answer sheet.

Tip 22: Double-Check Your Answers

While it’s tempting to take a rest if you have extra time at the end of an SAT section, you should always double-check your answers first. When you initially make your way through each section, circle questions that you’re unsure about so you can double-check strategically.

If you have lots of extra time, you might even go through and check every single one of your answers. This way you’ll pick up on any careless mistakes you might have made if you were rushing or missed a key word in a question.

Tip 23: Stay Calm

Above all, keep a cool head on the test. If you see a question you don’t understand, don’t let it psych you out. Just keep going. You might need to skip some questions at first, and that’s ok. Though there is a lot of pressure to finish each section on time, there’s nothing wrong with doing the questions out of order. Look at each section with fresh eyes, and try not to dwell on what you might have gotten wrong earlier in the test.

With these tips, you should be able to improve your performance on the SAT significantly. You should also pay attention to more in-depth strategies in your studying so that you can improve your content knowledge and feel more confident on the test!

Samantha Lindsay is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5’s on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar