SAT Prep – Craft + Structure

SAT Reading and Writing Section Basics

The digital SAT is composed of two sections: Reading and Writing, and Math. For the Reading and Writing section, students have 64 minutes to complete 54 questions. Given the computer adaptive nature of the digital SAT, the Reading and Writing section is broken into two modules. Each module contains 27 questions for which students are given 32 minutes to complete. The first module features a mixture of easy, medium, and difficult questions. The mixture of questions presented in the second module depends on the student’s performance across the first module. If the student performed well on the first module, the second module will feature more challenging questions. If the student did not perform well on the first module, the second module features less challenging questions. 

The Reading and Writing section is based on a series of reading passages that students are asked to revise by answering multiple-choice questions, requiring them to identify mistakes and weaknesses in order to correct them. The SAT no longer requires students to write an essay, as both reading and writing skills are assessed through the presented passages and associated questions. Each passage is roughly 25-150 words in length, and test-takers are asked only one question per passage. Passage subjects include career issues, humanities, history/social studies, and science, and test-takers can expect to encounter at least one passage dedicated to each area. Some passages also include informational graphics such as charts, tables, and graphs.

According to the College Board, questions on the Reading and Writing section of the SAT can be broken down into four broad content domains or categories:

1. Craft and Structure
2. Information and Ideas
3. Standard English Conventions
4. Expression of Ideas 

We examine Craft and Structure questions below.

Craft and Structure Content Domain

Craft and Structure questions require a student to use comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, synthesis, and reasoning skills to determine the meaning of academic words and phrases in context, as well as to evaluate texts rhetorically and establish connections between multiple texts that are topically related. These questions account for approximately 28% of all Reading and Writing section questions, and the College Board lists three specific subskills tested by these questions:

1. Words in Context
2. Text Structure and Purpose
3. Cross-Text Connections

Words in Context Questions

With Words in Context Questions, students must determine the meaning of a word using only the clues presented in the text. The correct answer will fit seamlessly into the sentence while at the same time reinforcing the overall meaning of the passage. These questions will appear similar to the following:

While many people believed the invention of social media would improve overall individuals’ quality of life through reducing feelings of loneliness, inferiority, and depression, the widespread adoption of digital social networks has instead _____ the problem.

Q: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) improved

B) exacerbated

C) alleviated

d) assuaged 

The correct answer is B, exacerbated, which means “to make worse or more severe.” These types of questions are obviously easier when a student has a broad and rich vocabulary, allowing them to know the definitions of all or most of the provided answer options. However, even without knowing the definitions of all the given words, it is still possible to do well on these questions by utilizing the process of elimination and removing the answer options that clearly do not work. Identifying words such as “instead,” “rather than,” “otherwise,” etc., can also help determine the correct answer, as these words indicate whether the correct answer supports or disagrees with text presented up to a certain point in the passage.

Text Structure and Purpose Questions

With Text Structure and Purpose questions, students must analyze how an author organized the information presented in a passage, as well as why they chose to utilize a particular structure to achieve their purpose. Test-takers may also be asked to identify the main purpose or central idea, of the passage. 

Structure-related questions focus on how a passage is organized, how the text flows from one idea to the next, and where the author chooses to place special emphasis. Picking apart a text’s structure from its content can be challenging but considering how the ideas that are presented relate to one another can be helpful. Do the ideas agree or disagree? Does one idea build on, strengthen, or cause another? These are the kinds of relationships that create the shape, or structure, of the text in the way the author feels best achieves their writing goals. Structure-related questions will be similar to the following:

The following text is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 poem “Ozymandias.”

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The long and level sands stretch far away.

Q: Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) The speaker describes impressive accomplishments, then argues that nature cannot be controlled.

B) The speaker describes impressive accomplishments, then highlights the transient nature of power.

C) The speaker describes meeting someone who has witnessed incredible sights and has changed their life as a result of their experiences.

D) The speaker describes the incredible achievements of a king and celebrates the lasting nature of power.

The correct answer is B, as the purpose of the poem is to demonstrate the hubris associated with power and to demonstrate the temporary, or transient, nature of human accomplishments.

Purpose-related questions focus on why the author wrote the passage, in addition to what they hope to accomplish through the text and the point they’re trying to convey. The purpose of a passage may be to explain, to illustrate, to criticize, to argue, or to introduce. The passage author wants you to undergo a certain experience while reading their writing, so pay attention to what jumps out at you in the passage, as what seems important is often related to the text’s purpose. Purpose-related questions will be similar to the following:

In William Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It,” the famous opening line reads: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” 

Q: What is the purpose of this opening line?

A) To demonstrate Shakespeare’s high regard for actors and performers.

B) To make the point that people are never sincere and are always merely acting. 

C) To make the point through use of a metaphor that life is a performance where people play various roles. 

D) To convey Shakespeare’s belief that life is silly and of as little consequence as a theater production.

The correct answer is C, as the author compares human life to a play with men and women assuming predetermined parts, or roles. 

Cross-Text Connections Questions

With Cross-Text Connections questions, students are asked to compare and contrast two passages containing information about a similar topic, in addition to identifying where the passage authors maintain similar or different points of view. With these types of questions, test-takers will be given two short passages to read. They will then be asked to compare the points of view taken by the authors of the texts. These types of questions will be similar to the following:

Text 1: Some theorists argue that pollution can best be reduced by changes made at the level of the government. Laws and regulations force people to change their behavior and therefore they are the fastest methods for changing the practices of both companies and individuals. 

Text 2: Scientists have discovered that the more an individual believes his or her actions affect the planet, the more steps he or she will take to reduce pollution, such as choosing biking over driving a car. Since these individuals will take active steps to avoid products known to cause pollution, changing personal beliefs is an important way to reduce pollution.

Q: How would the scientists in Text 2 describe the view of the theorists in Text 1?

A) Their views are entirely correct.

B) Their views are entirely wrong.

C) Their views are mostly correct, but their solution is not the only solution to the problem of pollution.

D) Their views are mostly correct, but their solution is not feasible.

The correct answer is C, as the scientists would agree with the theorists that pollution is a problem in need of solving, and since they do not state that individual responsibility is the “only” way to solve the problem of pollution, they would likely support all efforts to reduce pollution, including changes made by governments to laws and regulations.

SAT Reading and Writing Section Scoring

In an effort to streamline SAT scoring and make it more accessible to both students and parents, test-takers now receive a total of three scores when taking the exam:

1. SAT Total Score
2. Reading and Writing Section Score
3. Math Section Score

The SAT Total Score falls on a scale between 400-1600 points. The SAT Reading and Writing section is scored on a scale of 200-800 points, with higher value scores being the most desirable. While previous versions of the SAT provided various reading and writing subscores, that is no longer the case. 

Purpose of the SAT Reading and Writing Section

The 2026 SAT Reading and Writing questions are intended to mimic the editing process that students will face in their college-level writing assignments. All of the test questions are based on the reading passages, which means successful performance is not dependent on rote memorization, a criticism of past versions of the SAT that has led to significant revisions. Reading and Writing questions require students to make choices that improve passages' writing quality through such tasks as clarifying ideas, creating more logical sequences of information, using more precise words, and correcting grammar and punctuation. Passages that feature informational graphics ask students to use this material to detect errors and improve factual accuracy and clarity.

Types of Questions and Answers on the SAT Reading and Writing Section

All Reading and Writing questions are multiple choice, and each question includes four possible answers. Answer choices for many questions vary in their degree of plausibility, but test-takers can expect to encounter many choices that are highly similar to one another (for example, three possible answers that differ only in the placement of the comma). Some questions include an option to leave the word, phrase, or passage excerpt unchanged. Some questions ask whether or not a certain sentence should be deleted due to factors such as repetition of ideas or the clouding of a main point. Other questions ask about the most logical placement of additional supporting information, or which particular wording of an idea is most effective. Students will also find questions that require them to combine sentences in the most effective manner, unify passages with final restatements of primary claims, provide more supporting evidence, and conform to certain stylistic patterns in terms of sentence structure or rhetorical technique.

Preparing for the SAT Reading and Writing Questions

The best way to prepare for the Reading and Writing section of the SAT is to for students to take practice tests to familiarize themselves with the different types of questions. This type of preparation will likely yield the greatest results when done under the guidance of a test prep professional, whether through group courses or a one-on-one private tutoring program. The faster a test-taker can recognize the type of question they are being asked, the faster they can employ the most effective strategy to solve the problem and reach the correct answer.