SAT Reading and Writing topics: the four domains, question types and weights

Questions come from four content domains and appear in the same order in every module: Craft and Structure first, then Information and Ideas, then Standard English Conventions, and Expression of Ideas last. Because the order is fixed, knowing which question type comes when makes time management easier. The weights below are the ranges published by the College Board.

• Words in Context: choosing the word that fits a blank or the meaning of an underlined word in context. A logic-of-the-sentence question, not a vocabulary quiz.
• Text Structure and Purpose: the overall purpose of a passage, the function of a sentence within it, the structure the author uses.
• Cross-Text Connections: how the author of one short passage would respond to the other.

This is where vocabulary touches the score most; the words tested are academic-text words ("undermine", "corroborate", "tenuous"), not everyday English.

• Central Ideas and Details: main-idea questions and details stated explicitly in the passage.
• Command of Evidence (Textual): choosing the quotation that best supports or weakens a given claim.
• Command of Evidence (Quantitative): completing a claim with data from a table or graph.
• Inferences: choosing the conclusion the passage logically supports.

These are "evidence-based" questions: the right answer is always in the passage or on the graph. The most common reason students plateau at 600–650 is trying to answer them from general knowledge or intuition.

• Boundaries: periods, commas, semicolons, colons, dashes; run-on and fragment errors.
• Form, Structure and Sense: subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, verb tenses, adjective vs adverb, parallel structure, modifier placement.

Grammar is the most "teachable" part of SAT English: the rule set is small (about 15 rule patterns) and the right answer is usually the shortest, cleanest option. It is the fastest source of points in a short prep window.

• Transitions: choosing the connector that matches the logical relationship between two sentences (however, therefore, for example, in contrast).
• Rhetorical Synthesis: building the sentence that best serves a stated goal (compare, emphasise, summarise) from a list of notes.

These are the last questions of each module, right when time pressure peaks. In Rhetorical Synthesis, reading the goal in the question stem before the notes cuts the time in half.

In lessons we personalise this order from the level assessment: a student who is already solid on grammar starts straight at evidence questions. Vocabulary is built from the passages you solve and their context sentences, not from memorised lists; 30–40 academic words a week is enough.

• Going to the options before reading: passages are short; read the question stem first, then the passage, then the options.
• Picking the option that "sounds right": distractors reuse words from the passage but change the claim; the right answer matches the passage exactly.
• Trusting your ear on grammar: for Turkish-speaking students comma and semicolon errors are the most common loss; the rules must be learned.
• Memorising word lists: the meaning tested depends on context; list learners lose most points in Words in Context.
• Getting stuck in module 1: module 2 difficulty depends on module 1; past 90 seconds on a question, mark it and move on.