We can all agree there are some frustrating things about multiple choice tests, but let’s leave the doomscrolling for war, famine, climate change, oppression … oh no … I feel the walls of doom closing in. So let’s leave all that behind and focus on the good news!
The SAT doesn’t have to feel as daunting or confusing as it sometimes does to students.
In fact, there are a few simple tips and tricks on the SAT that can help to pretty quickly boost your SAT score, especially in the Writing & Language section. And learning these hacks is useful for a couple of reasons:
The writing section is the most “black and white” portion of your verbal score. Not only that, there are actually NOT THAT MANY grammatical and rhetorical concepts tested. If you MASTER THESE FEW RULES, your verbal score WILL GO UP without all that pesky nuance required to hack the Reading section. This is the math-iest part of the Verbal SAT, so think of these rules like math formulas. Memorization + Application = Success!
The Writing & Language section on the SAT is nearly identical to the English section on the ACT. This is good news for students! If you are still deciding which test to take (or if you’re studying for both!), these HACKS apply to both SAT Writing & Language and ACT English.
HACK #1: OVERALL
KEEP IT SHORT
Friends, I’ll be brief. The SAT likes SHORTER answer choices. Why? Because they hate redundancy and unnecessary wordiness! In fact, they hate unnecessary anything (extra words, unnecessary punctuation etc.), so when in doubt … take it out!
Example:
However, most high schools in the U.S. start by 8:30 or earlier, nearly guaranteeing that the entire student body of a given high school will arrive chronically sleep-deprived in a habitual way.
NO CHANGE
habitually.
Over the long term.
DELETE the underlined portion and end the sentence with a period.
The correct answer here is D. Why? Because I just told ya to keep it short, brah, and what’s shorter than taking out the whole underlined portion?! But also, what does “chronically” mean? Well, it means…”happening repeatedly over time.” What does habitual/habitually/over the long term mean? Same. Exact. Thing.
EXCEPTION: Specific Job
When a question provides a set of answer choices without a question stem, the SAT is almost always asking about grammar. When that’s your job, the “keep it short” rule is your best friend. However, when a question stem asks about something else … something specific, don’t worry about keeping it short. Just do that specific job as, well, specifically as possible.
HACK #2: OVERALL
EQUALLY RIGHT = EQUALLY WRONG!
A multiple choice question can only have ONE CORRECT ANSWER, right? Right! They have to build the test this way, or the test utterly fails. They can’t afford that—people trash talk the SAT enough as it is. It therefore follows that if two (or more) answers are EQUALLY RIGHT, they must be EQUALLY WRONG! In other words, they can’t both be right, so they must be WRONG! This hack is a great way to eliminate multiple answers in one fell swoop, saving you both time and brainpower!
Example:
NO CHANGE
them;
them,
them.
Can you spot the 2 answers that would be equally correct and therefore must both be wrong? If you said B and D, you’re right! If you didn’t know that, check out Hack #4!
EXCEPTION: Nuanced Difference
When you’re asking yourself whether two answer choices would be equally right (and therefore both wrong), you’re really asking, “do these do the exact same thing?” However, sometimes two choices are merely very similar, and that’s not good enough to eliminate them according to Hack #2.
For example, let’s say you’re looking at a diction question with these four answer choices:
Alter
Change
Transform
Eliminate
Which two words really do mean the exact same thing? “Alter” and “change”! Some students might also be tempted to eliminate “transform” for the same reason; however, a more nuanced understanding of the word “transform” reminds us that a transformation is a particular type of change where something becomes something else entirely. For example, I can “change” the oil in my car without “transforming” the oil in my car. Thus, while Hack #2 helps us eliminate answer choices A & B, we could not eliminate C based on the same logic.
HACK #3: GRAMMAR
BANISH “BEING”
Is “being” a word in the English language? Yup. Are there correct ways to use “being” in a sentence? Absolutely. Do “being’s” friends and families love and support “being” no matter what? Let’s hope, because on the SAT … “being” has got to go! If you see this word in an answer choice, the answer choice is virtually guaranteed to be WRONG. Do not stop to say hi. Do not even look it in the eye. Just turn a cold cold shoulder, cross out the answer choice, and walk away.
Example:
NO CHANGE
it is
being
DELETE the underlined portion
HACK #4: GRAMMAR
SEMICOLON = PERIOD. PERIOD.
Just like the “being” hack, no nuance here, and no exceptions. At least on the SAT, the semicolon does ONE thing: punctuate two independent (as in, something that could be its own sentence) clauses. Guess what a period does? THE SAME THING! Why is this useful information?
Now you know what a semicolon does! On the SAT, that’s it, folks! (If you want to learn how you can use semicolons elsewhere, as in not on the SAT, check here.)
This means that a semicolon and a comma are NOT interchangeable. For any comma rule to apply, you need at least one DEPENDENT clause or phrase, and as we just mentioned, you use a semicolon between INDEPENDENT clauses only. Semicolon ain’t got time for any of this codependency nonsense! Semicolon and period will only hang if yo’ sentence can take care of itself!
Remember Hack #2? Well, if you see two answer choices where the only difference is one contains a semicolon and the other a period, they both have to be … you guessed it… WRONG!
HACK #5: GRAMMAR
USE COMMAS (OR DASHES) TO BRACKET OFF “INESSENTIAL INFORMATION”
By “inessential information,” we mean clauses or words that could be removed from the sentence without destroying the integrity of the sentence structure.
Example:
The Statue of Liberty, which sits in New York Harbor, is a cherished symbol of freedom.
— — —
Ben took a trip to New Orleans—the birthplace of jazz—to celebrate his graduation from music school.
Why is becoming a master of these phrases such a great SAT test hack?
You’ll see A LOT of these … like, A LOOOOOOOOT of these, on the test.
As evidenced by the example sentences above, there are two predominant ways (two commas, two dashes) to punctuate these phrases. But NO MIXIE MATCHIES! MIXIE MATCHIES (comma + dash, etc.) are easy indications of WRONG ANSWER CHOICES.
Remember Hack #2! If two answers are equally right, they’re BOTH WRONG! Much as a semicolon = period (for the SAT), two commas punctuating an appositive = two dashes = a set of parentheses. If these are the only differences between two answer choices, they’re both wrongeddy wrong wrong wrong.
EXCEPTION:
DO NOT bracket off information that, if removed, would harm the structural integrity of the sentence. You may see this most often in sentences including proper names.
Example:
Immunologist Anthony Fauci recently retired from his role as head of the federal government’s COVID response taskforce.
It’s tempting to want to put commas around the name Anthony Fauci. Sometimes we think we have to do this … but we don’t! In fact, here we can’t: look what would happen if did! Take it out, and the sentence reads, “Immunologist recently retired from…” Nope. That sentence just lost its subject!
HACK #6: GRAMMAR
CUT OUT THE FAT
This hack is most useful with questions where knowing the subject of the sentence is key. If you’d like to become the All-Powerful (yet benevolent) Monarch of SAT Kingdom, know thy Subjects! Finding the subject is usually pretty easy in a simple sentence, and the SAT is well aware of that. So, to make questions appear more difficult, they add a bunch of extra junk to the sentence to try to hide the subject from your well-trained ears.
The hack here is to “cut out the fat” (i.e. cross out the extra crap), thereby simplifying the sentence and making it once again easy to find the subject. This can be especially helpful in questions relating to A) singular/plural verbs and B) pronouns.
So! What counts as “the fat” in a sentence? The two biggest culprits are A) prepositional phrases and B) “inessential information” bracketed off by commas or dashes (oh heyyyyyyyy! We just learned about those!)
Example:
The number of leeches you say it’ll take to get the “bad blood out of my insides” are beside the point; I am pretty uncomfortable with any leeches on my body as part of a medical treatment.
NO CHANGE
is being
is
was
First of all, what word shall evermore be banished from SAT land?! Being! That eliminates B, but what I really want you to concentrate on here is the phrase “of leeches you say … insides”. That is one long prepositional phrase that, when taken out, makes the correct verb in question much easier to discern. The number … are? Nope! The number … is? Yep!
EXCEPTION: Underlined Portion
You know how sometimes you can’t operate on a piece of the body because it’s impossible to take something out without harming something else? Essentially, if the “fat” you would have crossed out is itself contained in the underlined portion a particular question is asking about, it is no longer extra. Gotta keep it. The question depends on it.
HACK #7: RHETORICAL
WHERE DO MAIN IDEAS GO?
Child: Papa, where do we go when we die?
Papa: Well, my child, no one really knows!
… dad seems unhelpful.
Luckily, we DO know where MAIN IDEAS go in pieces of writing (which is super helpful), which is virtually always at the END OF THE FIRST PARAGRAPH (thesis), the BEGINNING of each body paragraph (topic sentences) and the END OF THE PASSAGE (conclusion)
Child: Uh … yeah, I didn’t really ask about that. That’s way more boring than the thing I wanted to know.
And … scene!
As I collect the many playwriting awards I’ll surely win for this dramatic introduction, you may be thinking, “yeah! I’m with the kid on this one. Why do I care about this?” Well, because the SAT is going to ask you (without telling you directly that’s what they’re asking) to supply three types of sentences in a passage, and they all have to do with MAIN IDEAS.
The secret to answering a question about a main idea sentence can be found in the other main idea sentences already in the passage! You probably know from writing your own academic essays that a thesis sentence states the main idea of a piece of writing and a conclusion RESTATES (and often offers wider meaning or context for) the main idea.
So for any question asking you to provide the THESIS (they will not use this terminology but rather ask you to furnish the last sentence of the introduction paragraph), read and match the CONCLUSION already provided!
If they’re asking you to furnish the conclusion, read and match the THESIS! Another little hack-on-a-hack here is to ask yourself, “where is the first place I get a sense of the main idea of a piece of writing?” That’s right, THE TITLE! Titles won’t tell you as much as a thesis or conclusion (So Moby Dick is about a … oh! A whale? Yeah, that was not gonna be my guess), but they often will give you enough guidance to keep yourself on track.
EXCEPTION: Topic Sentences
Since topic sentences provide the main idea of only the paragraph in which they are contained, you’ll want to look for main idea clues within this paragraph rather than elsewhere in the passage. However, remember that a topic sentence is frequently, at heart, a transition! So it’ll also be useful to read the last sentence of the previous passage and choose an answer that acts as a bridge between main ideas.
HACK #8: RHETORICAL
WHEN MERGING, WATCH YOUR LANE!
What are TRANSITIONS if not the MERGING of two ideas in a sentence (or between sentences)? This HACK deals with the idea that SAT questions about transition words (but, and, therefore, however, for example, etc.) can be broken down by how the two thoughts in question relate to one another, which we will be referring to here as “lanes.” If you know what “lane” you’re in, then you can eliminate all answer choices not in that lane! There are four primary “lanes,” or ways two thoughts can relate. Here they are, followed by some examples of transition words in each lane:
Agreement: And, In addition, For Example, Furthermore, Moreover
Contrast: But, However, Nevertheless, Surprisingly, Despite
Cause/Effect: So, Therefore, Thus, Consequently, Because
Time: Then, Subsequently, First, Next, Finally
NOT ONLY can thinking about the transitional “lane” you’re looking for help you eliminate words not in this lane, but also … it’s baaaaaaaaaaack! That lovely little Hack #2! If two answer choices include words that do the EXACT SAME THING (“therefore” & “thus”, or “furthermore” & “moreover”), they are both WRONG!
Example:
Mill Girls organized strikes in both 1834 and 1836 when management threatened to cut wages; however, their actions were largely unsuccessful.
NO CHANGE
consequently,
finally,
moreover,
The correct answer here is A) NO CHANGE! We want a CONTRAST word here, and the only answer choice that indicates contrast is A: however.
HACK #9: RHETORICAL
NO means NO … if it’s redundant or irrelevant
Remember HACK #1? You do?! Gold star, you! If you need a wee refresher, HACK #1 states that the shorter, simpler, less “extra stuff” answer choices are usually best. This comes in handy in questions that ask whether you should KEEP/DELETE or ADD/DON’T ADD a sentence to the essay.
Obviously, there are times where we DO need to keep and/or add a sentence, but because we know the SAT loves to keep things short & simple, ALWAYS CHECK THE “NO” COLUMN FIRST. This can be especially helpful because there are two (AND ONLY TWO!) correct reasons to delete/not add a sentence: REDUNDANCY and IRRELEVANCE.
Essentially, we don’t need the sentence in question because we A) already know that or B) it’s irrelevant and so we don’t need to know it. Again … NO EXTRA STUFF! Sure, it’s nice that your pets are named Dua Lipa and Doja Cat, but why does that need to be part of this history of the domestication of animals in ancient Egypt? Answer: it doesn’t. (Sorry. That’s super cool though.)
Now, they won’t actually come out and say the words “redundant” or “irrelevant.” As in many parts of the SAT, they much prefer code terms or explanations that it is your job to know mean “redundant” or “irrelevant.”
For example, they may say “repeats information already found earlier in the passage” (code: redundant), or “contains loosely related information that interrupts the discussion of… (code: irrelevant). The better you are spotting language that means “redundant” or “irrelevant,” the better you’ll be at hacking these Yes/No questions.
Actions and Takeaways
To make sure you’ve got these down, look through the list below, and see if you can clearly define for yourself what the hack is and how to use it on the test. If not, scroll back up and reread that section.
HACK #1: KEEP IT SHORT
HACK #2: EQUALLY RIGHT = EQUALLY WRONG!
HACK #3: BANISH “BEING”
HACK #4: SEMICOLON = PERIOD. PERIOD.
HACK #5: USE COMMAS (OR DASHES) TO BRACKET OFF “INESSENTIAL INFORMATION”
HACK #6: CUT OUT THE FAT
HACK #7: WHERE DO MAIN IDEAS GO?
HACK #8: WHEN MERGING, WATCH YOUR LANE!
HACK #9: NO means NO … if it’s redundant or irrelevant
Once you’ve got these down, you’ll have a much easier time on the SAT. They may not help you with the doomscrolling though. (But please stop. Your mind will thank you.)
Special thanks to Martha for writing this post
Martha (she/her) is a teacher and performer from Los Angeles, California. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is currently working towards an MA in Psychology from the University of the West. Martha has been tutoring since 2005, focusing on the SAT, ACT, U.S. History, and all things Language Arts. She is also an actor, director, and teaching artist with The Story Pirates, facilitating creative writing workshops all over Los Angeles and helping to adapt kids’ work for stage, screen, and podcast. When not working with students, you can hear Martha’s voice in video games such as God of War and Saints Row as well as animated programs such as the upcoming Transformers: Earthspark on Nickelodeon.
