The 5 SAT Sections: What You Need to Know
The SAT has historically been a standard component of the college admissions process.
Every year, the College Board administers seven SATs. Most students take the SAT for the first time during their junior year, sometimes earlier.
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to study for the SAT. In fact, in order to get that high score, you should.
What’s on the SAT? What content do you need to know to succeed on this college entrance exam?
Understanding the answers to these questions should be the first step of your test prep journey.
In this post, we’ll discuss the following:
- What’s on the SAT? The Basics
- SAT Evidence-Based Reading
- SAT Writing & Language
- SAT Math: No-Calculator
- SAT Math: Calculator
- SAT Essay (Optional)
- Next Steps
The 5 SAT Sections: The Basics
There are five sections on the SAT:
- SAT Evidence-Based Reading
- SAT Writing & Language
- SAT Math: No-Calculator
- SAT Math: Calculator
- SAT Essay (optional and to be discontinued after June 2021)
The SAT is a timed test, although testing accommodations are available for select students.
Here’s the timing and question breakdown for each SAT section:
| SAT Section | Time / Questions |
|---|---|
| Evidence-Based Reading | 65 minutes / 52 questions |
| Break | 10 minutes |
| Writing & Language | 35 minutes / 44 questions |
| Math: No Calculator | 25 minutes / 20 questions |
| Break | 5 minutes |
| Math: Calculator | 55 minutes / 38 questions |
| SAT Essay (optional & to be discontinued soon) | 50 minutes / 1 question |
Your total SAT score will consist of a Verbal score (Evidence-Based Reading + Writing & Language) and a Math score (Calculator + No-Calculator).
We discuss this at greater length in our SAT Scoring Guide.
Section 1: SAT Evidence-Based Reading
The Evidence-Based Reading section is the first section of the SAT.
On SAT Evidence-Based Reading, students have 65 minutes to answer 52 questions.
Those 52 questions are associated with 5 passages of varying length. Each passage comes with 9-10 questions.
In general, students can expect to see passages from the following genres:
- Literary narrative (1)
- Science (2)
- History / Social Studies (2)
One of these five passages will be a dual passage. This means that students will actually have to read and compare two shorter passages.
It’s important to note that the literary narrative passage will always come first.
The other passages, however, can take any order.
Question Types
The Evidence-Based Reading section will ask students questions that zero in on the most important aspects of each passage.
Of course, “most important” is a relative phrase! What does “important” mean in the eyes of the College Board?
In general, the most important aspects of each SAT passage will include:
- Main ideas
- Author’s purpose
- Inferences
- Literal comprehension
Students can, accordingly, expect to see the following question types:
| Question Type | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Function / Purpose | 8-12 questions |
| Vocabulary in Context | 6-8 questions |
| Command of Evidence | 8-10 questions |
| Detail | 5-8 questions |
| Charts & Graphs | 2-4 questions |
| Main Idea | 4-6 questions |
| Character Analysis | 2-4 questions |
This means that students should really work to find evidence for every answer they select. Remember that the Reading section of the SAT is called the Evidence-Based Reading section for a reason!
The College Board has even incorporated a question type–Command of Evidence–that reinforces this process:
This also means that there is no outside content knowledge required for this section (unlike Math and Writing & Language). It is purely strategy-based.
We’ve got some great easy tips for getting a perfect score on SAT Reading. You can find those right here.
Section 2: SAT Writing & Language
The Writing & Language section is the second section of the SAT.
On this section, students have 35 minutes to answer 44 questions.
This section consists of four passages of various topics. Unlike the Reading section, however, questions occur throughout each passage, rather than at the end.
Here’s what this looks like:
Question Types
The Writing & Language section does require content knowledge and understanding of effective writing principles.
Students can thus expect half of those 44 questions to concern straight-up grammar and punctuation.
The other half will cover general writing strategies, such as writing effective introductions & conclusions, using appropriate transition words, and analyzing evidence.
| Question Type | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Punctuation | 6-11 questions |
| Expression of Ideas | 20-26 questions |
| Verbs | 3-8 questions |
| Miscellaneous Grammar Topics | 0-5 questions |
| Charts and Graphs | 1-4 questions |
Expression of Ideas questions include all of the following:
- Ordering (sentences within a paragraph)
- Words in Context
- Introductions
- Conclusions
- Evidence/Examples
- Transition Words
- Concise Writing
Punctuation questions often test the effective use of:
- Commas
- Semicolons
- Colons
- Long Dashes
- Apostrophes
- Parentheses (rare)
Miscellaneous grammar topics include:
- Prepositions
- Idioms
- Pronouns
- Modifiers
- Parallelism
What’s the easiest way to tell the difference between an Expression of Ideas and Grammar question on SAT Writing and Language?
In general, most Expression of Ideas questions will have a question in front of them:
Most grammar questions do not have a question in front of them:
Section 3: SAT Math (No Calculator)
There are two math sections on the SAT:
- Section 1: No Calculator Permitted
- Section 2: Calculator Permitted
SAT Math – No-Calculator is shorter, with only 20 questions to be completed in 25 minutes.
The first 15 questions are standard multiple-choice. The final 5 questions, however, are grid-in questions.
For these questions, students must supply their own answers in the provided grid:
Questions on SAT Math always go in order of increasing difficulty. The savvy SAT test taker can use this structure to her advantage, prioritizing those easier (i.e., earlier) questions first!
Yes, you can complete all questions on the No-Calculator section without a calculator–as daunting as that sounds.
What content can you expect to see in this section?
In general, students can expect to see questions from the following four content areas:
| Content Area | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Algebra | 8-10 questions |
| Trigonometry | 0-2 questions |
| Geometry | 2-4 questions |
| Advanced Math | 6-10 questions |
Common algebra topics include:
- Fractions
- Single Equations
- Simplification
- Substitution
- Percentages
- Inequalities
Common geometry questions include:
- Triangles
- Circles
- Volume / Area
“Advanced Math” on the SAT is not necessarily the same as “Advanced Math” in high school.
In fact, the College Board calls these questions “Passport to Advanced Math” questions. Many of these can be classified as advanced algebra questions.
SAT Advanced Math topics include:
- Factoring
- Polynomials
- Systems of Equations
- Translating Words into Math
- Fractions
- Ratios
- Functions
- Substitution
- Imaginary Numbers
- Square Roots
SAT Math: Calculator
The second math section of the SAT is longer. It permits students to use a calculator to complete its 38 questions in 55 minutes.
Just like the No-Calculator Math section, the questions here are arranged in order of increasing difficulty.
The first 30 questions are multiple-choice. Questions 31-38 are grid-in questions.
Content on the Calculator section will be largely similar to what students see on the No-Calculator section. The primary difference lies in how frequently certain content areas are tested.
Check out this chart as an example:
| Content Area | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Geometry | 3-6 questions |
| Data Analysis & Problem Solving | 16-18 questions |
| Algebra | 10-13 questions |
| Advanced Math | 5-8 questions |
Notice how the Calculator section is particularly heavy with respect to data analysis, often in the form of Charts and Graphs questions. It also still contains quite a lot of algebra.
Students rarely encounter extensive geometry or trigonometry questions here. Indeed, many students realize that SAT Math can be pretty wordy, requiring some active translation and complex problem-solving.
This is all part of the College Board’s attempt to give students “real-world math” on the SAT!
Section 5: The Essay (Optional)
The fifth and final section of the SAT is the essay. It is optional, which means that students do not have to take it. After the June 2021 SAT administration, the CollegeBoard will actually be discontinuing this section.
If you do take the SAT essay, your performance will not impact your SAT Verbal score. Your SAT Essay score will appear in a separate section of your score report and stands alone.
In this section, students have 50 minutes to respond to the essay task.
The Essay Task
The SAT Essay task is always the same. The only thing that changes is the author’s name: 
After students read and analyze a passage, they must write a response that discusses how the author formulates a persuasive argument.
Here’s the specific prompt:
We discuss how to maximize your SAT Essay score in a separate post.
Next Steps: The 5 SAT Sections
The SAT is a critical component of the college admissions process. While the content of the 5 SAT Sections discussed in this post may seem familiar to students, it is often tested in unfamiliar ways.
For this reason, preparing for the SAT is vital! It takes time to learn the language of the SAT, and it takes even more time to get closer to that high score.
What can you do to begin your test prep? We strongly recommend signing up for one of our state-of-the-art SAT programs. Working with professionals as you study for the SAT is the surest way to guarantee excellent results.
Learn more about our programs here!
Kate
Kate is a graduate of Princeton University. Over the last decade, Kate has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay.
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