SAT 101 Chapter 2 - Structure
This is probably the most boring part of the course, but try to bear with me. If you are already familiar with SAT structure, feel free to skip this chapter, but it’s still good review. It’s so boring, in fact, that I couldn’t even come up with a meme for it. If you can think of a good one, send it to me at memes@fuckthesat.com and I’ll put it on this page and credit you!
Note to Nerds
If you've read any other prep material or taken SAT classes before, you might've seen that they go in depth on how the SAT is scored. I have no idea why they waste time on that - it's literally useless knowledge to a test taker. They probably just think more pages equals better test prep. Idiots. All you need to know is that the SAT is scored out of 1600, half of it math and the other half reading + writing.
Overall Scoring
As you probably know, the SAT is scored out of 1600. This is split into two halves, the reading-writing section and the math section. Both are worth up to 800 points each, and added together form your overall score.
What score you want depends on many factors – what college you are trying to get into, the strength of the other parts of your application (GPA and extracurriculars), and whether or not you are going for scholarships.
Many people recommend setting specific scores as a goal, but I don’t find that particularly necessary. Don’t get me wrong – it definitely doesn’t hurt – but focusing too much on the final score can be counterproductive. I recommend just focusing on improving and letting the score improvements come naturally.
The Sections
Section 1: Reading and Writing
This section contributes half of your overall score, and is worth up to 800 points. Reading is 400 and Writing is 400.
| Section | Passages | Questions | Time Limit | Time/Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 5 | 52 | 65 min | 10-11 min |
| Writing | 4 | 44 | 35 min | 8-9 min |
Incredibly Helpful Information
While technically this is one "section" of the SAT, it's really two different sections worth 400 points each. Together, they make up half of your score. But as long as you can speak English at a 3rd grade level and you read my guides, you should be fine.
Section 2: Mathematical Mathematics
This is the other half of your overall score, also worth up to 800 points. Yay! We are having so much fun!!
| Section | Multiple Choice | Grid-Ins | Time Limit | Time/Question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-Calculator | 15 | 5 | 25 min | 75 seconds |
| Yes-Calculator | 30 | 8 | 55 min | 85 seconds |
Life-changing, Earth-shattering Info
"Grid-Ins" refer to the questions that require you to write and bubble in your own answers.
Notes on Timing
Don’t focus on the “time per question” stuff on the math section. In fact, you shouldn’t even memorize that at all. I only put it in because it would upset me to see 5 columns in the first table but only 4 on the math table. Different questions will take different amounts of time, ranging from 5 seconds to a few minutes.
The time per passage in the reading and writing sections are more useful. They give a more accurate estimate of how long you should be spending on each passage because each passage will ideally have a combination of easy and hard questions. However, take these with a grain of salt as well, because there are both easy and difficult passages.
F*CK the SAT, but don't do this!
You may be tempted to try and flip back to a previous section to finish some questions you missed, but if you get caught you will get kicked out and probably banned from future SAT tests and possibly college too. So please don’t risk it. We can beat the test without that.
The Essay Section
At the end of the SAT, there used to be a 50 minute essay section. AND IT'S FREAKIN' GONE NOW. WOO! Colleges probably realized the SAT essay was a pretty useless measurement of writing ability, especially when they already require personal statements anyways. Anyways, shit's gone now so don't worry about it.
Key Takeaways
Don’t spend too much time memorizing all the elements of SAT structure, it’s not that important.
The main thing is to get used to keeping track of time. There will be more specific strategies on this later, but generally you want to memorize how much time you get for each section and how many passages or questions there are. Make it second nature so you don’t need to waste any brainpower on it.
It's also good to remember how much time the whole thing takes. Including breaks you get in between sections, the entire test is 3 hours and 15 minutes long. Including things like drive time, wait time, setup time, etc., it's going to take at least 4 hours of your day. That's where the age-old advice of making sure you're rested and ate something comes into play. Just make sure you don't eat Taco Bell, or you'll probably have to leave the exam room suddenly for reasons we all know.
Doc Proctors HATE him for this one trick!
Bring a watch to the SAT (borrow one if you don't have one). It's one of the few things you are allowed to bring, and it's important you have a way of easily keeping track of time. You don't know how many clocks your SAT venue will have, and you don't want to have to turn your head or squint to see a clock that's far away.