Aaron Andrikopoulos • June 17, 2025
Throughout our 40 years of working with students, we often find that reading comprehension, particularly for many of the high-achieving students we work with in New York who have already mastered SAT Math, is the final hurdle standing between them and their goal score.SAT reading tips can make all the difference. Because students devote lots of their time in their high school English courses to breaking down classic literature like Moby Dick, which often leaves room for debate and personal interpretation, they tend to (mistakenly) bring that same lens to the SAT. So, if you are falling short on reading, here’s a surprisingly simple SAT reading tip to help you conquer that white whale. Every time you get stuck between answer choices, you can use this SAT reading tip and clarify things by asking yourself three questions:
Question 1: “Wait, what was the question again?”
Each individual paragraph-long Digital SAT passage can contain as many as 150 words, and some are accompanied by a graph or other figure. As a result, many of these passages can seem packed with information on dense or unfamiliar topics. However, each passage is followed by just one question, and students should pay just as much attention to what that question asked as they do to the information itself. After all, even if “I love pizza!” is a true statement, it’s a pretty strange answer to a question like “What time is it?” Make sure that your answer is a relevant one!
Question 2: “Is that SAT reading choice accurate?”
Especially on a question preceded by bullet points with notes on a given topic or a graph that displays lots of information, students should be certain to avoid answers that go against the information that was provided. Pay special attention to units, and be careful with choices that use extreme all-or-nothing language where that doesn’t match the data. Before picking a choice like “the number of white blood cells was lowest in Sample C,” you should take an extra moment to make sure you have read the graph correctly!
Question 3: “Did the author actually say that? Or did I just imagine it?”
Here is a big sticking point. Even students who are accustomed to earning perfect grades in AP Language and Composition or other advanced courses have likely been conditioned by all of that time spent on literature to draw likely conclusions from what they read instead of sticking to cold, hard facts. So, a student who reads that “Jennifer has already been to dozens of different countries” might conclude that “Jennifer loves to travel.” However, those are not the same thing! Maybe Jennifer had to take those trips, and she hated every moment of it. It is a good habit to identify key words in the answer choices and look back to the passage to confirm that your choice doesn’t bring up something new! Answer choices that make assumptions will be incorrect, so avoid jumping to undue conclusions and only choose an answer that you can directly support with the evidence!
Sure, SAT Reading can look intimidating, especially when you encounter unfamiliar topics in science or excerpts from literature written centuries ago. For students who haven’t learned all of the strategies and SAT reading tips, this intimidation factor can sap their motivation and make learning reading that much more challenging. However, staying motivated is easier when you keep things simple. SAT Reading comprehension is all about what you can prove with direct evidence. Most students already get that the right answer to an SAT Math question doesn’t come down to opinion; there is a correct choice and three wrong ones. Bringing that same concrete mentality over to SAT Reading will serve them well, and pausing to ask themselves some pointed questions while they take the test will help eliminate any supposed subjectivity.
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