SAT Exam Syllabus: General Test
Pattern 2018 – 2019
General Test Pattern for SAT Exam
As we have discussed in the main article, the SAT exam comes in 2 avatars: General Test
and Subject Test. Subject-based tests are administered to prove the prowess in a
specific area of interest, and weightage accorded to the result is dependent on the target
school. General SAT is far more common of the two (our focus in this article) and
usually serves as the de-facto standard for undergraduate college admissions.
Effective March 2016, there has been a few changes in the exam pattern of SAT. It
remains a test of a candidate’s reading, writing, and mathematical abilities. Individual
sections, viz. English and Mathematics, are scored on a scale of 200-800, adding up to a
total of 1600. 3 sub-scores are also given for reading, writing, and math on a scale of 10-
40. Essays are scored on a scale of 2-8, and closely mimic the essence of academic texts.
The raw scores are scaled to the final scores based on the difficulty of the questions
answered and other secret parameters (known as ‘equating’). The test comes in both
formats: computerized and paper-based.
The test has three broad sections: Reading/Writing, Mathematics, and an optional
Essay. The test is organized as follows:
Sections Component Time Allotted (min.)
1 Reading 65
2 Writing and Language 35
3 Math (No Calculator) 25
4 Math (Calculator) 55
5 Essay (optional) 50
Total 180 (230 with Essay)
The duration of the test is 3 hours and 50 minutes, excluding breaks. 2 breaks are
allowed during the exam: one 10-minute long and another 5 minute long. The sequence
of the sections can vary, and a candidate cannot jump across sections; a section needs to
be completed fully before moving on. Candidates are not penalized for wrong responses.
SAT Syllabus
Reading
The reading section has questions related to reading passages, and each passage
consists of 10-11 questions. There are 5 of them in total, and the length of the passages
vary. The primary purpose of the section is to assess the candidate’s ability to
understand and assimilate written text. The candidate is expected to know the meaning
of words in context, along with associated variations in implied meanings and impact
due to the exact word usage.
Candidates with long-standing reading habit usually perform well in this section, and
getting the overall idea of the passage is paramount for scoring high. It is always a good
idea to restate the whole idea of the passage in your own language/words, as it makes
the elimination process easier. Answer choices can be confusing, and a candidate is
expected to know why a particular answer is wrong among the choices given (not-
stated assumption, opposite true, too specific/broad assertion etc.) It is generally a good
idea to skim the passage once and get into the details only while answering a particular
question as it might save some valuable time.
Writing
Writing section has 4 passages, with each passage associated with 10-11 questions. A
candidate is expected to spot errors, rephrase marked/highlighted sentences with
better alternatives etc. Main focal point revolves around the usage and understanding of
grammar.
As in reading, smart work is required to ace the section, especially given the fact that the
correct answer needs to be marked in less than a minute. It is a good idea to read only
the relevant parts of the passage, rather than focusing on getting into the details. Smart
eliminating of choices is also a good-to-have skill, and the right answer is usually the
most relevant choice within the context. Brushing up on punctuation rules is also a good
idea, as some questions can be eliminated purely on the basis of incorrect punctuation
use. Understanding of connecting words can also come in handy, especially to delineate
and establish relationships between ideas. ‘However’, ‘Therefore’, ‘Afterwards’ etc. have
usage which varies and signals different transitions among sentences.
Mathematics
This section is 80 minutes long and has 58 questions. It has a couple of basic sub-
sections: a 25-minute section (no calculator) and a 55-minute section (calculator
allowed). Here is the link to the calculator policy for SAT, in case you were curious. Math
questions involve knowledge of subject areas such as arithmetic, geometry, algebra,
statistics and probability. It also involves data interpretation from tables/graphs and
problem-solving.
For Mathematics, it is usually a good idea to identify your areas of improvement early
on (insufficient grasp of fundamentals, or skewed time management etc). Once you
zero-in on a deficiency, it is advisable to devise a laser-focused strategy to strengthen
the deficiency.
Practice is of paramount importance, and a log of the mistakes can do wonders for your
test score. If you want to score a perfect score (stereotypes of Indian nerdiness at Math
notwithstanding), you should have a good grasp of all possible content along with good
time-management skills. Moreover, many candidates make careless mistakes which
drag down the overall score dramatically.
List of topics for Mathematics:
Solving linear equations and linear inequalities
Interpreting linear functions
Linear inequality and equation word problems
Graphing linear equations
Linear function word problems
Systems of linear inequalities word problems
Solving systems of linear equations
Solving quadratic equations
Interpreting nonlinear expressions
Quadratic and exponential word problems
Radicals and rational exponents
Operations with rational expressions and polynomials
Polynomial factors and graphs
Nonlinear equation graphs
Linear and quadratic systems
Structure in expressions
Isolating quantities
Functions
Ratios, rates, and proportions
Percents
Units
Table data
Scatterplots.
Key features of graphs
Linear and exponential growth
Data inferences
Center, spread, and shape of distributions
Data collection and conclusions
Volume word problems
Right Triangle word problems
Congruence and similarity
Right triangle geometry
Angles, arc lengths, and trig functions
Circle: Equations and theorems
Complex numbers
Essay (Optional)
The time allotted for this task is 50 minutes, and it is meant to assess your
understanding of the given data/case and the quality of your writing. 650-700 is the
expected length of the essay, and the candidate should take a stance on the issue at
hand. However, expounding on personal opinions is not expected and the purview is
limited to the given data. Precise language in a logical and consistent manner fetches
good marks.
Here is a link for an official sample SAT essay, along with a high scoring student
response.
Here is a link for further information on SAT Essay scoring.
Read more on:
– Introduction to SAT exam
– SAT Exam Preparation
– Best SAT Books
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