SAT Writing Section Facts
- The multiple-choice segment contains 49 questions which determine about 70% of your score.
- Three types of questions will be posed: improving sentence errors, identifying sentence errors, and improving paragraph structure.
- Two sections will be present – one long and one short.
- In the first portion, there will be 11 improving sentence error questions, 18 identifying sentence error questions and 6 improving paragraph structure questions. This portion must be completed in 25 minutes.
- In the next portion, there will be 14 improving sentence error questions. These must be completed in 20 minutes.
- The most commonly asked question that one can expect to receive next is an improving sentence question.
- Remember: omission of a question does not hurt or help your score.
- Incorrect answers carry a penalty of .25 points; preventing guessing.
- Spending about 42.8 seconds on each question will get you through this section, according to the College Board.
To prepare, one should study major areas of grammar until patterns of accuracy can be established. After building a foundation, it is important to look closely at each question type to understand how these foundations relate to each question. Though mechanically the skills needed are the same, there are noticeable differences that one should be aware of per question type. Some areas of mechanics can be fine-tuned with a simple look into question type, while others will require deeper study.
