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Course: Digital SAT Reading and Writing > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Preparing for the SATTime management on the SAT Reading and Writing test
A guide to time management for the digital SAT Reading and Wrting test
Doing well on the SAT is not just about answering questions correctly: it's also about managing your time effectively. In this article, we will explore some time management strategies that students can use when taking the Reading and Writing section of the digital SAT.
Understanding the test structure
The digital SAT Reading and Writing section consists of two 32-minute modules, for a total of 64 minutes. Each module contains 27 questions, for a total of 54 questions in the section. That means you’ll have just over a minute per question.
The SAT is adaptive: The first module of each section contains a broad mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Based on how you perform on the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult. On the real test, you won’t be able to move onto the second module until your 32 minutes for the first module are up. On the practice tests, you can skip to the second module earlier, but we recommend against it (more on this below). Note that there is no break between the first and second Reading and Writing modules—instead, your first break happens at the end of the section, before the first module of the Math section begins.
Important time management tips and strategies
With this structure in mind in mind, here are the key tips and strategies for effectively managing your time on the Reading and Writing section:
- Save time on easier questions. You’ll find that some questions on the test require more reading than others, which can be a slow process. You may also find that while you can answer some question types quickly and easily, others consistently take you more time. If you can work quickly on the questions that feel easier, you can save more time for when you need it!
- Make predictions. Whenever you can, you should come up with a prediction in your mind for the correct answer, and select the choice that best matches your prediction. This will help you avoid spending too much time reading through the choices and comparing them against one another. This is the biggest time-saver for most Reading and Writing questions—and it can greatly improve your chances of getting the question right!
- Use the process of elimination. When you can’t make a prediction, or you can’t find a choice that matches your prediction, you should read the choices and rule them out one by one. If you can’t eliminate three choices, take your best guess between what’s left.
- Don’t second-guess yourself! Go with your gut. Don’t worry if a question seems “too easy” or “obvious”. Your first instinct is usually correct—especially if you’ve been studying and doing plenty of practice questions!
- Leave time at the end of each module to review your answers. If you find yourself stumped on a question or stuck between two or more choices, just take your best guess and move on. This should leave you time to come back to the question later, once you’ve finished the rest of the module. Which brings us to…
- Mark questions you’re not sure about for review. The Bluebook™ app contains a tool that lets you mark the question you’re on for review. This option appears right next to the question number. When you get to the end of the module, you’ll see a review page, and the questions you marked for review will be flagged. You can click back into these questions and re-read them and check your answer. Then, at the bottom of the question page (where it says the question number out of 27) you can click back to the review page. Note that you can click back into any question until time is up—including the ones you didn’t mark—but it will be much easier to remember which questions you want to come back to if you do mark them for review. A good way to review Reading questions in particular is to go back to the passages and make sure there is evidence to support your answer.
- Don’t leave any questions blank! The SAT doesn’t penalize you for wrong answers, so no matter how stumped you feel on a given question, you should always take a guess. You should select a choice the first time you encounter the question, even if you mark it to come back to later—just in case you run out of time before you get back to it.
- Don’t start the second module early on your practice tests! The practice tests give you the option to start the second module before the time allotted for your first module is up. However, on the real test, you won’t get this option—you’ll have to wait until those 32 minutes are over. So, when you finish the first module on your practice tests, we recommend that you use any leftover time just like you would on the real test: to review the questions you’re not sure about.
Happy prepping!
Want to join the conversation?
Isn't it a little unrealistic to give someone about 1 minute per question for 54 questions and still expect them get more than 90% of them right?(43 votes)
It might be, but the digital SAT tests for intuitive answers ; how obvious is the answer for you ? That's why the questions are so fast-paced. You aren't supposed to have time to stop and think about it.(2 votes)
I was wondering about this adaptive module system. It's obvious that you have to answer all of them right to get perfect score, but will there be difference if I make few mistakes in first module or second?(9 votes)
in this article and another one in this course it says-"Don’t leave any questions blank! The SAT doesn’t penalize you for wrong answers, so no matter how stumped you feel on a given question, you should always take a guess. " Does this mean I will get penalized if I don't answer a question?I'm scared i'll accidentally skip one or,worst case senerio , not get to answer all the questions.(4 votes)
Hey Steph!
No, you won't get penalized if you miss a question. It's just that it's not worth skipping a question because if you get it wrong, well too bad, you don't get any points. (But they won't take a point from you because you got it wrong.) But if you get it right, then wow! you got an extra point.
So, if you're at the end and you have like a minute left, just go through the rest of the questions picking the same answer letter for all of them. That will give you more of a chance of more points.
Does this help?(7 votes)
hey, do we get a break between the Reading and Writing modules and the Math modules? How long will it be?(3 votes)
Isn't it a little unrealistic to give someone about 1 minute per question for 54 questions and still expect them get more than 90% of them right?(2 votes)- I was wondering how long will it be to complete each module?(4 votes)
- The first module (Reading) takes 32 minutes, so you can't move on to the second module (Writing) until those minutes pass.(1 vote)
n't it a little unrealistic to give someone about 1 minute per question for 54 questions and still expect them get more than 90% of them right?(4 votes)
How to manage the time better? The sections are super tight and I tend to spend an unnecessary amount of time on questions sometimes.(3 votes)
how do you manage your time well?(2 votes)- Why is there only about 1 minute per question(2 votes)