In the Reading and Writing section of the digital SAT, the Standard English Conventions questions test a small number of rules again and again. Learn them as a checklist and these questions become the fastest marks in the section.
1. Subject-verb agreement
Find the real subject and ignore the words in between. 'The list of items is on the table': the subject is list, not items. Cover phrases that start with of, with or along with.
2. Sentence boundaries
- Two complete sentences cannot be joined by a comma alone.
- Correct: a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus and, but or so.
- 'She studied all night; she passed the test.' 'She studied all night, so she passed the test.'
3. Colons and dashes
A colon follows a complete sentence and introduces a list, an example or an explanation: 'She needed one thing: sleep.' A pair of dashes works like a pair of commas around extra information.
4. Transitions
Read the sentence before and after the blank and name the relationship first: contrast (however), result (therefore), addition (moreover), example (for instance). Then choose the word. Transition questions are among the most common in the section.
Decide the rule before reading the options. Options are written to sound natural, so trusting the ear alone loses marks.
How EXAMEV helps
The EXAMEV SAT bank has 760 questions across Reading and Writing and Math, including Standard English Conventions, transitions and words in context, with explanations. For a full plan, read our 8-week digital SAT study plan.