Cheat codes / Reading and Writing
When two are correct, pick the shorter
If two options are both correct in grammar and in meaning, the test prefers the one with fewer words, and I know exactly when that is true and when it is a trap.
How I think about it
The code in steps
- 1Remove options with grammar mistakes or that miss the goal.
- 2See how many are left. If one, choose it.
- 3If two are left and both say the same thing, count the words.
- 4Choose the shorter one.
- 5If the shorter one lost an idea the goal needs, it was not a tie, so go back.
Learn it
1. What it is
In some Reading and Writing questions, two options are both free of grammar mistakes and both say the same thing. One has more words than the other. In that case, the SAT prefers the one that is clear and concise: it has no repeated ideas and no extra words that add nothing.
The code: first make sure each option is correct, then if two are left, pick the shorter one.
2. The steps
1. Read what the question asks. For Conventions it is 'conforms to the conventions of Standard English'. For Rhetorical Synthesis it is the goal in the last sentence.
2. Remove every option that has a grammar mistake or that does not do the goal (leaves out something the goal needs).
3. Count what is left. If one option is left, choose it. Stop.
4. If exactly two options are left and they say the same thing, count the words and choose the shorter one.
5. If the shorter one lost an idea the goal needs, it was not a tie. Go back to step 2.
3. What 'the same thing' means
Two options are a true tie only when both are free of mistakes and both give the same information. Example: 'The reason he was late was because of the rain' and 'He was late because of the rain'. Both say one idea. The second is shorter and cleaner, so the second wins.
But 'The lamp costs more' and 'The lamp costs more at first but saves money later' are not a tie. The second gives more information. If the goal needs the savings, the longer one is the answer.
4. A tiny drill
Which is better? a) 'Every student has to bring a book to class, and the book must be brought by each student.' b) 'Every student has to bring a book to class.' Both are correct, but (a) says the same thing twice, and (b) is shorter. Choose (b).
Now try: a) 'She studies.' b) 'She studies hard every night to pass the exam.' The goal is to show how she prepares. The short one lacks the information. Here the long one wins.
5. How to know when to use it
It fires in questions where the options are different ways to write the same idea, especially where one is wordy: repeated words, 'in order to' versus 'to', 'the reason is because', passive forms that add words.
It does not fire when the options differ in punctuation only, or in a single word such as a transition. Then the length is the same and meaning or grammar decides.
Why it works
Reading and Writing questions are built around clear, direct writing. When two options are both correct and equal in meaning, the extra words in the longer one can only add repetition or clutter, so the plainer one is the better writing. The code is safe only after you remove every option with a mistake or a missing idea, because the test also has many questions in which the longest option is correct since it gives needed information. The order matters: correctness first, goal second, length last.
Watch out: This code is a tie-breaker, never a first step. In Rhetorical Synthesis the right answer is often the longest one, because the goal asks for two things (a benefit and a risk, a finding and its limit). In Boundaries and Form, Structure and Sense, the options often have the same number of words. If you pick the shortest option without checking the goal and the grammar, you will fall into the trap.
See it work on real questions
Try each question your usual way first. Then open the box to see the code at work.
Rhetorical Synthesis · question 2
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Rhetorical Synthesis · question 8
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Form, Structure, and Sense · question 5
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Boundaries · question 1
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Transitions · question 3
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Do not just believe me. Test it.
Choose 10 Reading and Writing questions from Rhetorical Synthesis and the Standard English skills. For each, first remove the wrong options. Then write if you ended with one option or two, and in the two-option cases, which was shorter and if it was the key answer. Count how often the shorter one was right. Compare your count with a friend's, and see if the rule held in your questions.