Cheat codes / Reading and Writing
Stay inside the text
The right answer is only what the text proves, so leave your outside knowledge and your feelings at the door.
How I think about it
The code in steps
- 1Find in the text the exact words that answer the question.
- 2For each option, point to its proof in the text.
- 3Cross out every option that needs outside knowledge, a guess or 'it sounds true'.
- 4Choose the option whose proof you can show in one line.
Learn it
1. What it is
Every Reading and Writing question with a passage can be answered from the passage alone. The SAT does not test whether you know the facts in the passage. It tests whether you can read carefully.
The code: for every option, you must be able to point your finger at the line in the text that proves it. If you cannot point, the option is out, even if it sounds true.
2. The exact steps
1. Read the question and find the claim, quote or result you need (see 'Read the question first').
2. For each option, ask: 'Which words in the text prove this?'
3. If you can point to the words and they say the same thing, keep it.
4. If you need to say 'well, in real life...' or 'it makes sense that...', cross it out. That is outside knowledge or a feeling.
3. Three kinds of outside answers
The sounds-true answer: it is a nice general idea (hard work pays, sleep is important) that the text does not say.
The common-sense answer: you add a reason of your own, such as a cause that is not in the passage.
The too-far answer: the text gives a little, the option jumps much further.
4. A tiny drill
Take a passage and its right answer. Underline the words in the text that prove the answer. Then take one wrong option and try to underline the proof. When you cannot, you have seen what a missing proof feels like. Do this on five questions.
5. How to know when to use it
Use it on Inferences, Command of Evidence, Cross-Text, Central Ideas and Text Structure. It matters most where the options sound reasonable.
It does not mean ignoring vocabulary and grammar knowledge. In Words in Context and Boundaries you use language knowledge, because that is what is tested. The code is about facts and ideas, not about the meaning of words.
Why it works
The Digital SAT is designed so that each Reading and Writing question has one answer that follows from the passage. Students from every country and school are tested together, and nobody has an advantage from knowing a fact the passage does not give. That means the wrong options must be wrong on the passage, not on the world. A statement that is true but not supported is the most common kind of tempting wrong option, so asking for proof removes it.
Watch out: Staying inside the text does not mean copying words. The correct option often paraphrases the text in simpler words, so look for the same meaning, not the same words. Also, an inference question asks you to go one small step beyond the text, but that step must be forced by the text. If you need two steps or a fact from outside, it is too far.
See it work on real questions
Try each question your usual way first. Then open the box to see the code at work.
Inferences · question 5
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Cross-Text Connections · question 5
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Command of Evidence · question 3
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Central Ideas and Details · question 8
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Text Structure and Purpose · question 7
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Do not just believe me. Test it.
Take 10 Inference or Command of Evidence questions. For each one, before choosing, write the line number or underline the words in the passage that prove your answer. If you cannot find proof, mark the question and pick another option. Record how many answers had a proof, how many you got right, and for the ones that had no proof what the correct answer was. Compare with 10 questions you answer by feel. The difference between the two groups will show you if your feeling is too trusting.