Resources and Strategies to Boost Your SAT Reading & Writing Score
One of the biggest misconceptions about the SAT is that memorizing a long list of advanced vocabulary words is enough to excel on the Reading & Writing section.
While knowing some vocabulary is helpful, success largely depends on what you read and how effectively you read it.
Unfortunately, school-assigned reading is often insufficient. If your English class hasn’t covered poetry, for example, answering a question about a 16th-century sonnet on the SAT can feel impossible. The same goes for books you read independently—if they aren’t challenging enough, they won’t prepare you for the SAT’s level of difficulty.
To help, we’ve compiled several types of reading resources that are easy to access, plus strategic tips on maximizing your reading practice for the SAT and a sample weekly reading plan with recommendations to get you started.
1 – Scientific Journalism
Resources
The SAT Reading & Writing section includes tons of questions centered on scientific concepts and research. If your science classes haven’t involved much reading, it’s important to get familiar with how scientific arguments are presented in writing.
Luckily, resources like National Geographic can help. Each issue offers free content on topics ranging from anthropology and oceanography to astronomy and geology, so you’re sure to find something that interests you.
For students looking to take on more advanced reading in preparation for the SAT’s challenge module, resources like Nature can be invaluable. This leading multidisciplinary science journal offers in-depth, high-level content, though it requires a paid subscription.
Strategies
To improve comprehension for the SAT, ask yourself these key questions while reading science texts:
- What is the research question being investigated?
- What is the hypothesis or prediction?
- What is the relevant evidence?
- Does this evidence strengthen or weaken the hypothesis or prediction?
- Do the researchers in question claim or conclude anything as a result?
As seen above, answering these questions helps you make important inferences — such as identifying evidence to support a claim — much easier than it would be otherwise.
Another effective strategy for reading science texts is to compare and contrast competing claims from different researchers. This skill is especially useful for mastering text-to-text connections, as seen in the example below.
2 – Classic Fiction
Resources
Fiction from the 19th and early-20th centuries can be challenging for students aiming for high scores on the SAT Reading & Writing section. While older fiction may seem daunting, plenty of resources can help.
In addition to libraries and online booksellers, one great resource is Standard eBooks. It offers a vast collection of public domain books with clean formatting and compatibility across devices.
Strategies
To make reading older fiction easier, consistently do the following:
- Break longer sentences into smaller clauses
- Match pronouns with their referents
- Look up unfamiliar words
- Paraphrase to grasp the meaning
Let’s see how using these strategies on the SAT can make an excerpt far more manageable.
Step 1: Use the semicolons as markers to split longer sentences into shorter parts.
Step 2: Identify the referents for “he/him” (Buck) and “them” (Hans and Pete).
Step 3: Use context clues to infer that “tolerated” means “accepted”. When practicing outside the test, consult a reliable dictionary to confirm meanings.
Step 4: Summarize before turning to answer choices: Buck respects Thornton exclusively and only notices others if they care about Thornton.
Following these steps makes it easier to eliminate wrong answers and select D as the correct one.
For classic fiction, check your understanding after reading a chapter or more by using study guides like SparkNotes or LitCharts. Subscriptions also provide access to mini-quizzes and modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays.
3 – Trusted News Sources
Resources
Most SAT questions are based on straightforward expository writing, making trusted news sources a great starting point for reading practice.
The Associated Press offers balanced coverage of global current events, touching on topics like politics, economics, science, and culture. Its articles provide exposure to a wide range of ideas while maintaining a clear, accessible style that is similar in many ways to what you will find on the SAT.
Another excellent resource is The Economist, which publishes a weekly online magazine. Like the Associated Press, it features formal, factual writing on diverse topics. However, its syntax and vocabulary are slightly more advanced, and full access requires a subscription after a free trial.
Strategies
Reading the news regularly keeps you informed, but you should also tailor your approach to improve your SAT skills specifically.
Start by familiarizing yourself with the grammar conventions tested on the SAT. Khan Academy offers an excellent overview to help you begin.
Then, as you read news articles, look for examples of concepts you’re studying, such as
- Commas around nonessential information
- Subordinating conjunctions in dependent clauses
- Subject-verb agreement
- Modifying prepositional phrases
Even just by carefully reading the short paragraph below from this AP article, you can pick out all four of these grammatical elements.
The warnings come as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area, the Palisades and Eaton fires, which have destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out during fierce winds on Jan. 7. The Palisades fire was 52% contained on Sunday and the Eaton fire 81% contained, according to fire officials.
The more you read, the better you’ll recognize common patterns in formal writing. This foundation will help you tackle questions about transitions and standard conventions with confidence.
4 – Poetry
Resources
Poetry can be one of the most challenging genres for SAT preparation. But familiarity with how poets convey meaning through style and structure is essential for those who want to answer even the toughest questions correctly.
A great resource for exploring poetry is Poetry Foundation, which offers an extensive free collection of classic and contemporary poems.
LitCharts is helpful here as well. It provides summaries with contemporary language and detailed breakdowns of poems.
Your ultimate goal, however, should be to simply poetic language on your own and then compare your own line-by-line “translations” to those provided.
Strategies
To improve your SAT performance when reading poetry, implement the following strategies:
- Identify key themes: What big ideas or messages are the poet trying to convey?
- Analyze figurative language: Look for metaphors, similes, and personification—understanding these can reveal the deeper meaning.
- Paraphrase difficult lines: Translating a tricky line into simpler language can often make a complex poem clearer.
- Make inferences: Consistently note tone, imagery, and structure. Understanding how these elements interact will help you answer questions more confidently.
As an example, here’s a question that asks about claim made in the poem:
The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen's 1926 poem "Thoughts in a Zoo."
They in their cruel traps, and we in ours,
Survey each other's rage, and pass the hours
Commiserating each the other's woe,
To mitigate his own pain's fiery glow.
Man could but little proffer in exchange
Save that his cages have a larger range.
That lion with his lordly, untamed heart
Has in some man his human counterpart,
Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped,
But in the stifling flesh securely trapped.
Based on the text, what challenge do humans sometimes experience?
A. They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion.
B. They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation.
C. They quickly become frustrated when faced with difficult tasks because of a lack of self-control.
D. They have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations.
Let’s see how using the strategies above can help us.
- Identify Key Themes: The poem’s first line introduces the central theme: confinement or constraint.
- Analyze Figurative Language: Cullen uses the metaphor of animals in zoo cages to reflect on facts about the human condition.
- Paraphrase Difficult Lines: Locating the subjects and verbs in the lats two lines allows us to more easily summarize: people can’t fully realize their dreams, and they’re limited by external factors.
- Make Inferences: There is a negative tone throughout, and the imagery of cages confining animals in zoos leads to the final claim: that humans have their own, similar constraints that prevent them from achieving certain things.
By applying these strategies, we see that the correct answer is D: “They [humans] have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations.”
Sample Reading Plan
Here’s a balanced weekly reading plan that budgets an hour each day and prioritizes the kinds of writing you’ll see most frequently on the SAT.
Monday–Friday:
- News (30 minutes): Focus on one or two topics per session. Long-form articles can be read over multiple days. Besides the Associated Press and The Economist, you may be interested in content from the BBC, The Guardian, or The New York Times.
- Science Writing (30 minutes): In addition to sites like Nature and National Geographic, feel free to rotate between popular science magazines like Scientific American and science essays in The New Yorker.
Saturday–Sunday:
- Classic Fiction (40 minutes): Spend this slot on a novel or short stories from classic authors like Jane Austen, Mark Twain, or Nella Larsen. Break up longer books over several weeks.
- Poetry (20 minutes): Read a poem or two and check your understanding against online analysis.
Reading Recommendations
Books from the 19th and 20th centuries make for an especially good resource if you’re looking for longer texts with rich, varied vocabulary. Here are a few suggestions of challenging but worthwhile reads to expand your vocabulary:
19th Century:
- Sense and Sensibility – Highly structured syntax, commonly with longer clauses that build on one another.
- Bleak House – Complex sentences and lots of characters to keep track of.
- Dracula – Extended descriptions and a dramatic story told through letters.
- Heart of Darkness – Very dense prose and philosophical themes.
20th Century:
- 1984 – Political intrigue with a relatively straightforward prose style.
- Brave New World – Scientific and philosophical vocabulary with a dytopian narrative.
- The Great Gatsby – Very lyrical prose and vivid, symbolic imagery.
- Invisible Man – Unique narrative style that requires high-level inferences.
What should international school students do next?
For international school students, it’s important to know that no matter where you are on your academic journey, there is a strategic course of action available to help you achieve your admissions goals. Tokyo Academics has over 10 years of experience helping students get the grades, test scores, essays, and other factors needed to gain admission to top schools around the world. Connect with us today to see how we can help you get into the colleges and universities of your dreams!