College Board · SAT Prep Series

SAT English
Full Practice Exam

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About This Exam

This exam covers all 10 core SAT English units. Read each concept summary before attempting the questions. Write your answer in the text box and click Check to receive instant feedback.

📖 Reading Comprehension
✏️ Grammar & Writing
📚 Vocabulary in Context
🔍 Evidence-Based
🎭 Rhetorical Analysis
📊 Data Interpretation
📑 Paired Passages
⚡ Command of Evidence
💡 Expression of Ideas
🔤 Sentence Completion
Concepts & Key Points
01

Reading Comprehension

Reading

SAT reading passages test your ability to understand main ideas, support claims with textual evidence, and interpret author purpose. Passages span literature, history, social science, and natural science.

Must Know
  • Main Idea = the central argument the author defends throughout
  • Inference = a conclusion drawn from evidence, not stated directly
  • Tone = author's attitude (neutral, critical, enthusiastic, skeptical)
  • Structure = how a passage is organized (comparison, cause-effect, problem-solution)
  • Always locate evidence in the text before choosing an answer
Example

"The author primarily argues that urban green spaces are not merely aesthetic amenities but are essential infrastructure for public health."

→ Main idea: urban green spaces = public health infrastructure
02

Grammar & Writing

Grammar

The SAT tests standard English grammar: subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb tense consistency, parallel structure, and punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, dashes).

Must Know
  • Subject-verb agreement: "The team of researchers is reviewing…" (collective noun = singular)
  • Parallel structure: "She likes reading, writing, and running" (not "to run")
  • Semicolons join two independent clauses; never use before a dependent clause
  • Comma splices are always wrong: fix with period, semicolon, or conjunction
  • Who vs. whom: who = subject, whom = object ("to whom it may concern")
Example

"Neither the manager nor the employees        aware of the policy change."

→ Answer: "were" (verb agrees with the closer noun: employees)
03

Vocabulary in Context

Vocabulary

SAT vocabulary questions ask for the most contextually appropriate meaning of a word, not just its dictionary definition. The answer depends entirely on how the word functions in that specific sentence.

Must Know
  • Cover the word, read the sentence, predict your own word first
  • Eliminate obviously wrong definitions; check remaining choices in context
  • Words like "promote," "cultivate," "address," "check" have multiple meanings
  • Connotation matters: "slender" vs. "thin" vs. "gaunt" differ in tone
Example

"The scientist's acute observations led to a breakthrough." — Here "acute" most nearly means:

→ Answer: "keen" or "sharp" (not "severe" — context is intellectual, not medical)
04

Evidence-Based Questions

Evidence

Evidence-based questions come in pairs: the first asks an interpretive question; the second asks which lines best support the previous answer. Both answers must work together.

Must Know
  • Always solve part 1 first by going back to the passage
  • The evidence (part 2) must directly and specifically support your part 1 answer
  • Wrong evidence = wrong interpretation, even if each seems plausible alone
  • Line references in part 2 must include a quotable statement, not just mention of a topic
Example

Q1: "What does the author suggest about renewable energy?" Q2: "Which lines best support that answer?" — You must match lines that directly state or imply the Q1 conclusion.

→ Strategy: choose Q1 answer, then find lines that prove it word-for-word
05

Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetoric

These questions ask why an author makes a specific stylistic or structural choice — the rhetorical purpose, not just what the text says. Focus on effect and persuasion.

Must Know
  • Ethos = credibility/authority; Pathos = emotion; Logos = logic/data
  • Rhetorical questions challenge the reader without expecting an answer
  • Anecdotes humanize an argument (pathos)
  • Statistical data strengthens logos
  • Ask: "Why did the author include this here? What effect does it create?"
Example

"The author opens with a story about a child losing her home. The primary purpose of this anecdote is to…"

→ Establish emotional connection with readers (pathos) before presenting data
06

Data Interpretation

Data

SAT passages often include charts, graphs, or tables. You must read the visual accurately and identify what the data supports, contradicts, or leaves unaddressed in the text.

Must Know
  • Read axis labels, units, and legends before drawing conclusions
  • Correlation ≠ causation — data shows a relationship, not a cause
  • Look for the specific year, category, or variable the question references
  • "According to the graph" = read the graph literally, no interpretation
07

Paired Passages

Paired

Two short passages on the same topic present different perspectives. Questions test understanding of agreement, disagreement, and how Author 2 responds to Author 1's claims.

Must Know
  • Read both passages fully before answering relationship questions
  • Find specific points of agreement and disagreement
  • "Author 2 would most likely respond to [Author 1's claim] by…" = find evidence in Passage 2
  • Both authors can agree on facts but disagree on solutions
08

Command of Evidence

Command

These questions test whether you can identify which piece of evidence most effectively supports a given claim or which sentence, if removed, would weaken an argument most.

Must Know
  • Specific evidence always beats vague or general claims
  • Quantitative data is stronger than anecdotal evidence
  • Evidence must directly address the claim, not just be related
09

Expression of Ideas

Expression

Expression of Ideas questions test transitions, sentence combining, relevance, and paragraph organization. Choose options that improve clarity and logical flow without altering meaning.

Must Know
  • Transitions: "however" = contrast; "therefore" = result; "furthermore" = addition
  • The most concise, clear option is usually correct
  • Irrelevant information should always be deleted
  • Introductory sentences must match the paragraph's focus
10

Sentence Completion

Sentences

These questions present a sentence with a blank and ask for the word or phrase that best completes the meaning. They test both vocabulary and logical reasoning within sentence context.

Must Know
  • Identify signal words: contrast (but, although, yet), continuation (and, also), cause (because, since)
  • Predict the meaning before reading choices
  • Watch for double-blank sentences — both blanks must work together
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