SAT Study Notes
by College Board
Organized study notes covering key concepts, formulas, and strategies for all SAT sections.
SAT Study Notes
Comprehensive study guide covering all official College Board content domains
📋 Exam Overview
College Board SAT
- Format: Digital (as of 2023)
- Duration: 2 hours and 14 minutes
- Total Score: 400-1600
- Section Score: 200-800 per section
Test Structure
📖 Reading & Writing Section - Content Domains
1. Information and Ideas Domain
Measures comprehension, analysis, and reasoning skills and the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, and integrate information and ideas from texts and informational graphics.
Key Skills:
- Textual Evidence Analysis: Support interpretations by referencing specific words, phrases, or passages that directly relate to claims or conclusions
- Main Ideas: Identify central claims or thesis that entire passages support - broader than specific details but more focused than general topics
- Explicit vs. Implicit Information: Distinguish between directly stated information and information that must be inferred from context clues and logical reasoning
- Graph and Chart Analysis: Focus on titles, axis labels, data trends, key data points, and relationships between visual information and text claims
2. Craft and Structure Domain
Tests understanding of how texts are structured and the rhetorical choices authors make to achieve their purposes and convey meaning.
Key Skills:
- Words in Context: Use surrounding words, tone, and grammatical function to determine meaning
- Transitions: Understand contrast (however), cause-effect (therefore), addition (furthermore)
- Author's Tone: Analyze word choice and attitude - formal, critical, supportive, etc.
- Purpose vs. Tone: WHY author wrote (purpose) vs. HOW they feel (tone)
3. Expression of Ideas Domain
Tests revision skills for topic development, logic, cohesion, and clear, concise expression of ideas.
Key Skills:
- Organization: Clear topic sentences, relevant details, logical flow, transitions
- Conciseness: Eliminate redundancy, combine sentences, choose precise words
- Sentence Revision: Add/delete based on relevance and logical fit
- Parallelism: Consistent structure ("reading, writing, studying" not "reading, to write, study")
4. Standard English Conventions Domain
Covers editing skills for sentence structure, usage, and punctuation including command of sentence boundaries and coordination.
Key Skills:
- Comma Splices: Fix with semicolons, conjunctions, dependent clauses, or separate sentences
- Semicolons: Join related clauses, complex lists, before conjunctive adverbs
- Who vs. Whom: "Who" = subject (he/she), "whom" = object (him/her)
- Agreement: Subject-verb, pronoun-antecedent, watch for collective nouns
🔢 Math Section - Content Domains
1. Algebra Domain
Linear equations, functions, systems of equations, and linear inequalities in one or two variables.
Key Concepts:
- Slope-Intercept Form: y = mx + b (m = slope, b = y-intercept)
- Systems by Substitution: Solve for one variable, substitute, solve, check
- No Solution: Parallel lines (same slope, different y-intercepts)
- Linear Inequalities: Graph by shading appropriate regions
2. Advanced Math Domain
Nonlinear equations, quadratics, exponentials, polynomials, and complex mathematical relationships.
Key Concepts:
- Vertex Form: f(x) = a(x - h)² + k where (h,k) is vertex
- Quadratic Formula: x = (-b ± √(b²-4ac))/2a
- Discriminant: b² - 4ac (positive = 2 solutions, zero = 1, negative = none)
- Factoring: Find numbers that multiply to ac and add to b
3. Problem-Solving and Data Analysis
Ratios, percentages, statistical data analysis, and real-world mathematical applications.
Key Concepts:
- Proportions: a/b = c/d, cross multiply (ad = bc)
- Statistics: Mean (average), Median (middle), Mode (most frequent)
- Percent Change: [(new - original) ÷ original] × 100%
- Correlation ≠ Causation: Statistical relationship vs. direct cause
4. Geometry and Trigonometry
Area/volume formulas, triangles, circles, coordinate geometry, and basic trigonometry.
Key Concepts:
- SOH-CAH-TOA: sin = opp/hyp, cos = adj/hyp, tan = opp/adj
- Pythagorean: a² + b² = c² (c = hypotenuse)
- Circle Area: πr² (circumference = 2πr)
- Inscribed Angles: ½ the central angle subtending same arc
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