The Reading and Writing section gives you 64 minutes to complete 52 questions, which means pacing is critical. Most students benefit from spending about 1-1.5 minutes per passage and its associated questions, leaving a few minutes to review flagged items.

The right strategy depends on your natural reading speed and accuracy. Some students read the passage carefully first, then tackle questions. Others skim the passage, dive into questions, and reference back. Working with a tutor helps you test different approaches and find what lets you balance speed with accuracy.

The best way is through full practice tests—not just timed drills. Take complete tests under real conditions, then analyze your wrong answers carefully. Look for patterns: Do you miss main idea questions? Struggle with tone/inference? Get tripped up by paired passages? Lose focus on longer passages?

Once you spot the pattern, you can target that skill specifically. For example, if inference questions are your weakness, you'll practice identifying subtle clues and understanding author perspective. This targeted approach is much more efficient than reviewing random passages.

Traditional vocabulary lists are less important than they used to be, since the SAT now focuses on words in context rather than obscure definitions. That said, knowing common academic words helps you read passages more smoothly and understand nuance.

A better approach is learning vocabulary through practice passages themselves, plus understanding common word patterns and how context clues work. This builds both your vocabulary and your ability to figure out unfamiliar words—a skill that pays off across the entire section.

Paired passages are challenging because you need to understand each passage individually, then compare them. A proven strategy is reading both passages completely first to get the main ideas, then returning to tackle questions—starting with those about individual passages, then moving to comparison questions.

The comparison questions often test whether you understand how the passages relate: Do they agree or disagree? Does one support or contradict the other? By reading both passages with this comparison lens in mind, you'll answer these questions more confidently.

Consistency matters more than marathon sessions. Practicing 3-4 times per week is more effective than cramming one long session, because spaced practice helps your brain retain strategies and build patterns recognition. Each session can be 30-60 minutes focused on one specific skill or type of question.

Plan to complete at least 5-8 full practice tests over your prep period—these are essential for building endurance and timing skills. Between full tests, do targeted drills on specific question types or passage genres where you struggle.

Test anxiety often stems from feeling unprepared for specific challenges. The antidote is practice: the more comfortable you become with question formats, timing, and your own strengths, the calmer you'll feel on test day. Practicing under timed conditions regularly desensitizes you to the pressure.

Beyond practice, simple strategies help: Take a deep breath before starting, skip tough questions and return to them, and remind yourself that you've practiced this exact scenario many times. Many students also find that identifying their personal triggers—rushing, certain passage types, confidence dips—helps them develop specific coping strategies.