SAT Reading and Writing Workshop

This is a reading and writing workshop tailored to prepare students for the SAT’s reading and essay sections.  It involves focusing on several key components: comprehension, analysis, critical thinking, and writing structure. Feel free to modify this content in any way you deem necessary.

Objective:
Prepare students for both the SAT Reading and Writing & Language sections and the SAT Essay. This will develop their ability to analyze texts critically, identify key details, structure coherent arguments, and use evidence effectively.


Overview
This workshop prepares students for the SAT Reading, Writing & Language, and SAT Essay by giving them structured practice with real texts, modeled responses, public-domain readings, and guided annotation strategies.


Session 1 — SAT Reading Comprehension
Objective
Teach students how to read efficiently, interpret arguments, analyze tone, identify evidence, and answer SAT-style questions.


Task 1 — Introduction to the SAT Reading Section
Materials: Mini-Lesson Includes:
  • 5 passage types: Literature, Historical Document, Social Science, Natural Science
  • Question types:
    • Main Idea
    • Detail
    • Inference
    • Author’s Purpose
    • Vocabulary-in-Context
    • Structure
    • Quantitative charts/graphs
Group Activity:
Students skim Practice Test #1 Reading Passage 1 (Literature).
They highlight:
  1. Main idea sentence
  2. 3 key supporting details
  3. Tone words


Task 2 — Main Idea & Detail Recognition
Assigned Reading:
Public-domain short story (Literature passage substitute):
  • Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour 
    https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/160
Practice Questions:
Students answer 8 SAT-style questions you provide:
  1. What is the central idea of the passage?
  2. Which detail best supports the theme of independence?
  3. What shift occurs in paragraph 5?
Homework:
College Board Reading Passage (Social Science):
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/sat-practice-test-1.pdf (Reading Test)


Task 3 — Inference & Author’s Purpose
Assigned Reading: Class Tasks:
  • Identify implied meaning
  • Determine Douglass’s purpose
  • Analyze emotional appeal (pathos)
Homework:
Assign inference questions using College Board Practice Test #2 Reading Section.


Task 4 — Vocabulary in Context
Assigned Reading: Vocabulary-in-Context Practice:
Students determine meaning using context, then rewrite the sentence with a synonym.
Homework:
Vocabulary-in-context questions from:
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/reading-writing



Session 2 — Writing & Language (Grammar + Revision)
Objective
Improve grammar, punctuation, coherence, transitions, and editing skills.


Task 1 — Grammar & Sentence Structure
Mini-Lessons:
  • Subject–verb agreement
  • Misplaced modifiers
  • Parallel structure
  • Run-ons & fragments
  • Comma, semicolon, colon rules
Required Practice: Homework:
Grammar drills from Purdue OWL (free):
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/index.html


Task 2 — Tone, Diction & Style
Assigned Reading (public-domain models):
  • Emerson, "Self-Reliance":
    https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2944
  • Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
    https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73549

Activity:
Students rewrite one paragraph to be:
  • more concise
  • more formal
  • more academic
Homework:
Style & clarity practice set from Khan Academy:
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/reading-writing


Task 3 — Passage Revision & Coherence
Assigned Passage:
Public-domain argumentative text: Tasks:
  • Identify redundancy
  • Strengthen transitions
  • Reorder sentences for logical flow
Homework:
Complete a full Writing & Language practice section.


Task 4 — Punctuation Review
Resources: Students complete:
  • Comma rules practice
  • Semicolon vs. colon identification
  • SAT-style editing questions



Session 3 — SAT Essay Preparation
(Even though the essay is now optional, many districts still teach argument-analysis writing.)


Task 1 — Understanding the SAT Essay
Required Reading (Official Sample Essay Prompt): Students analyze:
  • Claim
  • Reasoning
  • Evidence
  • Rhetorical choices (ethos/pathos/logos)


Task 2 — Argument Analysis Practice
Alternate Passages for Practice (public domain persuasive texts):
  1. Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” (rhetoric practice)
    https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4
  2. Susan B. Anthony, “On Women’s Right to Vote”
    https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20439/20439-h/20439-h.htm
  3. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” transcript
    https://www.archives.gov/files/social-media/transcripts/transcript-march-pt3-of-3-2602934.pdf

Tasks:
  • Identify thesis
  • Identify two rhetorical strategies
  • Annotate evidence use


Task 3 — Essay Structure
Model Paragraph Provided:
I can supply a fully built SAT-essay sample introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion if you want.
Students build:
  • Thesis
  • 2–3 body point outlines
  • Evidence banks
  • Commentary explaining rhetorical effect


Task 4 — Full Timed Essay
Students write for 50 minutes using one of three prompts.
Homework:
Revise with teacher rubric.



Session 4 — Full Practice & Timed Tests
Task 1 — Timed Reading Section
Practice Test Links:
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/practice-preparation/practice-tests
Task 2 — Timed Writing & Language
Students complete Writing Test #2.
Task 3 — Timed Essay
Students submit writing for scoring.
Task 4 — Final Review Session
Topics:
  • Time pacing
  • Guessing strategy
  • Stress management
  • Reviewing common errors


Ongoing Assessments
  • Weekly SAT mini-quizzes
  • Peer-editing of essays
  • Vocabulary quizzes
  • Grammar check-ins
  • Full SAT practice every 2–3 weeks
Proudly powered by Weebly