Raymond Zheng
Harvard University ‘25
January 11, 2022
Zheng 1
SAT Writing Section Study Guide
● Choosing the best word in context
○ Summarize in your own words what the sentence is trying to say
○ Think about the individual definitions of each of the words, and choose the one
whose connotation and meaning best fits that summary/meaning of the sentence
● What detail is the most relevant
○ Logical, Which of these answers is the most related to the topic or the statements?
● Use of semicolons and commas
○ Oxford commas are used for lists without additional commas
○ Semicolons are used for lists when there are additional commas within the
components
● Verb-Tense agreement
○ Past stays past, present stays present
○ Notable pairs include “if...had, would...have” — conditional clauses
● Best placement for a sentence
○ Look for signal words (also, additionally, for example, etc.)
○ Think about the sentence you are given as an explanation of another sentence
● Should you keep or delete this sentence?
○ Look at where the sentence
■ If it is at the beginning of a paragraph, think TRANSITION?
■ Avoid abruptness
● Best choice of a transition word
○ Look at the sentence before, and connect it with the sentence the transition word
is in
○ Think about the purpose of the transition word, and what each of the transition
words serve to do—determine which one best fits the relationship between the
two sentences
● Meaning in context / Vocabulary
○ Not be afraid of words you don’t know
■ If there is a word you don’t know, see if any of the other words makes
complete sense or works perfectly.
● If they do, then that word is most likely the answer
● If not, the unknown word is most likely the answer
○ If there are no unknown words,
■ Look at context
■ Think about connotation
■ Think about alternative meanings
● Sentence construction
○ Dependent clause, independent clause.
■ Since I like to eat pizza, I go out with friends to the pizza shop every
Saturday.
Harvard University ‘25
January 11, 2022
Zheng 1
SAT Writing Section Study Guide
● Choosing the best word in context
○ Summarize in your own words what the sentence is trying to say
○ Think about the individual definitions of each of the words, and choose the one
whose connotation and meaning best fits that summary/meaning of the sentence
● What detail is the most relevant
○ Logical, Which of these answers is the most related to the topic or the statements?
● Use of semicolons and commas
○ Oxford commas are used for lists without additional commas
○ Semicolons are used for lists when there are additional commas within the
components
● Verb-Tense agreement
○ Past stays past, present stays present
○ Notable pairs include “if...had, would...have” — conditional clauses
● Best placement for a sentence
○ Look for signal words (also, additionally, for example, etc.)
○ Think about the sentence you are given as an explanation of another sentence
● Should you keep or delete this sentence?
○ Look at where the sentence
■ If it is at the beginning of a paragraph, think TRANSITION?
■ Avoid abruptness
● Best choice of a transition word
○ Look at the sentence before, and connect it with the sentence the transition word
is in
○ Think about the purpose of the transition word, and what each of the transition
words serve to do—determine which one best fits the relationship between the
two sentences
● Meaning in context / Vocabulary
○ Not be afraid of words you don’t know
■ If there is a word you don’t know, see if any of the other words makes
complete sense or works perfectly.
● If they do, then that word is most likely the answer
● If not, the unknown word is most likely the answer
○ If there are no unknown words,
■ Look at context
■ Think about connotation
■ Think about alternative meanings
● Sentence construction
○ Dependent clause, independent clause.
■ Since I like to eat pizza, I go out with friends to the pizza shop every
Saturday.
