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    Reading and Writing · Content domain

    Craft and Structure on the Digital SAT

    Craft and Structure is the biggest Reading and Writing domain, and it is pure close reading. You work out what a word means from the sentence around it, figure out why a writer built a passage a certain way, and compare how two texts on the same topic relate.

    The three skills here reward slowing down and reading for intent, not speed. Because it leads off every module, a shaky start on Craft and Structure can cost you early points while your nerves are still settling.

    New to the Digital SAT? Start with how the test is structured and scored.

    ≈28% · 13–15 questions

    Share of the Reading and Writing section (College Board figures, approximate).

    Where it appears

    Reading and Writing groups its questions by domain. Craft and Structure comes first, roughly questions 1 to 7 of each module, ordered easiest to hardest. Your total is spread across both modules.

    One Reading and Writing module has 27 questions grouped into four domain blocks in a fixed order: Craft and Structure (about questions 1 to 7), Information and Ideas (about questions 8 to 14), Standard English Conventions (about questions 15 to 20), and Expression of Ideas (about questions 21 to 27). Within each block, questions run from easiest to hardest, and the difficulty resets at the start of each new block.

    How one Reading and Writing module is ordered

    Based on our analysis of official Bluebook practice tests, each Reading and Writing module groups its 27 questions by domain in this order, easiest to hardest within each group. Difficulty resets at the start of each block, so an early question in a later block can feel easier than the last question of the block before it.

    The 3 skills in Craft and Structure

    Each has its own guide: what the SAT tests, the strategies that work, and practice questions with worked solutions.

    Words in Context

    Master Words in Context on the Digital SAT. Practice questions, worked answers, and a strategy for picking the word the passage actually supports.

    Text Structure and Purpose

    Learn Text Structure and Purpose on the Digital SAT. Practice questions and strategies for spotting why a passage was written and how it is built.

    Cross-Text Connections

    Practice Cross-Text Connections on the Digital SAT. Two-passage questions with worked answers and a strategy for comparing how the authors relate.

    Find out where you stand on Craft and Structure

    SAT Prep Quest tracks your level on every skill in this domain, then builds 5-minute drills around the ones costing you the most points.

    Get your free skill profile

    Common questions

    How many Craft and Structure questions are on the SAT?

    College Board does not publish a fixed count, but Craft and Structure makes up ≈28% · 13–15 questions of the Digital SAT Reading and Writing section. The exact number shifts slightly from one test form to the next.

    Where do Craft and Structure questions appear on the Digital SAT?

    Reading and Writing groups its questions by domain. Craft and Structure comes first, roughly questions 1 to 7 of each module, ordered easiest to hardest. Your total is spread across both modules. The Reading and Writing section is split into two adaptive modules, and this domain shows up in both.

    Other Reading and Writing domains

    SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in producing, and does not endorse, this product. Score estimates are Learner Labs projections, not official College Board scores.

    SAT Craft and Structure: Skills, Weighting, and Practice | SAT Prep Quest