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Session Length
~17 min
Adaptive Checks
15 questions
Transfer Probes
15
The SAT Reading and Writing section tests concision -- the ability to express ideas in the fewest words necessary without losing meaning, clarity, or important nuance. Concision questions present a sentence with an underlined portion and ask you to choose the revision that eliminates wordiness, redundancy, or unnecessary repetition while preserving the original meaning. The correct answer is almost always the shortest option that maintains the sentence's clarity and grammatical correctness.
Wordiness is one of the most common weaknesses in student writing. Phrases like 'due to the fact that' (instead of 'because'), 'at this point in time' (instead of 'now'), and 'in order to' (instead of 'to') add bulk without adding meaning. The SAT tests whether students can identify and remove such filler. Beyond vocabulary-level redundancy, these questions also test structural concision: combining short, choppy sentences into a single fluent one, eliminating repetitive sentence elements, and choosing constructions that achieve the same meaning with fewer words.
Concision skills are essential for effective writing at every level -- from college essays to professional emails to published articles. Editors prize concise writing because it respects the reader's time and signals confident command of language. Wordy writing, by contrast, often signals uncertainty, padding, or unfamiliarity with the material. Developing the ability to cut without losing meaning is one of the most transferable skills the SAT measures, applicable in virtually every academic and professional context.
One step at a time.
Using two or more words or phrases that convey the same meaning, making one of them unnecessary. Redundancy adds length without adding information.
Example: 'Each individual person received a free gift at no cost.' 'Individual' and 'person' overlap; 'free' and 'at no cost' overlap. Concise: 'Each person received a free gift.'
Common multi-word expressions that can be replaced by a single word or shorter phrase without changing the meaning. The SAT frequently tests recognition of these patterns.
Example: 'Due to the fact that' = 'because.' 'In the event that' = 'if.' 'At this point in time' = 'now.' 'Has the ability to' = 'can.' 'In spite of the fact that' = 'although.'
Removing words that do not contribute to the sentence's meaning, such as 'basically,' 'actually,' 'really,' 'very,' 'quite,' and 'just' when they serve no purpose.
Example: 'The experiment was basically quite successful in really demonstrating the hypothesis.' Concise: 'The experiment successfully demonstrated the hypothesis.'
Merging two or more short sentences into a single, more efficient sentence using coordination, subordination, or participial phrases. This reduces repetition and improves flow.
Example: Wordy: 'The study was published in 2019. It examined the effects of sleep on memory.' Combined: 'The 2019 study examined the effects of sleep on memory.'
When revising a sentence, maintaining consistent grammatical forms in lists, comparisons, and paired elements. Parallel structure is both a grammar rule and a concision tool, as non-parallel constructions often require extra words.
Example: Not parallel: 'The manager asked employees to arrive on time, that they dress professionally, and submitting reports by Friday.' Parallel and concise: 'The manager asked employees to arrive on time, dress professionally, and submit reports by Friday.'
Active voice ('The researcher analyzed the data') is generally shorter and more direct than passive voice ('The data was analyzed by the researcher'). The SAT often tests whether students can identify when passive voice adds unnecessary words.
Example: Passive: 'The decision was made by the committee to postpone the event.' Active and concise: 'The committee decided to postpone the event.'
A sentence that restates its own claim using different words without adding new information is circular. Concision editing removes the circular element.
Example: 'The important significance of the discovery cannot be understated.' 'Important' and 'significance' overlap (significance already implies importance). Concise: 'The significance of the discovery cannot be understated.'
Replacing wordy relative clauses ('who is,' 'that was,' 'which are') with more compact modifiers like adjectives, appositives, or participial phrases.
Example: Wordy: 'The professor, who is an expert in marine biology, published a new study.' Tight: 'The professor, an expert in marine biology, published a new study.'
More terms are available in the glossary.
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