SAT English Subject Test Overview

SAT English Literature Subject Test

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You will have 60 minutes to answer about 60 multiple choice questions. There are 6 to 8 sections on the test, each is organised around a particular literary text which you will be given. You do not need to answer every question and you do not need to get each answer correct to gain the maximum number of points

The Test

Caption: : Don't forget a No. 2 Pencil!

TOPICS - source/genre/chronology

Source:  English literature  (British authors): 40-50% American literature (US authors): 40%–50%  Authors from other countries writing in English: 0%–10% (e.g. India, Ireland, Canada...) Chronology: Renaissance and 17th century: 30% 18th and 19th century: 30% 20th century + : 40%

Genre: Poetry (excerpts and whole poems): 40%–50% Prose (fiction and essays):  40%–50% Drama and other:  0%–10%

Irony - Use of two level of meaning: the author plays with words on two levels of meaning: the implied meaning of a sentence or word is different from the literal meaning. Or there is a discrepancy between expected or actual behavior. Stanza - Grouping of lines in a poem, based on meter, rhyming scheme and/or meaning. Tone - The perspective  the author takes regarding a specific character, place or development.  Alliteration -  When a series of words has the same first consonant sound ("All Annie's apples and avocados".

Terms to know