Chapter 18
Reading and Analyzing the Essay Passage
The SAT includes an optional rhetorical analysis essay. Your job is to read a text (typically a speech or
editorial of some sort) and discuss how the author effectively builds an argument. This might be a familiar
task if you’ve done it in school. If not, don’t worry. The format is straightforward, and with some
practice, you can learn how to write a good SAT essay. In this chapter we’ll look at two of the three tasks
you will need to do for the essay—reading and analysis—and show you how to approach each task in the
most effective way possible.