I have been working on a guide to help students improve their Reading Skills, and when making lists of things students should read, I realized that a list of the passages used by the SAT in one place might be helpful. So here is a list with links to the passages in the 6 Released SAT Tests (and a bonus at the end). There are mostly articles, but there are also 3 books. So, if you struggle with the Science passages the most, start by reading these and then read more by these authors or more found in these magazines and journals as they will be in the style and at a difficulty the College Board prefers.

College Board Test 1

SINGLE PASSAGE

Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. (1953). Genetical Implications of the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature.

http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/watsoncrick2.pdf

DOUBLE PASSAGE

Slezak, M. (2013, March). Space Mining: The Next Gold Rush? New Scientist.

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/proceedings/85855647/space-mining-next-gold-rush

Taking the Final Frontier. (2013, February). New Scientist.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729063-400-space-gold-rush-should-not-be-a-free-for-all/

College Board Test 2

DOUBLE PASSAGE

Carr, N. (2010, May 24). Author Nicholar Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains. Wired.

https://www.wired.com/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/

Pinker, S. (2010, June 10). Mind over Mass Media. The New York Times.

SINGLE PASSAGE

Giller, G. (2014, January 15). Long a Mystery, How 500-Meter-High Undersea Waves Form is Revealed. Scientific American.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/long-a-mystery-how-500-me/

College Board Test 3

SINGLE PASSAGE

Hanson, T. (2011). Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle. Basic Books.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9634191-feathers

SINGLE PASSAGE

Sharpe, R. J. (2009). Honey bee colony collapse disorder is possibly caused by a dietary pyrethrum deficiency. Bioscience.

https://www.infona.pl/resource/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-f84af642-e1a2-3844-94f7-eb1d1076d58f

College Board Test 4

SINGLE PASSAGE

Anthes, E. (2013). Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts. Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15793536-frankenstein-s-cat

SINGLE PASSAGE

Gramling, C. (2013, October 1). Source of Mysterious Medieval Eruption Identified. Science.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/source-mysterious-medieval-eruption-identified

College Board Test 5

SINGLE PASSAGE

Walsh, B. (2012, April 26). Whole Food Blues: Why Organic Agriculture May Not Be So Sustainable. Time Inc.

Whole Food Blues: Why Organic Agriculture May Not Be So Sustainable

SINGLE PASSAGE

Bohannon, J. (2013, August 8). Why You Shouldn’t Trust Internet Comments. Science.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/08/why-you-shouldn-t-trust-internet-comments

SINGLE PASSAGE

Foer, J. (2011). Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. Penguin Press H.C.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6346975-moonwalking-with-einstein

College Board Test 6

SINGLE PASSAGE

Youngsteadt, E. (2012). Decoding a Flower’s Message. American Scientist.

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/decoding-a-flowers-message

SINGLE PASSAGE

Bullis, K. (2013, June 21). What Tech is Next for the Solar Industry? MIT Technology Review.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/516306/what-tech-is-next-for-the-solar-industry/

College Board Test 7

SINGLE PASSAGE

Waldron, Patricia (2014). Why Birds fly in a V Formation. American Association for the Advancement of Science.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/01/why-birds-fly-v-formation

SINGLE PASSAGE

Greene, Brian ( 2013 ) How the Higgs Boson was Found. The Smithsonian Institution.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-higgs-boson-was-found-4723520/

College Board Test 8

SINGLE PASSAGE

Ehrenberg, Rachel (2009) Salt stretches in Nanoworld. Society for Science & the Public.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/salt-stretches-nanoworld

(subscription required to access this article)

SINGLE PASSAGE

Chamovitz, David. (2012) What a Plant knows: A Field Guide to the Senses.

November 2016 SAT

Reas, E. (2013, November 26). Your Brain has 2 Clocks. Scientific American.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-brain-has-two-clocks/

FREE SAT Reading Literature Guide