Struggling with Struggling with College Board SAT Reading Practice Questions? Here's an Example and Breakdown for Your Prep

Feel like you can relate?

If you're preparing for the SAT and find yourself stuck on certain reading comprehension questions, you're not alone. One of the most challenging aspects of the SAT is learning how to identify the best answer—not just a plausible one. In this post, we’ll walk through a real College Board SAT Reading Practice question about Shakespeare and explain why one answer choice is correct while the others fall short. Use this breakdown as a model to sharpen your reasoning skills and boost your confidence on test day.

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Many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that still appeal to today’s audiences. For instance, Romeo and Juliet, which is set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time, tackles the themes of parents versus children and love versus hate, and the play continues to be read and produced widely around the world. But understanding Shakespeare’s so-called history plays can require a knowledge of several centuries of English history. Consequently, ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) many theatergoers and readers today are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than the tragedies.

B) some of Shakespeare’s tragedies are more relevant to today’s audiences than twentieth-century plays.

C) Romeo and Juliet is the most thematically accessible of all Shakespeare’s tragedies.

D) experts in English history tend to prefer Shakespeare’s history plays to his other works.

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Click your answer choice below to reveal the correct response—along with a clear explanation to boost your SAT skills and strategy!

Answer A

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the relative appeal of different kinds of plays by Shakespeare to today’s audiences. According to the text, Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that continue to appeal to today’s audiences. Indeed, the text suggests that these themes are timeless, as illustrated by the example of Romeo and Juliet, which the text states is still read and widely performed despite being set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time. In contrast, the text indicates that audiences and readers may need to be familiar with several centuries of English history in order to understand Shakespeare’s history plays. Because many theatergoers and readers are unlikely to possess such extensive historical knowledge, it follows that they are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than his more accessible tragedies.

Answer B

Choice B is incorrect because the text never introduces a comparison between Shakespeare’s tragedies and twentieth-century plays, only between Shakespeare’s tragedies and his history plays. Since twentieth-century plays aren’t mentioned, there’s no basis in the text for the idea that some of Shakespeare’s tragedies are more relevant than twentieth-century plays to today’s audiences.

Answer C

Choice C is incorrect. Although the text indicates that Romeo and Juliet is thematically accessible to today’s audiences, it doesn’t suggest that Romeo and Juliet is more accessible than Shakespeare’s other tragedies. Rather, the text presents Romeo and Juliet as an example to support the idea that Shakespeare’s tragedies hold continued appeal for today’s readers and theatergoers.

Answer D

Choice D is incorrect. Although experts in English history would likely possess the knowledge needed to understand Shakespeare’s history plays, the text never mentions such experts or suggests that they would enjoy the history plays more than Shakespeare’s other works.

Too easy? Check our other posts for more examples.