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30 SAT traps that steal points (and the 3-second fix for each)
Short answer: most "careless mistakes" on the Digital SAT are the same few traps: adding stacked percents, averaging speeds, dividing by a variable, solving for x when the question asks for 2x − 3, semicolons and colons after incomplete sentences, comma splices and subject–verb agreement across a long interrupter. Each page below shows one trap, the tempting wrong answer, and the fix.
Math traps
M1Percent of a percentM2Average speedM3Rewrite the baseM4Dividing by x deletes a solutionM5Answer the question they askedM6Absolute value has two casesM7Negative flips the inequalityM8No solution vs. infinitely manyM9Up 25%, down 25% is not a washM10Outliers drag the meanM11Standard deviation is spread, not sizeM12Percent growth is exponentialM13Vertex form flips the sign of hM14Circle: the right side is r2M15Area scales by k2
Reading & Writing traps
RW1Semicolon = two full sentencesRW2Colon needs a full sentence before itRW3Comma spliceRW4Dashes come in matching pairsRW5Extra info needs commas on both sidesRW6Its vs. it'sRW7Subject–verb agreementRW8Pronoun agreementRW9Dangling modifierRW10Transition wordsRW11Words in contextRW12Inference: must be trueRW13Command of evidenceRW14Quantitative evidenceRW15Student notes: obey the goal
Get all 30 traps on one sheet
The free SAT Gotcha Sheet: 15 math + 15 reading & writing traps, each with the 3-second fix, plus 5 Desmos cheat codes.
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