For December 2026 SAT transitions and notes questions, study the types that show up most first. In our fall 2026 question banks, student notes questions were about 12% of English questions. Transition questions were about 12% too. Start with notes questions that ask for a difference or a similarity. Then drill cause and effect, contrast and example transitions. The test is on Saturday, December 5, 2026.
Read this as a prediction for study planning. It is not a leak and not a guarantee. Most of what appears on a test date will not be in any prediction bank, and results swing from one date to the next. Our numbers come from repeat history in our earlier question banks. The full method is on our SAT predictions 2026 hub. The December 2026 English prediction bank turns the ranking into a practice set.
12.1%
of fall 2026 English questions were student notes questions (166 of 1,376)
3.8%
were notes questions that ask for a difference or a similarity, the top skill on this page
38 times
"indeed" was the correct transition in our banks, more than any other word
119 of 400
questions in the December prediction bank are notes or transitions
On this page
Which December 2026 SAT transitions and notes skills should you study first?
Study them in the order of this chart and table. Both rank each skill by its share of the English questions in our fall 2026 banks. Those banks run from August to November 2026 and hold 1,376 questions.
Do this first
Work notes questions that ask for a difference or a similarity. Next, do notes questions that ask for an order of events or one exact detail. Then move to cause and effect, contrast and example transitions.
| Study order | Skill | Share of fall 2026 English questions | Came back in 2026 | Questions in the December bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notes: differences or similarities | 3.8% | 4.8% (14 of 289) | 27 |
| 2 | Notes: sequence or specific detail | 2.5% | 3.7% (9 of 241) | 33 |
| 3 | Transitions: cause and effect | 2.4% | no rate | 6 |
| 4 | Transitions: contrast | 2.1% | 5.6% (32 of 576) | 11 |
| 5 | Transitions: example | 2.0% | no rate | 9 |
| 6 | Notes: general statement, effect or context | 2.0% | no rate | 5 |
| 7 | Transitions: sequence, time or place | 1.6% | no rate | 3 |
| 8 | Transitions: concession | 1.2% | no rate | 6 |
| 9 | Transitions: addition | 1.2% | 5.5% (16 of 291) | 5 |
| 10 | Transitions: restatement or summary | 0.7% | no rate | 2 |
| 11 | Notes: introduce a topic to a new audience | 0.6% | no rate | 7 |
| 12 | Notes: describe a purpose or method | 0.5% | no rate | 4 |
| 13 | Transitions: comparison | 0.4% | no rate | 1 |
Here is how to read it. The share column shows how common the skill was this fall. The "came back" column shows how often a question of that type returned on a given later test date in 2026. We report a rate only when we had 150 or more pairs of a question and a later date. The last column counts the skill in our 400-question December bank. Notes questions with no type tag made up another 2.8% of fall questions.
Two things stand out. Notes questions that ask for a difference or a similarity lead the list at 3.8%. In our November 2026 bank alone they were 5.1%. Among transitions, cause and effect led this fall at 2.4%, ahead of contrast at 2.1%. Across all 23 of our English banks, contrast is the largest tagged transition family at 2.8%.
Remember
The eight practice questions on this page were written for this page, in the style of these question types. They are not questions from any test, and the names and facts in them are made up.
When is the December SAT 2026?
The December SAT is on Saturday, December 5, 2026. The registration deadline is November 20, 2026. Late registration closes on November 24, 2026, per College Board's December 5 page. Scores come out on December 18, 2026, per its score release dates.
November 20
Registration deadline
November 24
Late registration closes
December 5
Test day, a Saturday
December 18
Scores come out
From November 10, that leaves 25 days to study. Our December 2026 SAT date and deadline guide covers test day itself.
What do transitions fall under on the SAT?
Transitions fall under Expression of Ideas. It is one of the four content domains in the Reading and Writing section. College Board lists two skills in that domain: Transitions and Rhetorical Synthesis. Rhetorical Synthesis is the official name for student notes questions. College Board's own sample questions label a notes item with that skill.
College Board puts Expression of Ideas at about 20% of the section in its Reading and Writing specifications. The section has 54 questions in 64 minutes, split into two 32-minute modules, per its SAT structure page. So about 11 of the 54 SAT English questions test these two skills.
The other three domains
Each has its own December page. Words in Context is in our December 2026 SAT vocabulary list. The reading question types are in our December 2026 SAT reading prediction. Punctuation and sentence rules are in our December 2026 SAT grammar rules. For how the four domains split, see our Reading and Writing domain guide.
How many transition questions are on the SAT?
College Board's specifications give a share for the whole domain, not a count for transitions alone. In our 23 English banks, 672 of 6,115 questions (11.0%) are transition questions. On a 54-question section, that works out to about 6. Student notes questions are 829 of 6,115 (13.6%), or about 7. These are estimates from our banks. One test can have more or fewer.
Transitions
672 of 6,115 questions in our banks (11.0%). About 6 on a 54-question section.
Student notes (Rhetorical Synthesis)
829 of 6,115 questions in our banks (13.6%). About 7 on a 54-question section.
What changed since November: how our model ranks SAT English questions
We scored our November prediction after the test date. Then we rebuilt the method.
The November English prediction bank held 574 questions. Of those, 52 (9.1%) came back as the same or a reworked question. Another way to count: 89 of the 574 (15.5%) sat on a passage that came back. Our November 2026 SAT prediction explains the rule behind that bank. November itself repeated a lot. In our November 2026 English question bank, 198 of 350 questions (56.6%) matched a question in an earlier bank.
52 of 574
November prediction questions came back as the same or a reworked question (9.1%)
89 of 574
sat on a passage that came back (15.5%)
198 of 350
November 2026 bank questions matched a question in an earlier bank (56.6%)
For December we dropped the single rule ("already repeated twice"). The new model is fitted again after every test date. It scores every question in all 23 English banks on five things:
- how many test dates the question has appeared on
- how many times it has appeared this year
- how long ago it appeared, and in which season
- how often its passage has come back
- how often its skill comes back
Each question gets two scores. One is for the same question coming back. The other is for its passage coming back with a different question.
Then we tested the model on the past. We rebuilt the 400-question bank for each earlier test date, using only banks that existed before that date. Across the 2026 dates, 9.0% of the bank's questions came back on average, and 19.9% sat on a passage that came back. The worst 2026 date was 0.5%. The best was 19.3%. On November 2026 this model would have scored 9.8% on questions and 25.5% on passages.
Remember
A prediction bank is a study list, not a copy of the test. In the back-test, about 9 in 100 of its questions came back on an average 2026 date, and the result ran from 0.5% to 19.3%.
The strongest signal is how often a question has already been seen. In 2026, a question seen on one earlier date came back 3.5% of the time on a given later date. A question seen on three dates came back 12.3% of the time. A question seen on five or more came back 20.7% of the time. Questions seen twice in the same year came back 16.5% of the time.
Expression of Ideas had the highest return rate of the four domains in 2026, at 4.8%. Information and Ideas was 4.6%, Craft and Structure 4.1% and Standard English Conventions 3.5%. Math has its own model. Of the 53 questions in the November Math prediction bank, 4 came back. See our December 2026 SAT math prediction and the 200-question December 2026 Math prediction bank.
What is rhetorical synthesis on the SAT?
Rhetorical synthesis is the notes question. You get a short list of notes that a student took on a topic, plus a goal. You pick the sentence that uses the notes to meet that goal. College Board says this domain tests your ability to revise texts "to meet specific rhetorical goals" on its Reading and Writing section page.
The wording follows one pattern, in three parts.
1. The notes
They open with "While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes."
2. The goal
One sentence that starts "The student wants to..."
3. The question
"Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?"
Student notes SAT questions outnumber transitions in our banks: 829 notes questions against 672 transition questions. The key idea is simple. A choice can be true to the notes and still miss the goal. The goal decides the answer.
Rule
Read the goal before you read the notes. Mark the one thing it asks for. Then pick the choice that does that job.
SAT rhetorical synthesis questions: the method for each goal type
One method works for every goal. Read the goal first and mark what it asks for. Pick the choice that does that job. Reject any choice that is true but off the goal. Our tags sort notes questions into five goal types. The counts below come from the 166 notes questions in our fall 2026 banks. Of those, 38 have no type tag.
Differences or similarities (52 of 166)
The goal asks you to compare two things or to set them apart. The right choice names both things and states how they differ or match. The trap is a choice that tells you about only one of them. This is the most common tagged type this fall, with 27 questions in the December bank.
Practice question 1 Study order 1. Notes: differences or similarities. Written for this page.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Harlow Creek and Pine Hollow are community gardens in the town of Ardenfield.
- Harlow Creek opened in 2012 and has 40 plots.
- Pine Hollow opened in 2020 and has 85 plots.
- Both gardens give part of their harvest to the town food pantry.
- Harlow Creek waters its plots with collected rainwater. Pine Hollow uses town water.
The student wants to emphasize how the two gardens differ. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A) Harlow Creek and Pine Hollow, two community gardens in Ardenfield, both give part of their harvest to the town food pantry.
B) The Harlow Creek garden, which opened in 2012, has 40 plots and gives part of its harvest to the food pantry.
C) Harlow Creek waters its plots with collected rainwater, whereas Pine Hollow relies on town water.
D) Ardenfield has two community gardens, one of which, Pine Hollow, opened in 2020 with 85 plots.
Show answer
Choice C. The goal asks how the gardens differ, so the answer must name both gardens and set them apart. Choice A states a likeness. Choices B and D each describe only one garden.
Sequence or specific detail (34 of 166)
The goal asks for the order of events or for one exact detail. The right choice gives that order or that detail in plain terms. The trap is a broad summary that leaves the detail out. This type has 33 questions in the December bank, the most of any notes type.
Practice question 2 Study order 2. Notes: sequence or specific detail. Written for this page.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Each year, the coastal town of Brinmoor holds the Tidewater Lantern Festival.
- The first festival took place in 1987.
- It began as a fundraiser to repair the town's lighthouse.
- In 2015 the festival moved from the harbor to Calloway Park.
- About 9,000 people attended in 2023.
The student wants to specify when the festival began and why. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A) The Tidewater Lantern Festival began in 1987 as a fundraiser to repair Brinmoor's lighthouse.
B) The Tidewater Lantern Festival, held each year in Brinmoor, drew about 9,000 people in 2023.
C) In 2015 the Tidewater Lantern Festival moved from the harbor to Calloway Park.
D) Brinmoor, a coastal town with a lighthouse, holds a lantern festival every year.
See which question types are costing you points
Start with a free mock, free drills, or preview sample questions before using all 47 question banks.
Show answer
Choice A. The goal asks for two exact details: the starting year and the reason. Only choice A gives both, 1987 and the lighthouse repair. The other choices are true to the notes but give other facts.
General statement, effect or context (27 of 166)
The goal asks for a broad point, a result, or background. The right choice steps back from the small facts and states the larger idea. The trap is a choice packed with one narrow detail. The December bank has 5 of these.
Practice question 3 Study order 6. Notes: general statement, effect or context. Written for this page.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Larkfield replaced 3,000 of its streetlights with dimmer, shielded lamps in 2022.
- Biologist Dana Okafor counted moths at 20 sites before and after the change.
- After the change, moth counts near the lamps rose at 17 of the 20 sites.
- Okafor also recorded more bat activity at those sites.
- The new lamps use 40 percent less electricity.
The student wants to generalize about how the new lamps affected wildlife. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A) Dana Okafor counted moths at 20 sites in Larkfield before and after the city changed its streetlights.
B) Larkfield's 3,000 new streetlights use 40 percent less electricity than the old ones did.
C) Okafor recorded bat activity at the same 20 sites where she counted moths.
D) After Larkfield switched to dimmer, shielded streetlights, night wildlife near the lamps increased: moth counts rose at most sites, and bats were more active.
Show answer
Choice D. The goal asks for a general statement about the effect on wildlife. Choice D states that effect and backs it with the moth and bat notes. Choices A and C describe how the study was done, and choice B is about electricity.
Introduce a topic to a new audience (8 of 166)
The goal says the reader does not know the subject yet. The right choice says who or what the subject is before it adds anything else. The trap is a choice that talks as if the reader already knows. The December bank has 7 of these.
Describe a purpose or method (7 of 166)
The goal asks why a study or project was done, or how it was done. The right choice states the aim or the steps. The trap is a choice that jumps to the results. The December bank has 4 of these.
Trap
A choice can repeat the notes word for word and still be wrong. Ask one thing of every choice: does it do what the goal asks?
A worked notes example
We wrote these notes for this page. They do not come from any bank.
- The Marlow Street Tool Library opened in 2019 in an old bus garage.
- Members borrow tools for free for up to seven days.
- The Dock Road Tool Library charges a small yearly fee.
- Dock Road lends tools for up to three days.
Goal: the student wants to stress a difference between the two libraries. A choice that says "Marlow Street opened in 2019 in an old bus garage" is true, but it names only one library. It misses the goal. The right kind of answer names both and states the gap: "Marlow Street lends tools for free, while Dock Road charges a yearly fee."
True, but off the goal
"Marlow Street opened in 2019 in an old bus garage." It names one library only, so it cannot show a difference.
Meets the goal
"Marlow Street lends tools for free, while Dock Road charges a yearly fee." It names both libraries and states the gap.
For more practice, read our 3-step method for student notes questions, our rhetorical synthesis questions explained and our strategy for Digital SAT notes questions.
SAT transition words cheat sheet: eight families and the logic test for each
A transition question gives you a short text with a blank between two ideas. The question uses standard wording: "Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?" Your job is to name the link between the ideas, then pick the word that shows it. This table sorts the common SAT transition words into eight families. The number after each word is how many times it was the correct answer across the 672 transition questions in our banks.
| Family | Share of fall 2026 English questions | Words most often correct in our banks | Logic test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cause and effect | 2.4% | accordingly (23), hence (20), thus (13), as such (12), consequently (12), in turn (9), as a result (7), for this reason (6) | Does the second idea happen because of the first? |
| Contrast | 2.1% | by contrast (34), however (17), on the other hand (17), in contrast (13), instead (10), rather (9) | Do the two ideas pull in opposite ways? |
| Example | 2.0% | for example (35), specifically (30), for instance (14), in particular (6) | Is the second idea one case of the first, or a closer look at it? |
| Sequence, time or place | 1.6% | there (15), later (10), then (9), finally (9), next (8), elsewhere (8), to date (7), concurrently (6) | Does the second idea come next in time, or move to a new place? |
| Concession | 1.2% | of course (16), though (12), nevertheless (9), still (9), that said (6) | Does the writer grant a point and then push back? |
| Addition | 1.2% | in doing so (11), moreover (7) | Does the second idea add a new point on the same side? |
| Restatement or summary | 0.7% | indeed (38), that is (16), ultimately (10), in fact (7) | Does the second idea say the first again, stronger or clearer? |
| Comparison | 0.4% | by comparison (10), likewise (7) | Is the second idea a like case? |
The most common correct word in our banks is "indeed" (38 times). Next come "for example" (35), "by contrast" (34) and "specifically" (30). In our 2026 banks alone, "for example" and "specifically" lead with 19 each. In the December prediction bank, the words keyed most often are "for example" (4), "specifically" (3) and "of course" (3).
Trap
Do not pick a word because it was right often in the past. "Indeed" was the correct answer 38 times in our banks, and it is still wrong every time the second idea does not back up the first.
Do not treat this SAT transition words list as an answer key. A word is right only when its logic fits the two ideas. For every word by type, use our SAT transition words cheat sheet. For the rules, read our Domain 3 transitions rules.
A three-step method for SAT transitions
- Cover the choices. Read the sentence before the blank and the sentence after it.
- Name the link in your own words: opposite, result, example, next in time, grant then push back, add, restate, or like case.
- Pick the word from that family. Then read both sentences again with your choice in place.
Rule
Name the link before you look at the words. If you cannot say how the second idea relates to the first, read both sentences again.
Try it on an example we wrote for this page. "The town planted 400 street trees in 2021. ______ sidewalks on those blocks ran two degrees cooler the next summer." The second sentence is a result of the first. That is cause and effect, so "As a result," fits. "However," fails because the two ideas do not clash. "For example," fails because a cooler sidewalk is not one case of planting trees.
Wrong link
"The town planted 400 street trees in 2021. However, sidewalks on those blocks ran two degrees cooler the next summer." The ideas do not clash, so a contrast word fails.
Right link
"The town planted 400 street trees in 2021. As a result, sidewalks on those blocks ran two degrees cooler the next summer." The second idea is a result of the first.
Practice question 4 Study order 3. Transitions: cause and effect. Written for this page.
In its first season, the Brinmoor ferry ran only twice a day, and many commuters could not fit it into their schedules. ______ the operator added four more daily crossings the following spring.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) By contrast,
B) Accordingly,
C) For instance,
D) Likewise,
Show answer
Choice B. The operator added crossings because commuters could not use the short schedule. That is a result, so a cause and effect word fits. Nothing here is opposed, an example, or a like case.
Practice question 5 Study order 4. Transitions: contrast. Written for this page.
Sprinter Maya Ortiz trains mostly on a track, repeating short, fast runs. Her teammate Lena Park, ______ prepares for marathons with long, slow runs on country roads.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) for example,
B) as a result,
C) by contrast,
D) in other words,
Show answer
Choice C. The two runners train in opposite ways: short and fast against long and slow. A contrast word shows that. Park is not an example of Ortiz, a result of her, or a restatement.
Practice question 6 Study order 5. Transitions: example. Written for this page.
The Ardenfield library lends far more than books. ______ members can borrow telescopes, sewing machines and even cake pans.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) However,
B) Therefore,
C) Similarly,
D) For example,
Show answer
Choice D. The second sentence lists cases of "more than books." That is an example link. The ideas do not clash, and the list is not a result of the first sentence.
Practice question 7 Study order 8. Transitions: concession. Written for this page.
The new bike lanes on Calloway Avenue have cut cyclists' travel time across town. ______ some shop owners say the lanes removed parking that their customers relied on.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) That said,
B) Consequently,
C) For instance,
D) In other words,
Show answer
Choice A. The writer grants a benefit and then turns to a drawback. "That said" grants the first point and pushes back. The lost parking is not presented as a result, an example, or a restatement of faster travel.
What does indeed mean as a transition word?
As a transition word, "indeed" means "yes, and here is stronger proof." It agrees with the sentence before it and pushes the same point further. Here is when to use indeed as a transition: the second sentence must back up the first with a stronger or more exact fact. Our own example: "The new bus route was popular. Indeed, the number of riders doubled in its first month." If the second sentence only gives one case, "for example" fits better. Our guide to indeed as a transition word has more practice.
Practice question 8 Study order 10. Transitions: restatement or summary. Written for this page.
The first printing of Ines Varela's field guide sold faster than her publisher had hoped. ______ every copy was gone within two weeks.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) Instead,
B) Indeed,
C) Meanwhile,
D) Granted,
Show answer
Choice B. The second sentence backs up "sold faster than hoped" with a stronger, more exact fact. That is the job of "indeed." The other choices signal a replacement, a second event at the same time, or a concession.
Is in fact a transition word?
Yes. "In fact" is a transition word in the same family as "indeed." It adds force to a point. It can also correct an idea. Our own example: "Many people call the tomato a vegetable. In fact, it is a fruit." "In fact" was the correct answer 7 times in our banks.
For more, see our simple method for transition questions and the five mistakes to avoid on SAT transition questions.
A SAT writing practice plan for the 25 days before December 5
Split the 25 days into five blocks. Each block has one job.
Days 1 to 5
November 10 to 14: notes
Work the five goal types in the order of the first table, starting with differences or similarities. Read the goal first on every question.
Days 6 to 10
November 15 to 19: transitions
Learn the eight families and their logic tests. Do short sets. Say the link out loud before you look at the choices. Register by November 20 if you have not done so.
Days 11 to 18
November 20 to 27: the prediction bank
Work the Expression of Ideas part of the December English prediction bank. It has 119 of the bank's 400 questions: 76 notes and 43 transitions. The bank costs $99.99, runs from Easy to Hard inside each skill, and has videos on 213 questions.
Days 19 to 24
November 28 to December 3: timed work
College Board's timing gives you about 1 minute and 11 seconds per question. Do the newest set, the November 2026 English bank, on the clock. Mix in our hard SAT writing practice questions. Review only your misses.
Day 25
December 4: light review
Read the two tables on this page once. Then rest.
To see how these skills showed up last month, read our November 2026 SAT grammar and transitions recap. Every earlier month sits in the SAT question bank hub.
What to do next
Pick one and start today.
Practice the December English prediction bankWork the November 2026 English bankOpen the full transition words cheat sheet
How we built this page
Every Test Advantage number on this page comes from our own question banks on thetestadvantage.com, measured from the live database on November 10, 2026: 23 English banks with 6,115 questions, March 2024 to November 2026.
- "Came back" counts the same question or a reworked one on a later test date.
- The back-test used only banks that existed before each test date.
- Bank tags give each question its family or goal type. We sorted the single transition words into families by their dictionary meaning, so a word's row may differ from the tag on one question.
- The worked examples and the eight practice questions were written for this page, and the names and facts in them are made up. We show no test content here.
- The standard question wording we quote is the wording in College Board's published sample questions.
- The test date, deadlines, score date, section timing and domain shares come from College Board pages fetched on November 10, 2026.
This is a prediction for study planning. It is not a leak and not a guarantee. Verified 2026-11-10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which December 2026 SAT transitions and notes skills should you study first?
Start with notes questions that ask for a difference or similarity (3.8% of English questions in our fall 2026 banks). Then notes on sequence or specific detail (2.5%), cause and effect transitions (2.4%), contrast transitions (2.1%) and example transitions (2.0%). This is a prediction from repeat history, not a guarantee.
When is the December SAT 2026?
The December SAT is on Saturday, December 5, 2026. College Board lists a registration deadline of November 20, 2026 and a late registration deadline of November 24, 2026. Scores come out on December 18, 2026.
What do transitions fall under on the SAT?
Transitions fall under Expression of Ideas, one of the four Reading and Writing content domains. College Board lists two skills there, Transitions and Rhetorical Synthesis, and puts the domain at about 20% of the section. That is about 11 of 54 questions.
How many transition questions are on the SAT?
College Board's specifications give a share for the whole Expression of Ideas domain, not a count for transitions alone. In our 23 English question banks, 672 of 6,115 questions (11.0%) are transition questions. That works out to about 6 on a 54-question section. Treat it as an estimate. One test can have more or fewer.
What does indeed mean as a transition word?
As a transition word, indeed means yes, and here is stronger proof. It agrees with the sentence before it and pushes the same point further. Use it when the second sentence backs up the first with a stronger or more exact fact. It was the most common correct transition in our banks (38 times).
Is in fact a transition word?
Yes. In fact is a transition word in the same family as indeed. It adds force to a point, and it can also correct an idea. Example: Many people call the tomato a vegetable. In fact, it is a fruit. It was the correct answer 7 times in our banks.
What is rhetorical synthesis on the SAT?
Rhetorical synthesis is the student notes question. You get a short list of notes and a goal, and you pick the sentence that uses the notes to meet that goal. Read the goal first. A choice can be true to the notes and still miss the goal.