What this skill covers
Information and Ideas questions ask you to read a short passage (sometimes paired with a small table or graph) and identify the central idea, a specific supporting detail, or what a set of data actually shows. The passages are short — usually one paragraph — so the skill is precision, not speed-reading endurance.
The most common trap is choosing an answer that is true in general but not actually supported by this specific passage or data set. A correct answer restates or logically follows from what is written; it never adds an assumption the text does not make.
Worked examples
Example 1A city tracked bicycle commuting after adding protected bike lanes on three streets. Two years later, bicycle counts on those streets had risen 40%, while counts on nearby streets without new lanes were roughly unchanged. Which choice best states the main idea?
A. The new bike lanes were associated with a rise in cycling on the streets where they were added.
B. Cycling increased everywhere in the city at the same rate.
C. The streets without new lanes saw the largest increase.
D. The city removed the bike lanes after two years.
Why: The passage reports a rise specifically on the streets with new lanes, and no comparable rise elsewhere — this choice matches both parts of that finding without overstating it.
Example 2Table: Program A served 120 clients at $40 per client. Program B served 90 clients at $55 per client. Which statement is best supported by the table?
A. Program A had a lower cost per client than Program B.
B. Program B served more clients than Program A.
C. Program A and Program B cost the same per client.
D. The table does not report a cost per client.
Why: $40 is less than $55, so Program A's per-client cost was lower — the only choice a direct comparison of the two listed values supports.
How to practice this on TSI Practice Prep
Open SAT Practice to answer original SAT questions on sAT Information and Ideas, get an explanation for every choice, and see this skill tracked separately in your progress and mistake review.
Practice score estimates are learning indicators, not official scores or admission guarantees.
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