I think the writing section is more tricky while the reading section is easier in most ways for many kids like mine. DS and DD took the old and new SAT back to back (Jan & March) in 7th grade and their reading and writing scores went up a decent amount on the new SAT. The vocabulary on the old SAT held DD back while the literary emphasis on the old SAT made DS' practice score extremely variable with his "real" Jan 2016 score coming in at the extreme low end of his range.