1-On-1 Zoom ACT Tutors

How to Achieve SAT Success

I did well on the SAT (not a 2400, but close), so I thought I'd share some spicy SAT advice with you all. For more information on Online 1-On-1 SAT Specialists, visit our website today.

First and foremost,

**Note: If you've already registered for SAT classes, you can skip this section and focus on your studies. But there's still a lot of (hopefully) useful information in here! **

SAT group classes are a waste of time. Taking practise tests on your own would help you improve just as much. Classes may "push" you to study, but they may be a waste of time since instead of reading a book and thinking things through (active learning), you can just sit there for an hour and tune out as the teacher drones on (passive learning). The majority of $1000 franchise SAT classes, such as those offered by Princeton Review or Kaplan, are merely reciting what can be found in their $30 books. What's the difference between their group classes and the books they've written? Let's have a look...

$1000.00

minus 30.00

$970.00

On the SAT, there aren't any more 200 points. It's not $50. It's $970.00.

...

CONSIDER WHAT YOU COULD DO WITH THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY!! This is a great way to become motivated. Is it really necessary to spend $1000+ on motivation? No. Avoid this well-planned torment!! If you absolutely must take a SAT class, go with a smaller, private organisation with references or, better yet, a private instructor.

Supplies Needed

For the tests, only use the CB materials. The remainder is basically generic and ineffective advice that you don't need to waste your time reading.

The College Board's Official SAT Study Guide, $11.97 The College Board's Official SAT Online Course, $69.95 [Only use this if you require additional testing.] Pete Edwards' Maximum SAT: Second Edition, $26.99 [If you want to save money, the first edition is fine.] Materials that are optional Other Real SAT books exist, although they aren't as widely available. These books are all under $5, including delivery, and are an excellent investment if you need more practise. When you can get the real thing, why use bogus questions from companies like Princeton Review? Obviously, the Quant Comp problems and analogies should be avoided, but the rest is still useful for practise.

The College Board's 10 Real SATs, Third Edition (Paperback - May 1, 2003) [red jacket] College Entrance Examination Board's 8 Real SATs (Paperback - Sep 1996) [Cover: white] Cathy Claman's 10 Real SATs (August 1997, paperback) [Cover: white] Last but not least, Look for folks who took the SATs in October or January, since they may have copies of their tests that you may borrow and take. These exams are as authentic as they get. Oh, and offer a lovely present or two to the kind folks who lent you tests. (Many thanks to Justin and Peter.) You could also practise with old PSAT tests. The October 2005 pretest is used in the CB online course.

How to Get a Good SAT Score

The material on the SAT isn't particularly advanced, so you'll just be brushing up on things you've forgotten. As a result, you don't need to read SAT books from beginning to end. Use them as a reference tool, similar to how you'd use a dictionary.

Do a diagnostic without any preparation if you haven't already. This isn't required, but it's always helpful to know where you are. This is where Kaplan or Princeton Review's free practise tests come in handy. From my PR practise exam in January, I gained roughly 300 points, thus (maybe) that's what you can expect as well. You could use a PSAT score for this, but by the time you're getting ready to take the SAT, you've most likely improved naturally since your sophomore PSAT. Personally, I believed that taking the PSAT in sophomore year was a waste of money, thus I skipped it, but do what you wish. Take a few of tests with no time limit and open books/answers. Take your time: you're essentially learning how the test is constructed and brushing up on random topics you've forgotten. Exams should be taken with closed books. You can go over time at first, but by the third or fourth test, you must be within the time limit. Review any erroneous answers as well as any 'strange' questions that you only just got right or took a long time to figure out. It's important to note that you don't have to complete the entire test at once. In fact, taking it one portion at a time allows you to examine what you just learned before forgetting it. To build up your stamina, you don't need to take a full-length test more than two or three times. Even if you don't have adrenaline, you'll have it on test day. There's a lot of it. :) Look up some concentration exercises on the internet if you're genuinely worried about your concentration.

Reading for Criticism

Read, read, and read some more. It's difficult to make up for a lifetime of not reading, but you can certainly make a dent. If you don't think it'll be worth your time, think of it as GRE or LSAT prep (grad school standardised tests). Your vocabulary and critical reading skills will develop as a result of reading. Consider tone, voice, style, where the author is leading, themes, and so on as you read "critically." Then, practise SAT questions while paying as much attention to the rhetoric as possible. You'll notice patterns and the way CB thinks if you do a part a day (or week; whatever) for a while.

Also, avoid delving too deeply into a question. The obvious response is usually correct; if you have to twist an answer to make it fit, it isn't correct. After seeing a number of queries, this is one of the things you'll 'get.'

Maximum SAT features an excellent 400-word vocabulary list in the back; remember it first, then move on to other lists. Also, when taking practise tests (provided by CB! ), keep track of which words you weren't sure about and memorise those as well. You can spend more or less time on this portion depending on how much you read and how much vocab you already know. It was enough for me to stick to the Maximum SAT list and random words on practise tests. You may require additional supplies. Or even less! :)

Spend the majority of your time learning how to spot the patterns of Sentence Completion, and especially Critical Reading, if you want to enhance your CR results. This is more significant than learning tens of thousands of random vocabulary words. Seriously, that 3500 Barron's Vocabulary List makes me nervous. Is there anyone who truly tries to memorise the whole thing?

Math

The math component of the Maximum SAT is quite short. You don't need to read it all if you're really excellent at math; instead, use it when you come across a question you don't know how to answer or find something you need to brush up on. Others will have to read it all; it all depends on your level of math knowledge. If you come into a strange question and don't know what to do with it, simply ask a friend.

Concentrate on improving your speed and accuracy on level 1-4 problems once you've reached a score of around 700 in the math section. If necessary, brush up on Algebra 2, as many difficult questions are found there. After a while, you'll be able to skip all of the easier math questions and move straight to level 5.

Writing

Again, the writing component of the Maximum SAT is excellent. Use it in the same way you would the arithmetic section, but be sure to read at least Writing Lesson 2 and the first half of Writing Lesson 3, as these sections address the most common errors.

The essay isn't really important. For example, if you achieve a perfect score on the multiple choice, you can still get an 800 on the essay if you get a 9/10 (depending on the curve). Prior to working on the essay, focus on strengthening the MC. Also, after a few practise exams, compile a note of the grammatical (or any other) errors you frequently make. For me, this meant answering random error ID questions where I read too quickly and assumed there was no issue rather than noticing the subject-verb mismatch.

[12 Steps to a 12] Essay Note: Once I've read my real essay, I'll update/adjust this section.

CB is seeking for an essay that makes a compelling case rather than a work of art. During the initial run, don't waste time attempting to come up with good vocabulary. Points are awarded for form, argument, support, and details. Take a look at Wikipedia! Seriously, you'll learn a lot of useful information that you can use in your essay. Pick a few topics and study everything there is to know about them. To help you started, here are some samples. However, there are many examples outside of history and literature that you might use. If you haven't read a book in a while and want to refresh your memory, use sparknotes. History: Activists; Civil Rights Movement; George Washington/King Louis 16th and his wife; Gilded Age/Progressive Era; WWI, WWII, Germany after WWI Literature: 1984; Huckleberry Finn's Adventures; Brave New World; Catcher in the Rye; Fahrenheit 451; Frankenstein; The Crucible; The Grapes of Wrath; The Great Gatsby; To Kill a Mockingbird; Les Miserables; Lord of the Flies; Macbeth; Macbeth; The Merchant of Venice; Spoon River Anthology; The Scarlet Letter Philosophy (courtesy of JueYan Zhang): John Stuart Mill Read the Question and the Quote. Don't miss the quote because it sets the tone for the question. However, other people believe that skipping the phrase entirely is a smart idea. Write a few essays to see which method suits you best. I find that the quote helps me think of examples, however some people may believe that it confuses them. After then, be careful to explicitly address the question rather than going off on a tangent discussing the quote. Begin your first statement as soon as you understand the question! To refresh your memory, jot down a few LETTERS, but that's it! The ideal scenario is to spend only a minute or two on the quote and question, then dive right into writing, leaving a minute at the end to check for grammatical errors or improve your word choice in a few areas. You must continue to think of examples as you write. Personal tales are preferable to solid examples that carry at least some academic weight (well-known person, historical/current event, movie, philosophical notion, etc.), but if you can't think of any strong examples right away, write a really excellent essay on a good personal example. Because time is of the essence, don't be afraid to make up, errr use, personal examples. A paragraph could also be used to oppose a counter-argument to your article. Another technique to approach the essay is to choose a single example and look at it from various angles. Here's an example of an essay that did this and received a perfect score from a collegeboard online course: People are frequently judged based on their achievements. Different groups look at what an individual has done and decide whether or not that person is suitable for this career or speciality track based only on what they see. This is your standard competition. It can be found everywhere around us. It affects jobs, schools, and warfare. For one reason, the strong survive. They have the ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. They'll dive right into a problem, then back up and examine it from a different perspective. The weak will run into the difficulty in the same way, but will back up and run into it again and again until they become too frustrated to continue or beg for aid from a stronger individual. The stronger, on the other hand, will have moved on to a more difficult task. During World War II and the creation of the jet engine, this principle was shown. The United States and the United Kingdom were having significant difficulties working out all of the flaws, which ranged from uncontrollable thrust quantities and out of control speeds to complete and utter engine explosion. The German Luftwaffe, on the other hand, had already refined the engine and put it to use in the Me 262. The allies were being annihilated by an opponent with whom they had no match. Allied planes were being shot down in large numbers, and no one could do much because the US jet engine was still under development. As a result, new strategies were devised. Rather than hoping for a lucky shot and dashing into the wall, the Allies devised a strategy to get around it. The notion was that the 262 was highly susceptible during takeoff and landing because it had to slow down substantially to land. As a result, Allied planes were able to not only catch but also kill many 262s that would have been hard to destroy otherwise. This new strategy was successful in winning the air battle over Europe's skies. Tools have been made by humans from the dawn of time. For millions of years, man has created technologies to aid them, from the most rudimentary spear, which was little more than a sharp stick, to the most technologically advanced military fighter, the F-22 Raptor. The powerful are the ones that create these tools in the first place. The weak will be slain fast in attacks, whereas the strong and agile will rapidly improvise something, then revise it later to improve it. Maintain your concentration. Reread the question at the end of each paragraph to bring everything together. You don't want to spend two pages writing only to discover that you've gone off on a tangent. You can easily extend your essay by describing how your examples relate to the topic. The most important factor is content; length helps, but it isn't everything. Two pages of meaningless nonsense will not improve your grade. Those who fill up the entire two pages and receive 12s have a lot to say, not just anything. I authored 1.5 pages and received an 11 out of ten. I chose to edit the essay rather than write more because I couldn't think of a way to write more while keeping the essay flowing. Also, I'm terrible at writing quickly, so that's why I didn't get to the full two pages haha. Perhaps you aren't experiencing this issue. At least 1.5 pages are required. There are no guidelines, so go with the flow. So be it if your ideas necessitate a single continuous paragraph for the entire article. This is probably not a good idea, but the point is that you shouldn't fret about fitting three primary instances within three main body paragraphs. If you want to, you can start a new paragraph with just one or two sentences. It doesn't important if your thesis is the most prominent line; therefore, don't waste time perfecting it. Possess a viewpoint. If at all feasible, take a nonconformist viewpoint. Choose a point of view that embraces the beauty of life, success, and advancement in some way (it sounds corny, but it works). Don't depress the reader; instead, impress him or her with a fresh take on the challenge. BUT ONLY if you can quickly come up with solid examples. Otherwise, choose the point of view/argument that you can best support. This is just something to bear in mind when reading the question for the first time. Make your writing legible. Hand exercises might also be a useful complement to your SAT studies on a daily basis. :) OK, it'll probably be more useful for preventing "computer-related harm," but if you're reading this on a computer, you'll probably benefit from it. In terms of the introduction and conclusion, Summarize and seize the audience's attention. The body counts for the most points, therefore they don't have to be long. You don't have to worry about the conclusion; it's fine if your introduction and/or body are lengthy but your conclusion is brief. Consider the SAT essay to be more of an inverted triangle (like a news article). You'll be alright if you tie the thesis to a good conclusion. It is far more important to have two pages than it is to have a conclusion. Try closing with a thinking comment, either your own or a proverb/quote, if you can think of one. Just something to think about if you can't come up with something for the prompt. Lastly

Visualize your objective, whatever it is. :)

Taking the SAT a second time

Hopefully, you will not have to consider this, but if you do, there are numerous variables to consider. How did you do on the SAT Subject Tests? What would you have to give up in terms of time to retake? (Shouldn't you be studying for other exams?) Do you have a lot of extracurricular activities that you'd have to give up or cut back on if you had to? Or are you done with everything and just want to unwind?) Did you spend a lot of time studying for your previous SAT? Have you taken the SAT more than once? Many people believe that taking the SAT more than three times is unprofessional. I don't agree or disagree that retaking a fourth time is a poor idea, but keep in mind the law of decreasing returns. In the end, it's your decision; whatever you choose, stick to it and don't do it half-heartedly. :D

A Remark on the SAT

In terms of admissions, the SAT isn't everything: it matters, but not that much. A 2400 won't get you into any school, and a 2000 won't keep you out of any school (a 600 might, though). It's better to just live and enjoy your life rather than stressing over that ideal score. You are not a Harvard hook. You're a living being. There's a reason universities seek for people who are active, happy, and do exciting things for themselves and others. In life, grades can only go you so far. Want to know about the best 1-On-1 Zoom ACT Tutors? Visit our website for more information.