What it is Acing the ACT is a short book written by Elizabeth King. It’s focused on how to deal with the tricky questions and traps on the ACT. It doesn’t focus on all the skills that you need – assuming that students have the basics covered. The subtitle is really accurate: a guide to […]
Writing
Who vs Whom?
Both the ACT and the SAT test this grammar rule. The official explanation There are official explanations of the difference between the two. (Erica Meltzer has a explanation of an exception over on her blog, the Critical Reader.) The pronoun “who” is used as the subject of a sentence. (Who is doing the action?) Who […]
The SAT is like your drunk uncle at a party
Today I was working with a student on the SAT writing section. The passage was comparing the numbers of physician and physician assistants (PAs) and the expected increase of PAs in the future. This is from the Writing section in the Official SAT Practice Test 6, Section 2. Get a little suspicious Question 32 asked if […]
How to use an apostrophe
All sorts of people are confused by apostrophes. So no wonder high school students are also confused. After all, if you see bad examples every day, how are you supposed to figure out what’s correct? The SAT is supporting grammarians by now testing this directly on the SAT. This is from the Official SAT Practice […]
SAT Grammar: Colons, Semicolons, and Commas (oh my!)
The new SAT is all about grammar. (The grammar-nerds among us <raises hand> are rejoicing.) But it’s bad news for most students. For the first time on the SAT, they need to know how and why to use colons, semicolons, and commas. (In fact, commas are the most-tested punctuation on the SAT.) Here’s a quick […]
6 must-have resources to help you study for the new SAT
I talk to a lot of parents that want to help their kids study for the SAT, but aren’t sure what to use. Here are my favorite resources that EVERYONE should use (whether you are studying on your own, taking a SAT class, or working with a tutor.) Use the real thing 1.The Official SAT Practice […]