[Note: this post refers to the old SAT. I’ve noted below where the particular strategy listed doesn’t apply. Otherwise – it still applies to the new SAT.]
The next SAT is less than 2 weeks away.
How can you make the most of your time and improve your SAT score between now and the next test? Here are my top tips.
General Strategy
- Skip the hard questions.
(Until you reach the 600s.) Why? Because they are vampire bunnies that will lower your score. Where are those hard questions located? It depends. [Note: On the new SAT the question order is randomized in the reading and writing sections and *roughly* goes from easy to medium to hard in the math multiple choice questions and starts over again in the math student response questions. (And yes, this applies to both the Math_No Calculator and Math_Calculator sections.)]
- Stop rushing.
Slow the heck down and grab the small pumpkins first.
- Don’t randomly guess.
But educated guessing will increase your score. [Note: There isn’t a guessing penalty on the new SAT so never leave a question blank. But most students will get a higher score by *focusing* on fewer questions and getting more of them right and then just bubbling in randomly for the questions they didn’t get to.]
Math
- Show your work.
For reals – write EVERYTHING out. Bad things happen in your head. The SAT is designed to kill your short term memory, so don’t rely on it at all.
- Re-read the question.
AFTER you’ve solved the question, but BEFORE you look at the answer choices, re-read the question.
- Math is just a critical reading section with numbers.
Every word (and number) counts! Read meticulously to see if there are any elephants in your refrigerator.
- Estimate the answer.
You can use your brain or your “ruler”.
- Get the biggest bang for your buck.
If you are going to study, study the most frequently tested SAT math topics first. [In the new SAT, they’ve changed the topic distribution a little. They’ve added a lot more Algebra 2, a little Trig, and reduced the previous emphasis on Geometry.]
Critical Reading
- Critical reading is just a math section without numbers.
Solve the question before looking at the answer. For the vocab part – write in your own words in the blanks before looking at the answers. [Note: there isn’t a vocab section in the new SAT.] For the reading passages – read the question, go to the passage to find the answer, THEN look at the answer choices to find the answer that matches your understanding. (See – it’s just like solving a math problem.)
- Look for the forest, not the trees.
The right answers almost always line up with the main idea of the passage.
- Throw out the wrong answers.
Cross out the wrong answers – this makes it much easier for your brain to see the right answer.
- Switch over to the dark side!
Approach each of the five answers [Note: there are now just 4 answer choices on the new SAT.] with the mindset of “This is a wrong answer because…” and then *find evidence in the passage* for why it is wrong. Only one of the answers won’t have evidence proving it wrong – ergo that must be the right answer.
Writing
- Get the biggest bang for your buck.
If you want to brush up on your grammar, study the most frequently tested SAT grammar topics first. [Note: They’ve changed the frequency of the grammar topics on the new SAT.]
Do you have any other great study tips? Leave them below!
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