SAT STRATEGIES AND NOTES
General SAT Strategies and Notes
There is not a penalty for missed questions therefore you should guess if you do not know the answer
Accuracy is always more important than speed
Go at a pace that allows you to fully understand the questions and the answer options before answering
Rest the day before the test
Arrive early on test day
The more practice tests you complete the better you will score
Typically significant improvement occurs after 6+ completed tests
Trust yourself - confidence is key to successful test taking - believe in your preparation
RELAX
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Essay Section Strategies and Notes
The Essay task is to analyze a provided persuasive essay and to evaluate the author's effectiveness
Essay score is not part of the composite score and is optional
Essay structure:
Introductory paragraph
CLEARLY STATE THESIS - HOW WELL DID THE AUTHOR MAKE THEIR POINT?
Transition sentence to body of essay
Two to three supporting paragraphs
These should be clear examples of the author's persuasive techniques
You should point out both the strengths and the weaknesses of the author's approach
Conclusion paragraph
Restate your thesis
Closing sentence
Use varying sentence structures and lengths.
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Reading Section Strategies and Notes
The Reading section is based on a very structured template. All reading sections are very similar.
Read the passages that are easy for you first - Do you prefer social science, literature, history, or science?
Determine the reading strategy that is best for you
Skim passage first then read questions then refer back to passage as needed to answer questions
Read questions first then read portions of passage as necessary to answer questions
Read passage in detail then answer questions
Not one right way. What is right for you? EXPERIMENT!!!!
Underline key points in the passage when reading the passage
Underline lines that are directly referred to in the questions when answering the questions
Before looking at the answers have your predicted answer in mind
If the question asks about factual content in the passage then the exact content is there - FIND IT!
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“My youngest daughter saw her SAT score go up 230 points after working with Skipper.”
Writing and Language Section Strategies and Notes
Approximately half the questions are rhetoric based. You are asked to improve the author's word usage, topic development, or passage structure
Approximately half the questions are grammar based. A consistent set of ~50- 100 grammar rules are tested.
Answer the questions as you go in the Writing and Language Section
Read the entire sentence that contains the underlined portion
Look at the answer choices to determine if more reading before or after the sentence is required
Eliminate obviously wrong choices
If multiple answers are grammatically correct the most concise answer is almost always the proper choice
Focus on the meaning and use of common introductory/transition words and phrases - also, therefore, furthermore, however, in addition, in conclusion, etc.
Often the SAT will add one or more dependent clauses in a sentence to make the sentence difficult to read. If a dependent clause is not part of the underlined portion reread the sentence without it for greater clarity
Eliminate redundancies
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Math Section Strategies and Notes
(No Calculator and Calculator)
The SAT Math Test is broken into two sections:
No-calculator section
Calculator section
Skip the obviously hard/tedious problems and come back to them at the end
For geometry questions label the picture given with the facts given if a picture is provided. If there is no picture draw and label your own.
Avoid careless mistakes. Here are the top three mistakes to avoid:
Not answering exactly the question asked for - the last sentence in a math problem will almost always be where you will find exactly what you are being asked to solve for. Underline the piece that states exactly what is being asked for and answer that.
Missing a negative - be very careful to distribute all negatives where necessary
Missing a simple calculation - DO NOT DO CALCULATIONS IN YOUR HEAD
Immediately after reading the math question look at the answer choices. This will tell you/remind you of the format the answer is in and possibly other clues to the right answer
Create a math formula/fact sheet and write down any formula or fact you need to know - review this sheet until memorized prior to the test
Trust your instincts - often the only clear attack is the right attack but the final answer may not reveal itself at first. Keep on keeping on.
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