Getting to Know the SAT

GETTING TO KNOW THE SAT

TIPS AND TRICKS TO IMPROVE YOUR SAT SCORE

MR. TORRES

10/02/2013

STEP 1: UNDERSTANDING THE TESTTHE SAT IS MADE UP OF THREE DIFFERENT SECTIONS:• THE SAT MATH SECTION GOES FROM BASIC MATH TO MID-LEVEL GEOMETRY, AND IS

WORTH 800 POINTS.• THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION TESTS YOUR READING COMPREHENSION AND

MASTERY OF VOCABULARY, AND IS WORTH 800 POINTS.• THE SAT WRITING SECTION TESTS YOUR MASTERY OF GRAMMAR AND LANGUAGE

USAGE AS WELL AS WRITING AND REASONING SKILLS, AND IS WORTH 800 POINTS.• THE HIGHEST ACHIEVABLE SCORE ON THE SAT EXAMINATION IS 2400 POINTS.

STEP 1: UNDERSTANDING THE TESTIN ADDITION TO KNOWING WHAT EACH SECTION IS WORTH, YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW MANY QUESTIONS YOU’LL BE SEEING IN EACH SECTION AND WHAT THEY ENTAIL.• THERE ARE 54 QUESTIONS IN THE MATH SECTION OF THE SAT, INCLUDING 10 GRID-IN QUESTIONS

FOR WHICH YOU DO NOT LOSE POINTS FOR WRONG ANSWERS. MATH QUESTIONS ARE LISTED IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY IN EACH SECTION.• THERE ARE 67 QUESTIONS IN THE CRITICAL READING SECTION: 48 CRITICAL READING QUESTIONS

AND 19 SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS. SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS ARE LISTED IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SECTION, AND READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS FOLLOW THE ORDER OF THE PASSAGE IN EACH SECTION.

STEP 1: UNDERSTANDING THE TESTIN ADDITION TO KNOWING WHAT EACH SECTION IS WORTH, YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW MANY QUESTIONS YOU’LL BE SEEING IN EACH SECTION AND WHAT THEY ENTAIL.• THERE ARE 49 WRITING MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS IN THE WRITING SECTION OF THE SAT. THREE

TYPES OF QUESTIONS ARE FEATURED: IMPROVING SENTENCES, IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS, AND IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS QUESTIONS. THERE ARE 25 IMPROVING SENTENCES, 18 IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS, AND 6 IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS QUESTIONS ON THE EXAM.• THERE IS ALSO AN ESSAY, WHICH IS THE FIRST SECTION ON THE SAT, WHICH WILL COUNT TOWARDS

YOUR WRITING SCORE ON THE EXAM. YOU WILL HAVE 25 MINUTES TO WRITE A 4-5 PARAGRAPH PERSUASIVE ESSAY BASED ON THE PROMPT PROVIDED IN THE EXAM.

STEP 2: PREPARATIONTHINGS THAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING TO PREPARE FOR THE SAT:• LEARNING QUESTION TYPES AND TRICK ANSWER TYPES• REVIEWING STRATEGIES FOR MATH, CRITICAL READING, SENTENCE

COMPLETION, AND WRITING (ESSAY AND MULTIPLE CHOICE) SECTIONS• EXPANDING YOUR VOCABULARY AND REVIEWING GRAMMAR• REVIEWING GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA PROCESSES• PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

STEP 2: PREPARATION

EACH SECTION HAS A TIP OR TRICK TO HELP YOU ANSWER EACH AND EVERY QUESTION. COPY DOWN THE FOLLOWING “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EFFICIENCY.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR MATH

1. IDENTIFY WHAT THE QUESTION IS.• IT IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR WHAT THE QUESTION IS ASKING FOR, SO CIRCLE, UNDERLINE, OR REWRITE WHAT THE

QUESTION IS ACTUALLY ASKING FOR SO THAT YOU DO NOT GET CONFUSED ON THE EXAM.2. IDENTIFY THE INFORMATION IN THE QUESTION STEM.

• SAT QUESTIONS ARE ALWAYS FULL OF USEFUL INFORMATION. CIRCLE, UNDERLINE, OR REWRITE RELEVANT INFORMATION FROM THE QUESTION STEM SO THAT YOU CAN USE IT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

3. CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE ACTION.• CHOOSING NUMBERS – REMEMBER, THEY MUST BE PERMISSIBLE AND MANAGEABLE.• BACKSOLVING – THE ANSWERS ARE ALREADY THERE, SO JUST PLUG THEM IN!• REGULAR MATH – IF YOU CANNOT TAKE A SHORTCUT, JUST USE YOUR MATH SKILLS!

4. CHECK YOUR WORK.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR READING1.ACTIVELY READ THE PASSAGE.

• REMEMBER THAT WHY THE AUTHOR WRITES SOMETHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT THEY WRITE.• KEEP STRAIGHT WHO MAKES WHAT POINT IN PAIRED PASSAGES OR DIALOGUE-DRIVEN EXCERPTS.

2.EXAMINE THE QUESTION AND LOOK FOR CLUES.• EACH QUESTION TYPE HAS DIFFERENT TYPICAL PHRASING, AND YOU ANSWER THEM DIFFERENTLY. KEEP IN

MIND HOW SOMETHING IS PHRASED BEFORE TRYING TO ANSWER IT.3.MAKE A PREDICTION.

• THE ANSWER CHOICES CAN BE MISLEADING. PREDICT AN ANSWER AND CHOOSE THE ANSWER CHOICE THAT BEST MATCHES THAT PREDICTION FOR THE BEST RESULTS.

4.FOR LONG PASSAGES, READ THE PASSAGE FIRST. FOR SHORT PASSAGES, READ THE QUESTIONS FIRST.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR READING

• ACTIVE READING – READING THE PASSAGE AND TAKING NOTES WHILE YOU READ• ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS YOU READ AND ANSWER THEM:• WHY IS THE AUTHOR WRITING THIS?• WHY DID THE AUTHOR INCLUDE THIS WORD/PHRASE/DETAIL?• WHAT SIDE IS THE AUTHOR TAKING?

• ACTIVE READING WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A COLLECTION OF NOTES ON EACH PARAGRAPH. THIS COLLECTION OF NOTES IS CALLED A PASSAGE MAP, AND IT CAN BE THE MOST HELPFUL TOOL FOR YOU IN UNDERSTANDING THE AUTHOR’S MAIN IDEA, TONE, PURPOSE, AND ANY KEY DETAILS THE AUTHOR INCLUDES.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR THE ESSAY

1.EXAMINE THE PROMPT2.PLAN YOUR ESSAY3.PRODUCE YOUR WORK4.DON’T FORGET TO PROOFREAD!


•STEP 1: EXAMINE THE PROMPT• EXAMINING THE PROMPT CONSISTS OF 2 STEPS:• READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE ASSIGNMENT QUESTION.• UNDERLINING/CIRCLING KEY WORDS OR PHRASES IN THE QUOTATION

THAT WILL HELP GUIDE YOUR ESSAY AND MAINTAIN FOCUS ON THE SPECIFIC ISSUE.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR THE ESSAY• STEP 2: PLAN YOUR ESSAY.• THE MOST IMPORTANT STAGE IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING YOUR

ESSAY IS PLANNING!• PLANNING YOUR ESSAY SHOULD TAKE YOU ONLY A LITTLE TIME AND

SHOULD SAVE YOU TIME TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT AN EXAMPLE OR YOUR THESIS LATER ON.•ALWAYS PLAN BEFORE YOU PRODUCE!

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR THE ESSAYI. INTRODUCTION

i. SHOULD INCLUDE A PREWRITTEN THESIS STATEMENT AND A BRIEF BREAKDOWN OF HOW YOU TREND FROM VAGUE TO SPECIFIC.

II. BODY PARAGRAPHS (2-3 EXAMPLES TOTAL)i. PREWRITE YOUR EXAMPLES, BUT ONLY ENOUGH TO KNOW WHICH ONES

YOU ARE GOING TO USE AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THEY RELATE TO THE TOPIC.

III.CONCLUSIONi. RESTATE YOUR THESIS IN DIFFERENT WORDS AND TRY TO WRITE

SOMETHING IMPACTFUL ABOUT IT TO HOOK YOUR READER. THIS IS THE LAST THING THEY SEE BEFORE GIVING YOU A GRADE.


•STEP 3: PRODUCE YOUR WORK!• THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO BE SAID – IN ORDER TO GET A

SCORE ABOVE ZERO, YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ESSAY WRITTEN IN THE SPACE PROVIDED. WORK ON THE ESSAY FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN WITHOUT STOPPING TOO LONG AND WRITE BASED ON THE WORK YOU DID IN THE PLANNING PHASE.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FOR THE ESSAY•STEP 4: DON’T FORGET TO PROOFREAD!• PROOFREADING CAN HELP YOU AVOID SILLY SPELLING ERRORS

AND MINOR GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES THAT CAN INTERRUPT THE FLOW OF YOUR ESSAY WHILE YOUR READER IS GRADING YOU.•CORRECTING THESE MINOR MISTAKES CAN KEEP YOU FROM

LOSING POINTS ON THE ESSAY, AS WELL AS OFFER YOU MORE PRACTICE FOR SCHOOL AND COLLEGE WORK.•DON’T TRY TO DO TOO MUCH. YOUR ESSAY IS WRITTEN BY THIS

TIME, SO CORRECT WHERE YOU CAN INSTEAD OF CHANGING WHOLE PARAGRAPHS.

THE “HOW-TO” MINI GUIDE FORWRITING MULTIPLE CHOICE

IMPROVING SENTENCES1.IDENTIFY ANY ERRORS

IN THE UNDERLINED SEGMENT.

2.PLUG IN THE ANSWERS, FINDING THE MOST

CLEAR, CONCISE AND CORRECT ONE.

IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS

1.IDENTIFY ANY ERRORS IN THE UNDERLINED OR RESTATED SEGMENT(S).

2.PLUG IN THE ANSWERS, FINDING THE MOST

CLEAR, CONCISE AND CORRECT ONE.

IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS

1.APPROACH EACH UNDERLINED SEGMENT

SYSTEMATICALLY, LOOKING FOR ERRORS.2. IF THERE ARE NO

ERRORS, SELECT (E) FOR NO ERROR.

ADDITIONAL TIPS AND TRICKS• THE COLLEGE BOARD HAS A “QUESTION OF THE DAY” SERVICE

THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE ONE SAT-STYLE QUESTION EVERY DAY. USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. THEY WILL INCLUDE LOTS OF DIFFERENT QUESTION TYPES THAT YOU CAN PRACTICE WITH. NOTHING CAN SURPRISE YOU ON THE TEST IF YOU PRACTICE THE TEST QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU TAKE IT!• THERE ARE TONS OF USEFUL PRACTICE MATERIALS OUT THERE,

SO PICK UP A PRACTICE SAT BOOK AND DO PROBLEMS AND PRACTICE SECTIONS. THE BEST TEACHER IN THE WORLD IS EXPERIENCE, AND NOTHING SUBSTITUTES FOR PRACTICE!

ADDITIONAL TIPS AND TRICKS• IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH YOUR READING COMPREHENSION

OR READING SPEED, PICK UP A NEWSPAPER OR READ ONE ONLINE. THE ARTICLES THAT ARE MORE DENSE WILL TAKE YOU LONGER TO READ, BUT THE BETTER YOU GET AND UNDERSTANDING THEM, THE EASIER THE COMPLICATED MATERIAL ON THE SAT WILL BE TO MASTER.•ALSO, YOU SHOULD KEEP A VOCABULARY JOURNAL. IN THIS

JOURNAL, WRITE DOWN WORDS AND DEFINITIONS THAT YOU HEAR IN EVERYDAY CONVERSATION, ON THE NEWS, OR WHEN YOU ARE READING. THIS WILL EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY AND MAKE HARDER TERMS EASIER TO UNDERSTAND.

ADDITIONAL TIPS AND TRICKS• TIME MANAGEMENT IS A BIG ISSUE FOR MOST STUDENTS.

STUDENTS BARELY SAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET WORK DONE PROPERLY. MANAGE YOUR TIME IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN SPEND THE MAXIMUM TIME AND THE MAXIMUM EFFORT ON PREPARING FOR THE SAT.• LASTLY, PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS BEFORE THE TEST. IF YOU

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING WELL, IMPROVE IT TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. IN THE WEEK BEFORE YOUR EXAM, YOU SHOULD BE WORKING ON IMPROVING YOUR BEST, NOT LEARNING SOMETHING BRAND-NEW.

QUESTIONS?

NOW’S THE TIME…

Documents

Getting to Know the SAT