How to Study for the SAT Math Section

Prepare for the SAT Math Section

Often students will come to me because they need to bring the score of one or two (of the three) SAT sections up.  They want a crash course so that their Critical Reading or Math section increases.  While the Writing (grammar + essay) portion is counted in the overall score, many top colleges still weigh the importance of the Critical Reading & Math sections more heavily.  I.e. They would still like to see the highest score the student can get out of 1600 (Critical Reading out of 800 and Math out of 800).  For this reason, I will dedicate this article to the Math section (You can visit the previous article on Critical Reading).

Math Strategies:

You will see from any answer sheet in the practice book or from the “Question-And-Answer Service” made available by the College Board for the October, January, and May tests that the SAT Math problems are arranged in order of increasing difficulty: The early ones are Easy, middle ones are Medium difficulty, and ones at the end are Hard.  Use this to strategize which questions to skip.  Remember to skip ANY questions in which you can’t eliminate three answer choices.  Only make a guess when you narrow the answer possibilities down to two.  In only one particular section of the Math (called the “grid-ins” or “student produced response”) should you answer all 10 questions—even if it’s a complete guess.  This is the one section in which the PSAT & SAT only count the answers you get RIGHT.  Answers are only “0” and positive numbers/fractions/decimals.  The answer will never be a negative number or a letter (you will figure this out when they don’t give you that choice in the grid in anyway).  Remember to use the cheat sheet at the beginning of every math section if you forget areas or volumes of shapes, the Pythagorean Theorem, or how to spot special right triangles.

If you go to the CollegeBoard website: www.collegeboard.com, you can review the concepts covered on the SAT Math.  Here is their list:

• Arithmetic word problems (including percent, ratio, and proportion)

• Properties of integers (even, odd, prime numbers, divisibility, etc.)
• Rational numbers
• Sets (union, intersection, elements)
• Counting techniques
• Sequences and series (including exponential growth)
• Elementary number theory

Question of the Day:

Also on www.collegeboard.com, you can practice a “Question of the Day” or click on “Practice & Review Math.” Here you can find both the multiple choice and student-produced response questions.  This is a good way to get used to the style of questions the PSAT & SAT will ask.

In general, practice makes perfect for the SAT math.  If you continue to do SAT math problems, you’ll realize they don’t change the type of questions they ask all that much.   You need to review problems, but also work on keeping up your pace.  Use these test-taking strategies, and your Math section score will increase.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

How to Study for the SA T Critical Reading Section

Top Secret SAT Critical Reading Strategies and Tips

Often students will come to me because they need to bring the score of one or two (of the three) SAT sections up.  They want a crash course so that their Critical Reading or Math section increases.  While the Writing (grammar + essay) portion is counted in the overall score, many top colleges still weigh the importance of the Critical Reading & Math sections more heavily.  i.e. They would still like to see the highest score the student can get out of 1600 (Critical Reading out of 800 and Math out of 800).  For this reason, I will dedicate this article specifically to the Critical Reading section.

The Critical Reading section of the SAT is comprised of vocabulary, short reading passages, and longer reading passages.  First let’s start with a vocabulary building process.

Word Games:

Everyone would benefit from studying 5 SAT words a night.  Maybe this is something you can do first thing in the morning with your breakfast, or right before you go to bed at night.  Study with flash cards each week.  Group synonyms.  Know their antonyms.  Each week I quiz my students on 35 words.  Quiz yourself or have someone quiz you.

Word Roots:

Because it’s impossible to know what words might be tested on the PSAT/SAT, start to figure out if words have a positive or negative connotation.  Knowing roots can help you: Instead of learning one word at a time, you can learn a group of words that contain a certain root.  They’ll be related in meaning, so if you remember one, it will be easier to remember the others.  Try to decode a new vocab word by its root.  If you can recognize a familiar root, chances are you’ll get enough of an idea to answer the question.

Roots (especially prefixes) like ben, bene, pro, eu, am, ami, ferv, grat, lev, moll, pac, phil, plac, sacr, sanct, & spir are usually roots in positive words.  Also note that words which start with “p” are generally positive words.

Words that start with bell, belli, contra, culp, de (in most cases), dis, dol, err, fals, fal, frag, frac, grav, mal, mis, mor, mort, neg, oner, per, pseudo, tim, tox, trem, trep, vac, vil are generally roots of negative words.

Question of the Day:

Go to the Collegeboard website www.collegeboard.com to practice a “Question of the Day” or click on “Practice & Review Sentence Completions.”  Some will have one blank, others 2 blanks.  Try to recognize words by using the new roots you’ve learned.

Other ways to build up your vocabulary:

Word of the Day:

Find Word of the Day calendars and toilet paper!

Vocabulary Books:

1. Kaplan’s SAT Score raising Dictionary—2000 SAT words
2. McGraw Hill’s 400 Essential SAT Words
3. Sparknotes SAT Vocab Novels
4. SCAM, Sacked, Rave New World, Busted, Head over Heels
5. Barron’s “Picture These SAT words”—pictures to remember words

READ!

As we all know, the more you read, the more words you will have in your vocabulary.  Reading more will also help you increase your reading speed.  Summer reading is an excellent way to increase your vocabulary and practice reading at a faster pace.

Reading Strategies for SAT Critical Reading:

Short Readings

Most students don’t have trouble focusing for short periods of time, so these short paragraphs aren’t usually troublesome unless the questions have you compare two short readings.  Figure out if the paragraph is negative or positive because the answers will likely follow in the same tone.  Does the author agree or disagree with something?  Is he/she sad, mad, perplexed, skeptical, outraged, or irritated?  Then the answers should follow in that vein.  Or is the author approving, happy, elated, in awe, understanding, teasing, jovial, jocular, or comedic?  These answers should follow in that same positive tone.  When you are asked to compare the two short readings, make sure to think which author was positive or negative.  Be careful when you’re asked which line most undermines (weakens) the author’s point of view…then you’ll need to look for the answer choice that doesn’t follow the theme or mood to the passage.

Long Readings

1 long passage:

Always read the italics at the beginning of every passage to understand what type of reading it is, in what year the article was written, and/or what topic to expect…and often the answer to one of the questions!

Skim the questions and underline and circle the words or phrases mentioned in each paragraph. You can do this easily and quickly (40-60 seconds) because the question refers you to a specific line.  This is where you need to focus.  You can skim/barely read the other parts, but you must pay close attention to the parts you’ve underlined & circled in the reading…This is where you’ll find all your answers.

Is the overall passage positive in feel or negative?  Your answers should follow the theme to the passage.  Leave questions like “the primary purpose of the passage” to the end because the other questions and answers will help you know the overall purpose of the passage.

If you’re running out of time, answer the vocabulary in context or short phrase questions first, leaving the longer, wordier questions to the end.

Do NOT randomly guess when you’ve run out of time—always skip if you can’t get the answers down to 2 possibilities.

Comparing Passage I & Passage II Readings:

Again, read the italics at the beginning.  Skim the questions so you can do your underlining & circling.

Read Passage I first and then answer any questions that only ask you about Passage I.  Think if Passage I was positive or negative?  Was the author happy or sad, mad or outraged, condescending, skeptical, irritated or in awe?

Then read Passage II (thinking why they had you compare these two passages) and the finish the rest of the questions.  If you’re running out of time, answer the vocabulary or short phrase questions first, leaving the longer, wordier questions to the end.

Again, do NOT randomly guess when you’ve run out of time—always skip if you can’t get the answers down to 2 possibilities.

In general, by building up your vocabulary and roots, keeping up your reading pace, and using our test-taking strategies, your Critical Reading section score will increase.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

What book should I use to study for the SAT and ACT?

The Best SAT Study Guide

With such a plethora of choices for standardized test study guides, where should one start?

Let me begin by saying that practice does indeed make perfect on these tests, so the more practice tests you can complete, the better you’ll do…(but try not to burn out too quickly)!

My best advice is to pick the book written by the people who write the test you’ll take.  Nothing against all the other guides, but just stick to CollegeBoard’s SAT guide and The Real ACT Prep Guide written by the makers of the ACT.  Each book is currently on its 2^nd edition.  If you practice with these two books, you’ll really know what to expect in terms of test layout, questions per page, size of scantron sheet, etc.  When you’re already pressed for time, you don’t want something you studied to be a different look than the test you’re working on that Saturday morning.  It can really throw you off and in turn change your score for the worse.

Here they are:

CollegeBoard’s The Official SAT Study Guide 2^nd Edition:

The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition

The Real ACT Prep Guide 2^nd Edition:

The Real ACT Prep Guide: The Only Guide to Include 3Real ACT Tests

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

2010 SAT Subject Test Dates:

Work intelligently and prepare for all of your upcoming tests, including any SAT Subject Tests that you think you may want to take.

Some important reminders about taking SAT subject tests:

1. You may take up to three SAT Subject Tests on a single test date.
2. Calculators may be used only on the Mathematics Level 1 and Level 2 Subject Tests.
3. You cannot take the SAT Subject Tests and the SAT on the same test date.
4. You must indicate which SAT Subject Tests you plan to take when you register.  However, you may change which test(s) you actually take on test day — except for Language with Listening tests.

To register for any of these tests visit the College Board Test Registration Page

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

For those of you reading along, here are the dates for the next SAT and ACT tests are:

ACT September 15, 2007
SAT October 6, 2007
ACT October 27, 2007
SAT November 3, 2007

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.

Just posted a list of important college admissions dates as well as some general tips when thinking about applying to college. Many of the dates posted, (ie: UC application deadlines) do not change from year-to-year, but you should ALWAYS be sure to check with the school(s) to be sure the information is correct.

Test Prep and Tutoring. Copyright 2011 © One on One SAT / ACT Test Preparation and Tutoring in Austin, TX or Online via Skype.