Flashcards

Flashcards are an old school but very effective way to study for anything academic, including the SAT and ACT. Sure, a student can purchase commercially prepackaged flashcards, but the better way to go would be to create original flashcards from scratch. When you make your own flashcards, the retention rate of the material is better because you are writing down the concepts. I recommend purchasing a minimum of 300 standard size blank flashcards. Pick three different colors. Divide the cards into three sets of 100. For example use yellow for math, blue for critical reading and green for writing. Use the math cards for concepts and formulas citing specific practice test examples to refer to on the flip side of the card. Use the reading cards for vocabulary words. Use the writing cards for the rules of grammar as well as for ideas for essay topics. Imagine creating 300 new concepts on your own! As you go over the flashcards set aside in a separate container those concepts which give you the most difficulty. Focus on the concepts you are weakest with so as to make those concepts your new strengths.