Step 1- Plan Before You Write

Like most people I am at my most creative when it's quiet. When I am isolated from others my mind is able to reflect upon things and ideas rush into my head. My best ideas come when I am walking my dog on a cold winter night, when I am in the shower or when I am just sitting at the beach. If you are like me and agree with the scenario I just laid out, then you should use the first three minutes of Section 1 (the Essay) to read the prompt and quietly outline what you intend to write about.

Many make the mistake of writing immediately. Then suddenly after the first sentence, they freeze--writer's block sets in, palms become sweaty and for the next 25 minutes they find themselves in panic mode. Because the essay topic is random and unpredictable you need time to think of relevant examples to support your position.

Take a deep breath, three minutes is really a long enough time to reflect upon what you intend to write. Let the ideas flow in, then begin to write a dynamite essay!

4 Steps to a Better Essay

The four steps necessary to improve your SAT Essay are:

1. Take time to properly reflect upon what you will be writing about and what supporting materials you will be using to make your case
2. Carefully draft a thesis or topic sentence so that the reader clearly knows your position
3. Support your position with clarity, organization and engaging language
4. Check your draft for errors, run on sentences and missed words.

I will examine each of these steps in detail in future posts.

Why Do I Have To Know This?

Students often ask why do I have to know this? They may not have to know about geometry or ancient Greek poetry per se, but they do need to develop:

• Critical Reading Skills, ie. the ability to read between the lines, the ability to infer, the ability to understand the tone and thesis of an article.
• Problem solving skills, ie. the ability to solve a math problem from certain given information
• The ability to write, ie. express themselves in a clear, logical and concise manner

These valuable skills if mastered will provide a student with valuable assets to perform well in college and in the job market.

Don't Get Overwhelmed

Students are overwhelmed when they think of school work in its entirety. For example, if you were assigned a 20 page research paper,the enormity of the project would freak you out. "How will I find the time to write 20 pages?" you will ask while getting all anxious and annoyed. The Key? Baby steps! Set out with a small but achievable goal--say to yourself, "I will write one paragraph per day" Soon you will find that your creative mind will show you that it's no problem to write a page or two a day, and before a weeks time your task is done!

Are Your Priorities Straight?

Many students fail to see the big picture. They claim they have "no time" for SAT prep. Amazingly, they have time for practice, games, rehearsal, recitals, shows, driver's ed, the mall, the movies and hanging out. How is this possible? Priorities! If there is time for play, there certainly is time for work. Allocate some of that play time for study time. If you do it early on the weekends when everyone is asleep, you won't be borrowing from time with your friends. Every Saturday and Sunday morning wake up early and prep for an hour. Start ten weeks prior to test day. That's a full 20 hours of prep in addition to any private tutoring or prep class. Everyone can do that math!

How To Avoid Being Fooled

The SAT is a tricky test because of its tricky answers. The answers are designed to lead the student astray with half truths and misleading detail. The best way to avoid falling into these traps is to avoid looking at the answers. Answer as many questions as possible without looking at the answer choices. After enough practice any student can answer 80% of the questions on his or her own.

Answer the questions, do not guess which answer is correct and your score will greatly improve!

Ways to Remember New Words

Play rhyme games in order to remember the meaning of new words. For example, one of my students was curious about the word "eke" which was the word of the day last week from dictionary.com. The standard dictionary definition of eke is to obtain with difficulty. But this is a tough concept to grasp just from a definition. So why not be creative and invent a sentence which will help such as, I eke by when I squeak by. When your sentence is short, original and to the point, you will always remember new words.

How to Increase Your SAT Score

Successful people set goals, develop a work ethic and focus on attaining those goals. It is no different with standardized tests such as the SAT. The following list is a recipe for SAT success:

• Start early, take the PSAT in 10th and 11th grades
• Buy a review book in 10th grade and get familiar with the question formats
• Read one article per day from a prominent newspaper
• look up words you don't know from your daily readings
• Join a review class in 11th grade
• Do as many practice tests as possible under actual test conditions

All great athletes, musicians, performers and students share the same characteristic--they practice, practice and practice, and by doing so, they put in the time to be great at whatever they do.

Student Comments on the October SAT

Here are some actual comments from High School Students regarding their October 2009 SAT experience:

“I felt the test wasn't too bad but it had some challenging parts and the passages weren't as confusing and complicated as they usually are”

“I didn't finish any part of the SAT”

“i took the SAT Saturday but I don’t think I did too well. I didn't like my essay and I think that preoccupied my mind throughout the test. I didn’t finish the first reading so I went back to it during second section which didn’t give me enough time to finish section I was supposed to be doing”

“I'm still feeling a little brain dead from the SAT…..Ill keep doing some reading sections because that's what i thought i struggled on the most today”

“The test was fair, yet I still managed to find somewhat of a problem while doing the critical reading section. It was not the passages yet the questions were all hard, and often were misleading”

“I don't know if the test was good or bad, but i felt less stressed during this one and hope for good results”

“I thought the sentence completions were average, and fair”

“I found the critical reading still the hardest part although it was much better than last time. some writing questions were difficult too. However I found the math sections very easy. I'll keep my fingers crossed but I think I improved this time around”

“Overall, I didn't think the test was was too difficult. Surprisingly, I thought that the sentence completions were the hardest part of the whole test. Many of the vocab words and wordings in the sentences I found to be very difficult to make out. I didn't have too much trouble with the passages and I found that the math and writing sections were fairly easy”

“The essay I thought was a little ridiculous. It was about laughter. The questions for math were very easy but the writing was just to hard. The reading was what i expected. all in all it was an SAT”

“The essay and most of the math was pretty easy to me. The rest i had some trouble with. My timing was not to good either. I did not complete the 35 question writing section, two reading sections, and one math section”

Reasons to Read the Newspaper

An article a day will help a student several ways:

• by making her aware of current events which allows for some timely essay topics
• by practicing reading, she learns to analyze details, and this results in an
• increase in word power, and an
• appreciation of good writing

Most students do not get their news from newspapers. But they should try. There is no downside to reading the New York Times. It may not be cool, but the benefits outweigh the perception

Don't Out Think The SAT

Student after student with extremely high G.P.A.'s seem to have difficulty on one or more parts of the SAT. Why? Many times they are too smart for the test. Their common mistakes include:

• Answering math questions too quickly, thus making careless, sloppy mistakes
• Misreading questions and falling for the sucker answers
• Bringing outside knowledge of a topic into the test
• Thinking every question is a trick question with trick answers

My advice to very bright students--no body is out to get you except you! Slow down, breathe, and relax. Do not attempt to answer a question until it is fully understood.

The SAT as a Predictor of Success in College

According to a recent study, a student's performance on the SAT has a correlation rate of 67% with that student's ultimate college G.P.A. This is in sharp contrast to the 40% correlation rate previously thought. For more on this, please read this recent Newsweek article here: http://tr.im/zeTt

Solving A Hard SAT Math Problem

One of the more difficult math problems in the Official SAT Study Guide 2nd Edition is on page 527 # 8

The Question:
(x-8)(x-k) = x²-5kx + m
In the question above, k and m are constants. If the equation is true for all values of x, what is the value of m?

The Solution:
Step 1 FOIL the left side so that x² -8x + 8k – kx = x² - 5kx + m
Step 2 add kx to both sides so x² -8x + 8k = x² -4kx + m
Step 3 subtract x² from both sides so -8x + 8K = -4kx + m
Step 4 we know that -8x must equal – 4kx so solve for k as follows:
Divide both sides by x so -8 = -4k; k=2
Step 5 we also know that 8k = m; so 8 (2) = 16; choice B

Characteristics of Effective Tutors

How do you know the tutor you hired is effective? First off, chemistry between tutor and student is important. Both must feel comfortable with each other. As the sessions progress, the tutor does less and less, and the student does more and more. I call this the 70/30 rule--in the early stages, I usually am doing 70% of the problem solving on the board, but by our 5th meeting or so, this trend should be reversed--the student should be taking the initiative, holding the pen, working things out while I try and coax the thought process along. My job is done when the student is ready to teach me a thing or two!

How A Tutor Can Help

Why hire a private tutor? There are several reasons:

• tutors set up personalized schedules for the busy student
• tutors set up personalized lesson plans which focus on specific weaknesses
• one on one lessons are without distractions inherent with a large class
• there is direct communication between student and teacher in a private setting
• in between lessons tutors are accessible via email or telephone
• students receive immediate feedback from the tutor

In my next post, I will explain how a parent or student will know the tutor he or she has hired is effective.

Girls vs. Boys on the SAT

Girls outperformed boys, on average, by 13 points on the writing test, but scored 35 points lower than boys in math and 5 points lower than boys in critical reading, the College Board report said. The complete data breakdown for 2009 can be read here: http://tr.im/xrbG

Don't Be Average!

The results are in for the class of 2009: More than 1.5 million college bound High School students took the SAT during the past school year. The average scores for this latest group were 501 for Critical Reading; 515 for Math; and 493 for Writing, according to a press release issued by the Collegeboard. The average composite score was 1509. For a more detail please read this article in today's New York Times- http://tr.im/xcS2

For those students still in High School--Prepare hard for the SAT. Try and achieve the highest G.P.A. in school. Distinguish yourself from the masses by presenting the most impressive admission application. Don't be average!

Teach Kids to Write

In today's NY Times there is an article by Stanley Fish, a Professor at Florida International in Miami. While grading papers, Fish was appalled at the poor writing skills students displayed. In an insightful article, Fish analyzes the root causes of the lack of uniform writing instruction within institutions of higher learning. For the full article click here: http://tr.im/x3lx

Re-Taking the SAT

Great success results from great disappointment. This fall, many High School Seniors will be taking the October or November SAT. For many, this will be at least the second time they will be sitting for this exam. Poor scores on one or more parts of the SAT is the main reason students choose to retake the SAT.

To ensure a better performance the second or third time around student must:

• Start early- 8 to 10 weeks before the exam
• Hook up with a good private tutor or review class
• Focus on the parts of the SAT he or she performed the poorest on
• Do as many practice tests as possible
• Take the test seriously!
• Have a positive mental attitude
• Set goals and write them down

In my experience, those who practice the above, have the most success the second or third time around!

Don't Be Afraid to Guess!

Every student believes he or she is a terrible guesser. Fortunately, this dogma with respect to guessing on exams is misplaced. Ever since that very first wrong guess on a second grade spelling pre-test students have convinced themselves that if they guess, it will most likely be the wrong choice. Why? Because we tend to remember only those questions which we guessed incorrectly. How many times will a test taker silently say to himself, "I knew it was A, why did I choose B?" Our minds like to revise history. When we review an exam a week later, we don't dwell on the correct answers (even if we had to guess the correct answer). The mind assures us that we "knew" that correct answer all along. We only admonish ourselves for guessing a wrong answer. This is the same reason why dialed wrong numbers are never busy. When we dial a wrong number and receive a busy signal, we think its the correct number-- that the person we want to reach is already on the phone. It is only when an unfamiliar voice picks up and says, "hello" that we realize that we have in fact dialed the wrong number. In the long run if you can pare down 5 answer choices to 2, you will answer 50% of those remaining choices correctly and 50% of the others incorrectly. Unfortunately, we tend only to remember the bad 50%. There is no conspiracy theory working here. The only conspiracy theory is the one in your mind.

Develop a Love For Reading

Excerpt from zenhabits.net:

How to you discover the joy of reading? Well, start by finding amazing books, as I discussed above. If a book bores you, move on to another. Find a book with a main character you love, doing things that excite you or give you joy.
But beyond the book itself is everything else that surrounds you — where you sit, how quiet it is, how comfortable you are. You want the experience to be as pleasurable as possible. For some, that might be reading while taking a hot bath (reading in the shower is more difficult). For others, that might be with a hot cup of tea or coffee. For still others, it’s reading in the park, near a river or lake or ocean, on their front porch as the sun rises.
Whatever works for you, but make it something to look forward to.
Don’t force yourself to read — do it because it’s fun and enjoyable. If you treat it like a chore, it will feel like one. If you treat it like a treat, that’s what it will be. Make reading a voluntary thing, a hobby, a passion.
Learn to immerse yourself in the world of a book, and forget about the world around you. This is related to being in the moment, or finding the state of Flow — time seems to disappear, and nothing else exists but your book

Tis The Season for SAT Prep

Its August 5th, and for those who will be sitting for the October 10, 2009 SAT, now is the time to start preparing. How? Read something challenging each day. I post a new article everyday on twitter with at least five new SAT words. Take the time to learn some new words.

Buy the new Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition and start doing some practice tests. Pay attention to the SAT Question of the Day.

Wake up sleepy heads! School will be starting before you blink. Use the quiet time in August to do something productive. Senior year is particularly stressful with college applications. Don't put off your SAT prep because September and October will be a mess.

Are You An All Star?

As I watch the MLB All Star Game this evening I am thinking-We can all be All Stars in some facet of our lives. Whatever path your life takes, strive to be the very best. This is especially true in today's economy. Very highly qualified people are losing their jobs daily. One way to prevent this from happening to you--work so hard that you become an indispensable employee. Become the "Go To" person, the one others look to for leadership and advice.

Students should start early. Find a passion and put in the effort necessary to be an All Star. Do what is necessary to prepare for your standardized tests, obtain the best grades, put forth the best college application. Be the best you can be.

Change Your Habits and Change Your Life

I know many of my students are sleepy heads during the summer. Believe me, I have two kids of my own, and given the choice they would sleep until the afternoon every day.

Behavioral scientists contend that it takes 21 days to break any bad habit. How about making a pact with yourself to wake up an hour early every day this summer? That hour will be yours and yours only! Run, workout, watch TV, listen to music, blog, eat breakfast, whatever. After three straight weeks, waking up early will be a whole new way of life.

Think of what you can do with this extra time when school starts--maybe the extra hour will help alleviate the stress of classes, applications, test prep, etc.

When to Start Preparing for the October SAT

The October SAT is scheduled for October 10, 2009. For many seniors this test will be the final attempt to shine for college applications. Ten weeks before any SAT is a reasonable amount of time to prep. My review of the calendar comes up with the first week of August as the ideal starting point. Contact your tutor or group study course and make sure they are available to help you achieve your goals for the October SAT.

Read This Summer!

Do not let your mind turn to mush this summer! If reading is your weak point on the SAT or ACT, make a pact to read at least one intelligent thing per day this summer! I will be posting one article each day which I think is worthy of your attention. The link to these articles will be posted on www.twitter.com/tutorsteve

June SAT Essay Topics

The Collegeboard has released the four different essay prompts for its most recent June, 2009 exam. For those who will retake this test in the Fall of 2009, it makes good sense to examine these assignments and even use them to write practice essays under timed test conditions.

To access these essays please click on this link: http://tr.im/pR7f

ACT Scores vs. SAT Scores

A Student who takes both tests must choose which scores to submit with his or her college application. Knowing which scores are better is a little tricky. Here is a link to an article about this issue. There is also a conversion table which will help in making the correct choice:
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/standardizedtests/a/convertSAT2ACT.htm?nl=1

2009/2010 SAT Test Dates

From the College Boards Website:


2009-10Test Dates


October 10, 2009 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: September 9, 2009
November 7, 2009 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: October 1, 2009
December 5, 2009 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: October 30, 2009

January 23, 2010 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: December 15, 2009
March 13, 2010 SAT Only Register by: February 4, 2010
May 1, 2010 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: March 25, 2010
June 5, 2010 SAT & Subject Tests Register by: April 29, 2010

Who Are The Best Students?

Someone asked me, "Who are the Best Students that you come across to tutor?" This was such an interesting question, I thought about the answer for several minutes before answering. The best students to tutor are not the super geniuses with the 99 averages. The best students to tutor are not the low achievers who barely pass their High School courses. The mediocre 75 to 85 average students are not the best either. Girls are not the best students to tutor and neither are boys. So who then?

The motivated student is the best student to tutor. The motivated student listens and puts in the time necessary to master the subject matter. The motivated student asks pertinent questions so that he or she better understands each lesson. The motivated student is focused and organized. The motivated student sets individual goals and does whatever it takes to achieve those goals.

I am the same tutor regardless of the student who hires me. Its the student that is the variable. I have witnessed motivated students with low High School G.P.A. overachieve on the SAT. I have also witnessed lazy "geniuses" underachieve on the SAT. Unfortunately, a poor score is often a wake up call, and the poor score is the motivating factor that lights the fire in that student. It should not have to be this way, but this is a fact of life.

They Laughed But Now They Are Crying

Every class I teach has some class clowns. Put 20 or more teenagers in a class room together after regular school hours and there will be some who want to fool around rather than learn. Its okay to have fun but not at the expense of others who really want to listen and learn. Each class I teach comes with a 10 minute break specifically to allow students to "blow off steam".

Now that the May SAT results are out, it is no surprise that many of the comedians are not satisfied with their scores. The comedians are not laughing anymore. The comedians are scrambling to take the June SAT this Saturday hoping to improve their scores. For many, this summer was supposed to be a stress free period of relaxation. A time to visit some campuses. A time to work on an application essay and a time to enjoy the sun.

The good news is that those who wanted to learn were for the most part satisfied with their scores. You get out of life whatever you put into it. The SAT is no exception. For some unfortunately it was Garbage In, Garbage Out.

New SAT Study Guide

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Collegeboard will revise its Official SAT Study Guide this summer. The Official SAT Study Guide has remained virtually unchanged since its original publication in 2004 to reflect the new SAT format which began testing in March 2005. The Official SAT Study Guide currently includes 8 simulated SAT tests. The new and revised guide will feature 3 actual SAT tests along with 7 simulated tests for a total of 10 practice tests.

How To Become A Better SAT Reader

Many of the major magazines have an essay in each issue. Time, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Magazine, etc. These essays are approximately the same length as the SAT's long reading passages. Take out a pen and mark up these essays. Underline any key phrases or quotations. Circle any vocabulary words you may not know and look up those words. Ask yourself the following questions: What is the authors point? Why did the author use this example? Does the article read as sad, funny, serious, sarcastic, tragic, or hopeful?

From these questions start to anticipate what questions the test makers would ask if given the passage in front of you, ie. figure out the main idea, vocabulary in context questions, inference questions, function questions, etc. When you put yourself in the shoes of the test makers, you become a better test taker.

Understanding the Structure of Reading Passages

Often an excerpt from a novel or a short story will serve as an SAT reading passage. Novels are narratives with dialogue. It is important for the reader to identify the fictional characters and keep track of who is saying what. It is also important for the reader to understand who the narrator is, what the narrator's tone is, and what each character's attitude and agenda is. Once the reader is able to master this, the questions which follow are easy to answer.

The other type of reading passage is the more classic reference piece, much like what one would read in a textbook or encyclopedia. This passage will read like a classic essay. It will have an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Figure out the author's thesis. Highlight the topic sentence of each body paragraph. Understand the examples used to prove the thesis. Be aware of the essay's tone and key words. The questions which follow will be easy to answer.

The Wizard of OZ as a source of SAT Vocabulary

Every time Easter and Passover approach I think of the Wizard of Oz. As a child, this classic always seemed to be on television during this time of year. Who knew that a careful review of the script would be replete with SAT vocabulary words? For instance consider the three following lines from the wizard:

'Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the earth, or slinks through slimy seas has a brain"

"You dare to come to me for a heart, do you? You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!"

"And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain - you billowing bale of bovine fodder!"

Just from these three lines, I was able to italicize 8 SAT words! How many do you know?
What is your favorite book or screenplay? Go back, reread them and find some good words to look up. Its a lot more fun than tedious memorization.

A Wonderful Website for Flashcards

Quizlet is a wonderful free Internet site for students. Many students often ask me what the best way to learn SAT vocabulary. While there is no surefire way, the use of flashcards is an efficient way to increase your word power. Quizlet allows you to create your own SAT vocabulary flashcards. The site displays many different groups of words including the 100 most popular SAT vocabulary words as well as the 250 most difficult words. These are but a few of the word sets the site offers. The link is http://quizlet.com/

Long Reading Passages

The long reading passage aka The Gigantic Passage should not be feared. Sure, most SAT long passages are seemingly endless and boring. Sure some sport topics as ancient Greek poetry or the history of glass. Do not despair. As long and as boring as the passages are, there is a method which must be employed to successfully answer most of the 12 or 13 questions which usually follow approximately 90-115 lines of reading.

First, lightly skim the passage for no more than 3-4 minutes. Always read with your pencil. Circle or underline key words or themes. This will help the reader quickly locate important information which will facilitate answering the questions. In the case of dialogue, keep track of who is saying what--that's it.

Second, realize that the questions will be always be presented in orderly fashion. For example, the first question may direct the reader to lines 3-6, followed by a question regarding lines 10-12 and so on. Therefore, the reader is forced to re-read the passage once again anyway, so there is no need to panic if the passage was not easy to understand during the initial light skim.

There are more literal comprehension type questions in this part of the SAT. As a result, questions to the long passage are generally easier than other passage based reading questions. Time management and proper discipline are key components necessary to master long passages on the Critical Reading part of the SAT.

Understanding Compound Percent Problems

Most of my student's parents were sold a bill of goods from their financial advisors who were either ignorant or stupid. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and call them ignorant. After suffering losses of 80% on a stock market investment in 2008, they were told not to sell because their stocks will eventually come back. Everyone with massive losses dreams that their investments will someday come back. Let's fantasize that the same stock which declined by 80% in 2008 increases in value by 100% in 2009. You would then be ahead 20% right? Wrong!!!! Never ever add or subtract percent increases or decreases on the SAT or in life.

The correct way to deal with the above compound percent problem is as follows:

1. Assign a theoretical value for our stock--I like to use $100 when dealing with percent.
2. At the end of 2008 our stock is now worth $20 (an 80% decline)
3. At the end of 2009 our stock is now worth $40 (a 100% increase)

Therefore our two year return is minus 60% not a gain of 20%---So the Rule here is when dealing with compound percent problems start with 100 and work your way up or down step by step. For additional practice try p. 491 problem #13 from the Official SAT Study Guide.

You Are The President Of You

Many of you will be taking the SAT exam this Saturday or perhaps in March, May or June of this year. Barack Obama may have inspired you but Barack Obama cannot take the test for you. Barack Obama has already been to college and he has much more pressing issues to deal with.The President cannot turn a lazy student into a diligent scholar. He will not study for you, help you write your college applications or even give you a recommendation. Phrases such as "Change" and "Yes We Can" are hollow unless each and everyone one of you decide to take personal responsibility for your actions. Only then will you be able to achieve your goals, not because President Obama scatters some magic "pixie dust" over your soul, but because you have looked in the mirror and shouted, "I am the President of me!"

How Do You Know You Are Ready?

What is adequate preparation for the first SAT? Can it be measured in study hours? Major test prep companies offer approximately 15-20 hours of in class instruction plus homework and practice tests. What about the student who prefers to study at home? Or the student that has a private tutor? How much out of class study time should that student commit to? Each student is different, but from my experience a student is adequately prepared if:

• he or she starts preparing 10-12 weeks prior to test day
• he or she studies alone for at least 2 hours per week not including time with a tutor
• he or she completes 4 full length practice exams

By my math. a student needs to put in 30 to 36 hours of individual prep time prior to an SAT exam to be ready to succeed. Those who do not put in this time wind up spending much more time in the aggregate over 2 or 3 or 4 subsequent SAT's. Try and do it right the first time. This will actually free up time later.