The Importance of Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an essential component of the SAT. Sure, mastery of definitions is important for sentence completions. However, a great vocabulary is also an asset for success on the entire test. For example, many times there will be a keyword in the sentence itself. How can we complete a sentence we don't fully understand?

Often, difficult words will show up as the answers to passage based reading questions. At other times, difficult words will be in the passage itself. I have even noticed that such words like "respectively" will sometimes show up in a long winded math word problem. Of course, almost immediately, my students will ask me, "What does respectively mean?"

Even in the writing section, a sentence error might contain the improper use of a word.

In one actual 2010 SAT, I counted at least 75 important words to know. Imagine the student who goes into the exam knowing most of these words! What an edge he or she would have.

Learn the Language of the SAT

Every standardized test has its own rules, its own language. The SAT is no different. To understand the language of a test, is to know how to attack each question type. To understand the language of the SAT is to be prepared and avoid the trick answer. In my next series of posts, I will address the language of the SAT for each topic: Math, Critical Reading and Writing........

Active vs. Passive Voice

Passive language is awkward and wordy. The SAT grammar section does not like sentences written in the passive voice. Make sure the subject is actively "doing" whatever is meant. For example "Steve loves Amy" is a much better sentence than "Amy is loved by Steve" Steve is the subject and he is doing the loving. Amy is the "object" of Steve's affection. Please listen to a short 4 minute lesson from Grammar Girl by clicking on the following link: http://bit.ly/dcUyMP

Jerry Rice--SAT Philosopher?

NFL Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Jerry Rice once said: "Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't."

During his playing days, Rice's off season conditioning regimen was legendary. He worked out incessantly in preparation for the grueling NFL season.

I have said many times that the "game" is often won in practice.

How does this quote apply to your studying?

The Voice and the Tone of a Passage

Voice and Tone are two similar but subtly different concepts in critical reading. Learning to "feel" the writer through his or her voice is an important SAT Critical Reading skill. Many times a student will answer questions about a passage incorrectly because he or she will incorporate his or her world view into the passage. Hint--Your opinion does not count! The questions will start off with language such as "According to the author......" Not "According to Jim Smith.....

Once again Grammar Girl has an excellent discussion of voice and tone, please read or listen to the audio version by clicking here: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Grammar Tip-What is a Comma Splice Error?

The SAT Writing Section tests many of the classic rules of grammar. One main theme is punctuation. When do we use a comma, a semi-colon, or a period? Grammar Girl is an excellent multi media website which addresses this issue and many more. Click on the following link and get the rule on comma splice. There is a written transcript and an audio presentation: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/comma-splice.aspx

An Inspiration to All of Us

A student of mine just improved her SAT score 200 points and scored a 10 on her essay. Impressive, but this is not the whole story. Six years ago she was not even living in the United States and did not speak English. Moral of the story--you can achieve any goal which you deem important enough to put in the appropriate time and effort.
Her mother called to thank me. I told her mother, "Don't thank me, its your daughter that put in the work and took the test." Moral of the story--Everyone should own their effort. A tutor is only a conduit of knowledge and test taking advice. How the student uses this knowledge will ultimately determine success or failure.

Critical Thinking: What Is It Anyway?

From Elizabeth Online--one of the best introductory pieces on thinking critically. The next time you read one of the articles I post from the NY Times remember to ask the important questions that this blog poses: Critical Thinking: What Is It Anyway?

2010-2011 SAT Dates

SAT 2010 Fall Dates:

October 9, 2010
November 6, 2010
December 4, 2010

Winter/Spring 2011 Dates:

January 22, 2011
March 12, 2011
May 7, 2011
June 4, 2011

Is It Possible to Enjoy Studying for the SAT?

There is no doubt that something fun attracts more of one's focus, time and energy. I want to hear from students who have studied for the SAT or the ACT. I want to know about any pleasant experience in the preparation of either or both of these standardized tests. Please share your "secrets" with me so that I may pass these tips on to future generations of students. Feel free to be as creative as you wish with your stories and your language. Respond either as a comment to this blog post; or by direct message to my twitter account which is www.twitter.com @tutorsteve or via email Steve@testniques.com

I think this is a great way to improve the process for your fellow students. I thank all in advance for any response.

Your SAT Score Sucks Because.....Part 3

Because you hate to read. The only time you read is when a book is assigned to you in school. You never pick up a newspaper, magazine, short story. You never visit the library to take out a book for pleasure. During the summer you never bring reading material with you to the beach. During your downtime, you spend endless hours texting and video chatting.

Because you chose this "way of life" you lack worldly knowledge and word power. You lack the ability to "read between the lines"--ie. the ability to analyze what is implied; the ability to anticipate an argument; the ability to "feel" the author's inner voice. All these skills are useful in high school, college and in life.

The only way to acquire these important skills is to read--not because you are forced to do so, but because you are intrigued by all of the potential books can open your mind to. Start now! It's never too late.

Your SAT Score Sucks Because.....Part 2

You lack the proper fundamentals. You never properly learned the rules of grammar. You don't know the order of simple mathematical operations. Your vocabulary is that of a fifth grader. You never learned how to read critically. Maybe this is not your fault. Maybe your school district leaves a lot to be desired. Fair enough. However, you are foolish if you believe that you can rectify poor fundamentals in a matter of weeks. It will never happen!

It takes a full year of studying the fundamentals so that you can consistently master questions on the SAT. Message to those in this boat--start preparing for the SAT in tenth grade! Its never too early.

Your SAT Score Sucks Because.....

You did not take the test seriously. You thought your 95 average and general smarts would get you by. But you were wrong because the SAT is unlike any test you have ever taken. Would you just wonder onto a football field and start playing without equipment? Would you just start ice skating without proper instruction? Of course not. Even if you are a natural athlete there are specific skills to each sport.
The SAT is no different. Just as an athlete learns the rules, skills and nuances of the game, a student must do the same with the SAT. You thought you could just go into this test cold and answer the questions? Think again. You think that the PSAT was a good dress rehearsal for the big test? Think again.

3 Reasons your SAT Score Sucks

If you are disappointed with your SAT Score it is because of one or all of the following reasons:

1. You did not take the test seriously
2. You were not taught the proper fundamentals in High School
3. You hate to read

In my next few posts, I will examine each of these reasons in depth

The May 2010 SAT

Preliminary comments from my students appear to be the exact opposite of the March SAT. In March most said the Math was easy but the Critical Reading was hard. Now they are saying almost unanimously that the Critical Reading was way easier than March (especially the sentence completions) yet there were a lot of "weird" Math problems that they did not understand.

More to come in the following days.......

2010 Summer Study Guide

My 2010 Summer Study Guide is out. The Guide is revised from its original form in 2007 to reflect current test prep strategy. Ordinarily, this guide is sold for $9.95, but I will send this 37 page e-Book to anyone who emails me by May 15, 2010. This is my gift to you. My email address is Steve@testniques.com

Sentence Completion Clues

Of the 67 questions which make up the SAT Critical Reading Sections, 19 are sentence completions. Sentence completions represent about 30% of the total reading questions. After reviewing the March 2010 score reports of many of my students, I found that, for the most part, the sentence completion success rate was less than 50%.

I believe this poor showing can be easily corrected. First, answer all the easy sentence completions first. The easy questions show up in the beginning of the section. There are no tricks to the easy questions and the answers are straightforward.

As the sentences get harder, realize that many times there are several clues in the sentence itself which allows the student to find the correct answer. These clues are much more important than the answer choices. In the more difficult sentence completions,many times the answer choices are full of words the students do not understand. However, by learning how to identify certain key words and by recognizing how the sentence is constructed, students can eliminate many obvious wrong answers. Elimination increases the accuracy of picking the correct choice from only two or three remaining choices.

Working On A New E-Book

I am working on revising my 2007 E-Book "Your Summer Study Guide and Action Plan for the SAT" Believe it or not a lot has changed in three years. This includes both my teaching methods and some of the resources I now recommend students use. The E-Book should be ready by May 1st. I will email the E-Book to anyone who asks for it free of charge. This is my gift to all. Just email me at steve@testniques.com and I will send it to you via PDF file.

Eliminate Before You Calculate!

In this fast paced, video game, text messaged world, the desire for instant gratification has never been greater. I have witnessed many students fall into this speed trap, especially when it comes to answering the Math SAT questions. The need for speed often leads to misread questions, sloppy set ups and silly mistakes.
Before coming up with the answer read the question until it is fully understood. Eliminate the obvious incorrect answers. For example--if the answer calls for a positive slope, eliminate the answers with negative slopes; if the answer must be less than 90 degrees, get rid of all those answers greater than 90 degrees. This method allows you to enjoy more accurate calculations while avoiding the "sucker answers" which are designed to catch the careless speed demons!

Reading Scores A Concern Nationwide

Judging from the comments I am getting from my students, reading is the subject they need to work on the most. As I read through the newspapers this morning, I am finding a slew of articles about the poor nationwide reading scores over the past 17 years. When these reading scores are compared with the math results, the comparisons are even more striking. Is it our culture? To much time spent on video games and texting? For an in depth analysis please click on this link from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/education/25reading.html

2 Dates Left for the SAT This Semester

May 1st and June 6th are the last two dates to sit for the SAT exam this semester. High School juniors are encouraged to register and prepare for one or both of these tests. Adequate preparation depends upon the student. 6 to 12 weeks of solid preparation should suffice. The time is now! Crack open those books and get serious. Don't wait to the last minute. Don't get shut out from the most convenient test centers. Don't just show up for the test cold, as many do for the PSAT. This one counts. Make it count!

Well prepared students will be proud of their results and enjoy a stress free summer knowing that the SAT is behind them.

Your Comments on the March 2010 SAT Exam

Many thought the Math was relatively easy while the Critical Reading was very difficult. Here are some excerpted comments from students who actually sat for the March 2010 SAT this past weekend:

i thought the test was ok, and i had enough time. i thought the math was kind of easy, the reading part was kind of hard

I thought the math section was easier than the reading. I found the reading and the vocabulary difficult, and on the reading sections I was rushing at the end. I think I wrote a pretty solid essay, but it definitely was not my best. I was so nervous going into the test, and when I read the essay question, my mind went blank. But, I picked it up and my nerves subsided as time went on.

I didn't expect the SAT to be like this. It was way harder than i expected it to be. The timing was on average, I had enough time, except for the last writing part, The essay itself was okay, I think i wrote a decent essay

I GUESSED ALL THE ENGLISH PARTS AND MATH I DID ALRIGHT

I personally thought that the March SAT was totally unfair... Each section was so sporadic and nothing was "leveled" I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got like a 300 in the reading and a 800 in the math...
The vocab was ridiculous and the reading passages were super hard. I found myself reading the same lines over and over again trying to comprehend what it was all about.. I felt like I was reading Hebrew or something.
The math was fair-- many have said that it was super easy, but as you know, math is my weakest area so I'm not sure how that might turn out..
Grammar was a bit tricky. There were a lot more tricky and hard questions than I expected...
The essay topic was really random and wasn't one of those typical SAT essay topics with a cliche quote asking for my opinion so I was caught off guard.. I think I managed to BS my way through and get some awesome supporting details from novels and thanks to Hitler, I think I'll be fine

Important Math Formula

To find the sum of the interior angles of any polygon use: (n-2) X 180 where n represents the number of sides. Using this formula to find the sum of the interior angles of 5 sided figure (a pentagon) (5-2) X 180=540 degrees. Assuming all the angles are equal, to find the value of each angle use (n-2) X 180/n so (5-2) X 180/5=108.

Proof Read Your Essay

You have carefully outlined and written the assignment. Now it's time to use the remaining few minutes to proof read what you have written. Ask yourself--did I leave out any words? If so, use a caret symbol and insert the omitted word.

Did you lose your concentration and write a double sentence? If so, cross out the superfluous material.

Did you mean to write their instead of there? Or should it be they're? Change it to the proper form.

Make only minor editing changes during the final proof. The graders know your essay was handwritten under time pressure without the use of spell check and grammar check. Do the best you can to make sure the essay is well written, well organized and that it answers the assignment.

Present Your Strongest Point First

SAT scores are released 17 days after the scheduled test day. For any given SAT, over a million essays are scored in less than 17 days. Think about that! How much time do you think the person grading your essay will actually allocate to reading your essay? The answer--less than two minutes.

Knowing this, it is only logical that you present your strongest argument first. Never assume that the grader will even turn the page to read the rest of the essay, let alone its conclusion.

When writing your essay, use engaging language (not baby words) and make sure your best example is your first example. Make a good first impression on the reader and get a higher score!

Write A Strong Thesis Statement

Sample Essay Question: Is using humor the best way to approach difficult situations and problems? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience or observations



Example of a weak thesis: Humor is often the best way to approach difficult situations and problems. Okay, but that’s unoriginal and boring. It just repeats the question.

Better or stronger thesis: While everyone loves a good laugh, not all of the world’s problems can be solved with laughter. Sometimes to accomplish great things we need to be serious. This is evident especially in solving the important issues of the day including combating terrorism and tackling the threat of global warming…………

The second thesis statement captures the readers attention and the reader is intrigued to read on.

Step 2-The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement consists of one to three sentences which:

• Lays a foundation
• Summarizes the main point of the essay
• Helps maps the order of the essay from the outline
• Interests the reader so she wants to read on

A weak thesis statement is a bland restatement of the question. This is not what earns a high essay score on the SAT. In my next post, I will give specific examples of a weak vs. strong thesis statement.