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.