SAT is a standardized test created by the College Board to evaluate students applying for admission in US colleges and universities. It comprises of two sections –Math and Combined Evidence-Based Reading & Writing. The optional essay section is graded separately.
A new SAT test format was launched in 2016 with some significant changes to the test pattern and rules. To name a few, the test now has a fixed sequence of questions, unlike the older version where the questions were put randomly. The math section now has two sections. However, only one section permits the use of a calculator.
Let’s go through some SAT exam tips and strategies that help students prepare and improve their skills to get to their desired SAT scores.
This is an important SAT exam tip is follow. Practicing in old format may not be helpful. Mentioned below are the checkpoints to make sure the SAT Practice Tests are in the current format:
Aligned to new SAT test format this guide from College Board has:
The book contains 8 full-length practice tests, content reviews for all test sections, SAT study strategies and access to premium online extras. It contains:
Starting your SAT prep early, a test a week from the book is a good SAT strategy to follow:
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Invest more time in understanding the concepts that you are going wrong with. Write and revise until you get the concepts right to solve any Math problem based on those concepts.
For all the questions you get wrong, write down, and revise the steps to the right answer. Follow this SAT study tip to know the logic behind the right answer. For example, if there are 50 different types of math problems practice all of them using this method. By the end of your practice, you should be able to solve these problems correctly every time.
When the questions have variables and answer choices have numbers, you can avoid algebra altogether. Plugin the numbers from the answer choices into the original algebraic equation to see if the problem works out fine. This SAT strategy is effective on the radioactive decay and exponential growth problems on the New SAT.
Practice Deep Reading
An SAT study strategy to follow is to develop a habit of reading long passages. Reading long text has become a challenge as most of the time in the real world primarily due to social media attention spans have gone down. To become accustomed to reading well practice reading non –fiction material without missing out on vital information
Context is Important
Not paying attention to the context while reading passages may lead to incorrect answers. Reading a word alone in a question and wasting time looking for it in the passage will often lead you to read back and forth to guess the answer. To be sure of answering a question correctly reading the entire passage carefully is vital.
For example, if a question has a reference of a particular line in passage to get the meaning of a word, it will not be enough to just read that line alone. To get the right answer to understand the context in which the word has been used is important. One will have to read a few lines before and a few after it to arrive at the right conclusion. Reading less generally leads to making assumptions that can leave you unsure of your answers.
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The test is designed to assess how well you can revise and edit texts, given in the form of passages. There will be four passages with 11 questions associated with each passage. The text style in the passages ranges from argumentative, non-fiction narrative to being explanatory in giving information. The questions test students on improving the development of a topic, and organization of information and ideas.
The writing and language test may add complexity to its passages or questions by including one or more tables, graphs, or charts as a supporting point related to the topic of the passage. Such passages may have questions that ask you to use the information given in the graphs to correct a factual error in the passage or replace the passage’s vague description with a more precise one using specific numbers. The questions will not ask you to make corrections in the graph itself. Such questions test a student’s ability to understand and represent factual information correctly using the language.
Your SAT strategies can be altered depending on your strength and weaknesses. Following these SAT exams and study tips master the strong areas first then devote more time to strengthening your weak areas with regular practice and revision.
If this article has helped you plan ahead for the SAT exams 2020, be sure to share it to help others who might be looking to take the exams. Good Luck!
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