sparkledust

HEY XIGGI IS THIS THE THREAD YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT ON THE 1ST PAGE?

"First off, let me assured you that there are no earth-shattering secrets in what has been -very generously- dubbed as the Xiggi method. I think that it is mostly based on common sense. After all, how hard is it for anyone to figure out that the more one practices, the more one improves. However, there are a few elements that seem to work better than others. Also, I may be able to point to certain elements of a preparation that yield lesser results. For instance, I do not recommend to spend MUCH time reading lists of words.
I'll try to get something posted this afternoon. I'll address one question immediately: taking tests under timed conditions."

"The answer is yes but only at the end of the preparation, and eventually at the onset if you did not take an official test. In the past I have compared an SAT preparation to the preparation for a marathon. It is not necessary to run 26 miles each day to prepare for a race. It is better to prepare your body for the grueling race in smaller installments and build resistance and speed by repetition. I do not think that there is ANYTHING wrong in trying to emulate the testing conditions by setting aside a few Saturdays at the kitchen table. It is, however, not necessary, especially in the phase where you build knowledge, confidence, and time management. I would recommend 10 installments of 30 minutes over taking an 5 hours ordeal. One of the keys of a successful preparation is to establish a number of intermediary targets. First, you want to make sure you understand the test and its arcane language. Then, you want to test your current knowledge. After that, you want to make sure you understand what TCB considers correct answers. As I will post this afternoon, I even recommend taking a test WITH the answers in front of you. Obviously that test would not establish a valid yardstick score wise, but it will go a long way to build confidence in your own ability and recognize the few traps that ETS uses."

Snoozer

I don't know if this is the right spot to ask Xiggi this question, but I am afraid it will go unnoticed on the barron's practice tests thread.
Xiggi, there are only two SAT II math tests (one IC and one IIC) in CB SAT II book.
Where can we get true SAT II math tests? Has CB ever released real SATII tests thru Q'n'A service?
What do you think of Meylani SATII math tests books? People swear by them on amazon.

ApWorld

Hi. About the xiggi method: For the first practice tests I take in the collegeboard blue book, would it be a good idea to use a dictionary for the non-passage parts of the verbal sections (even though it would actually give me the "answers"?
Thanks.

Harvard_Genius

Sentence Completion? No, it would become ridiculously easy... it would be a good idea, however, to look at the words you dont know before taking the test, learn them, and then do the test and see how much you know.

xiggi

Couple of answers.

1. As far as I know, the only official SAT-II Math tests released by TCB ar ein the books. I never heard them sell any. One place to check is ETS. They do sell tets such as past editions of the PSAT and seem to change their mind easily.

In the meantime, the tests of Meylany offer one of the best substitutes, despite being a tad harder.

While for the SAT Reasoning there is absolutely no reason to waste time with synthetic tests, the same cannot be said for Subject tests because so few official tests have ever been released.

2. The purpose of using books and ... answer keys during the first practice tests is to increase your awareness of the way ETS develops its questions. The score is not important and there is nothing wrong to look up the words while answering. While I would suggest to spend a bit of time looking at the problem before jumping to the dictionary, the result is the same. The key is to try to UNDERSTAND how the test works, to see WHY a minimum of TWO answers will be OBVIOUS bad choices, and why there is only ONE correct answer. Knowing the correct answer allows a student to uncover the relationships between the problem and answer choices.

While checking the words, make sure to spend time recognizing the roots, prefixes or suffixes.

Good luck.

harry3734

hey xiggi,
what is your advice for raising ones CR score? its about the only thing that wont really budge for me . any advice?

Harvard2011

I'm not xiggi, but I think like he does... If you're taking the test this fall, the only thing you can do now is go through the official practice tests in the CB book and pick out words from the word choices that you don't know, write them down and memorize them... Then, obviously, take the practice tests and review the ones you got wrong... Get the official online course... It's has 4 more real tests, 100's of practice questions, and explanations for everything in their book and on their site... It's great. Because at this point, it'll be hard to get your score up by just reading books... Practice tests... Everything you'll need to know IS THERE.

Icer

I live in the Bahamas and there aren't much if any sat tutors and I am not the most affluent person in the world if you catch my drift. Since I don't have the access to a tutor I would like to know which books would be good for the SAT. I have heard that some books over prepare and some under-prepare. I would rather a book that teaches more than I need. Do these books have everything that one needs to do well on the SAT. I don't think I'm one to buy multiple books. I would rather a book that has everything I would need to pass the test highly

tanman

Icer: read through this thread - the one book you need to have is the Blue book put out by College Board. It contains 8 practice tests that are the most similar to the real SAT (since they're written by the same people).

arbortrees06

wow...thank u so much xiggi for these posts...u have no idea
your one post about how students who are smart in school can do poorly on the sat's so hits home. after not studying and expecting to receive a score paralleling my gpa, I was in for a rude awakening! Now the SAT scares the crap outta me...lol and i gotta take them again this fall, so I am trying hard to stay focused and study so I can do well *sigh*

Icer

What is the official name of this blue book and where can I get one. Another problem is that on this thread people just refer to books in general like Barron's or Princeton Review or Kaplan. I would like to know the exact names of the books as these pcompanies have several books out.

SV2

Icer, the blue book is:

The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT
by the College Board.

ISBN #0874477182

You can order it from most online booksellers and from the College Board on their website.

zephyr462

Hey guys - wondering if any of you can crack this one.

"If a and b are positive integers and (a^(1/2)*b^(1/3))^6 = 432, then what is the quantity of ab?" - so far i solved it only through looking at the answers and using factors of those answers to plug it back into the first equation to see if it equals 432. Got lucky and got it. Any ideas? Let me know if you guys need the answers.

geddes97

Xiggi,

Is there a website with words I should study to raise my vocabulary, and making me be able to do better on the writing and reading sections?

tanman

Zephyr462, simplyify that equation to a^3*b^2 = 432 and then start factoring out 432 to 2*2*2*2*3*3*3 = (2*2)^2 * 3^3 = 4^2 * 3^3, so ab = 12