My Method for the Math and Writing Sections

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>My math section method is primarily a psychological approach to time management. My writing section method is more strategy-oriented.</p>

<p>Math</p>

<p>For the math section, you do not have to choose the “best” answer because everything is either right or wrong. After determining the correct answer, jump to the next question immediately – this saves time and prevents you from breaking your focus. Leap to the next problem when you recognize time-consuming questions, which drain concentration as well as speed. Do not presume that you know what a question says until you have read it word-for-word; do not allow a picture to divert you from the text of a question. Think of the questions as a series of floating platforms that will drop if you stand on one too long; you have to be quick, but if you don’t hop carefully, you will fall.</p>

<p>Your goal is to correctly answer every question that you attempt on your first run through. Do not become complacent once you’ve answered every question: you still need to check your work! This is an opportune moment to check how much time you have left. If more than 5 minutes remain, rapidly scan through every problem, reading both the question and the answer you have selected. Slow down on difficult problems but allow enough time to look at every question. If little time remains, check only the most difficult problems.</p>

<p>Writing</p>

<p>For the “Identifying Sentence Errors” segment, quickly answer all questions in which an error can be identified almost immediately. Skip all questions in which the error is unknown. When you reach the end of the segment, carefully work through the remaining questions. This approach offers the advantage of deductive reasoning because an error can be pinpointed but the absence of error cannot. Read the entire sentence before marking “no error.” If you cannot comprehend the whole sentence, it likely contains an error. Assume that idiomatic expressions are erroneous if they sound unfamiliar when spoken.</p>

<p>For the “Improving Sentences” segment, you must select the best answer. Therefore, you also must read every answer. Remember to fully comprehend each sentence before selecting an answer. Similarly, you must read and comprehend each paragraph in the “Improving Paragraphs” segment. Meaning and context are crucial in paragraph questions.</p>

<p>The essay and critical reading sections are much more challenging.</p>

<p>The essay questions from the 1st edition Blue Book are so generic that it may be plausible to “pre-write” and memorize the entire essay before the test and still get a 12. I compiled the eight prompts from the new Blue Book (1st ed.) and four of the prompts from the online course. I have attempted to group them below:</p>

<p>Motivation and Success</p>

<p>What motivates people to change?
Is conscience a more powerful motivator than money, fame, or power?
Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way?
Does the success of a community—whether it is a class, a team, a family, a nation, or any other group—depend upon people’s willingness to limit their personal interests?
Can success be disastrous?</p>

<p>Change</p>

<p>Do changes make our lives easier but not necessarily make them better?
Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we adversity to help us discover who we are?
Is the world changing for the better?
Is the way something seems to be not always the same as it actually is?</p>

<p>Morals</p>

<p>Should heroes be defined as people who say what they think when we ourselves lack the courage to say it?
Is it always best to determine one’s own views of right and wrong, or can we benefit from following the crowd?
Do we need other people in order to understand ourselves?</p>

<p>In a formulaic “pre-essay”, you could write about a moral leader of humble origins who faced countless obstacles but miraculously succeeded and triumphed over a great evil. Please give me your thoughts.</p>

<p>For the Critical Reading section, my only issue is supporting all my answers evidence from the text without losing too much time. Does anyone have any strategies?</p>

<p>Also feel free to evaluate aspects of my method.</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention my success with this method. On my last SAT, I got a 730 on math (1 bubbling mistake, 1 omission) and a 770 on writing. On my last PSAT, I got an 80 on math and a 71 on writing, although I hadn’t yet refined a strategy for the writing section at that time.</p>

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<p>Ok, I got too lazy to read through your process for CR/writing, but I can comment on your math technique. It’s a good concept, but personally I think it’s best to still look over the other answer options (very quickly skimming) just to be sure that you haven’t fallen into the “trap,” which usually exists on each question. What I also do is circle all the questions where I’m not 100% sure that I’m correct, and then go back and redo those problems after I’ve finished the rest of the section. I do the same thing when I find myself spending over 45 seconds on a problem and am not close to determining the answer.</p>

<p>My success: 80 on the PSAT, 790 on the SAT - first take (I mis-gridded one response - GRR).</p>

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<p>With your success, I’m sure you’re right. Most of my errors on the math section are careless mistakes, although I occasionally run into time problems. My biggest issue is saving enough time to check all my answers without getting careless.</p>

<p>On another note, my theory about pre-writing essays has proven viable:
<a href=“SAT Essay Prompt Archetypes - SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>SAT Essay Prompt Archetypes - SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>Yeah, having time to check all of your answers is what usually makes the difference of a 650-700 and a 750-800. The pre-writing technique is really interesting, it’s almost pathetic that Collegeboard can’t come up with more unique ideas. It definitely would have helped me, since I only got a 9 on the essay – I had prepared what I was going to write about, but I had never actually figured out how, which ended up with me doing an awful job while running out of time. For CR, I wish I had a good technique that worked, my only advice would be to make sure that you’re focused on the passage and that you look back to the text for each question. If you skim the passages and spend less than 45 seconds per question, you should have a tiny bit of extra time.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the writeup</p>