Sorry if my question seems any ridiculous, but when I read @xiggi 's advice about the “techniques,” I just have no idea what he is talking about. For example, here:
As I will repeat often, I do not pretend to know everything about the SAT. I’ve spent enough time on the SAT to know what works well and what does not work that well. There are merits to a number of strategies, and one has to TRY them in earnest. One of the biggest misconceptions is that the use of strategies represents a shortcut for PREPARATION TIME. Nothing could be further from the truth. The strategies only work for people who invest an adequate amount of time in troubleshooting the techniques and ascertain the relevance to their individual case.
You will see those techniques when you start studying, but @xiggi can help us here! So many tips on his guide will help you.
I just don’t know whether he means strategies or ways to solve or answer a problem.
Also here why does xiggi wants one to learn the strategies (POE, working backwards) at the same time one is trying to answer the question?
Set aside 1 or 2 tests for the assessment and exploration phase. In this phase, I recommend to get all your books out and start answering the questions without any time limits. Whenever youre stumped, take a peek at the response or even at the fully developed answers that are posted on the TCB site. The idea is to understand how ETS writes its questions and what makes certain questions more difficult than others. It is in this phase that one will use the outside material the most. This is when you will read about the process of elimination, working backwards, and other techniques that are more common sense than any great secrets. It should not take more than a few hours to exhaust the strategies and tips published in the source books