A strategy I found on PWN The SAT

<p>They said if you're making careless mistakes on the math section due to not answering the question the way it asked or by forgetting information in the question, then after you complete each question, read the question again attentively to make sure you were doing what you were supposed to do. Has anyone tried this? Does it help? The main concern, it seems, would be running out of time.</p>

<p>I’ve done this before and can tell you IT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME. Once you get to the harder questions near the end, you have very little time to focus on answering those correctly and end up getting screwed. </p>

<p>I recommend answering the easy/medium questions quickly but swiftly, and if one of the questions seems tricky or is worded weird, circle it and move on. Once you’ve completed the section, go back and implement your above method on the circled questions. </p>

<p>My score went up +110 points when I changed methods.</p>

<p>Genuinely concentrate your utmost through the entire 25 minutes (this means checking answers like mad if you have time). I attempt to nail down exactly what the question is asking and it’s restrictions (eg. even integers). Personally, I multi-task in my head and re-read the question as I begin attacking the problem, and then quickly skim back over the question once I’ve got my answer. Also, I mentally double and triple check each of my calculations as I go through the problem for the first time. I’m very efficient about this, so I tend to finish sections with about 10 minutes to further check answers.</p>

<p>Concentration and efficiency are the keys.</p>

<p>Like neontissues said… that’d probably take too much time to read every question, answer it, reread it, and check that your answer makes sense. Great strategy for a test in class, but not on a timed test. </p>

<p>A good alternative would be the underline the main part question when you read through it the first time (generally the last few words) so you can just glance at it, rather than read the whole question again. It accomplishes the same thing but saves a large chunk of time.</p>

<p>This strategy works precisely as advertised. It virtually eliminates sloppy errors that result from a misreading of the question.</p>

<p>With practice it should not take more than 90 seconds of your time*. If you can’t afford this time then you probably have more important issues to take care of than sloppy question reading.</p>

<p>Each student needs to recognize what his or her primary issues are. If you are the type of student who misreads the question occasionally this strategy will fix your problem. It’s up to you to decide if it worth the cost in time.</p>

<p>*this problem rarely crops up on the difficult questions because 1) the CB targets easier questions for tricky wording and (because) 2) students naturally read easier questions faster and only once. Most students are already using this strategy for the tougher questions as a natural manner of course because they are tougher questions. This is why the strategy should not cost more than 90 seconds,</p>