<p>I know this has probably been done ad nauseum. Sue me.</p>
<p>I currently have Rocket Review, along with College Board’s Big Blue Book, and I’m thinking about Grammatix (the $50 dollar one). I think I’m going to use a composite of strategies, but which ones? I’m generally seeing that Grammatix is better for CR, RR is better for Math, and it can go either way on writing. Here’s where I stand:</p>
<p>*Note: Yes, I did well on the PSAT, but I’ll explain why I have reservations about my scores.</p>
<p>Math - PSAT Score 80 - I feel that although I did well on math, a lot of that was from luck/impulse. Specific questions that I have problems with are word problems where algebraic expressions are needed (especially on the grid-ins, as the PSAT gave me one question that I was lucky to get). Properties of numbers aren’t too great, and I have problems with the types of questions with many numbers or large ones that have two methods of solving:</p>
<li>Spend time typing many numbers into a calculator, with a high likelihood of error, or:</li>
<li>Find a quick shortcut so you don’t even need a calculator</li>
</ol>
<p>Questions involving average speeds (a person goes in one direction at this speed, and opposite at a slower speed…)</p>
<p>Critical Reading - PSAT Score 66 - On sentence completion, my largest problem is second guessing myself. Another major problem is that while I study the really hard words everyone says to review, I’m left in the dark with words that I’d think I know before the test, but then when I get there, I realize I don’t know it as well as I thought. I only got one wrong on sentence completion (second guessing). However, I got several wrong on the passages. I do not know what to do to improve myself. I know that they are objective, but they still feel very subjective and ambiguous, and I am left with educated guesses much of the time. Also, I tend to do better on passages that are interesting to me. Most books seem to say that I should not even read the passage, but I should only read the questions and then go back. However, this prevents me from getting the main point of the passage, among other things, such as conditional questions (“what would this person likely do in this scenario?”). I second guess myself here too.</p>
<p>Writing - PSAT Score 80 - I feel that the PSAT screwed me over, since they only gave 3 questions classified as “hard” and I got one of those wrong, so imagine how I’d do if they gave more hard questions. I second guess myself here too, and have problems with idioms and determining when there is no error. As for the essay, I have just gotten over using quantity over quality and big words over clear speech in my academic writing, something which I read the SAT wants. I consider myself an excellent writer, but I hate the SAT’s broad, meaning of life style questions, and don’t know how I can use corny real-life examples.</p>
<p>I’ve also been hearing that RR and Grammatix offer essay strategies that are opposites, and that with either one, some people do well, and others fail miserably. Is there a common flaw that they’re committing or something they don’t get?</p>
<p>Sorry if that was a mouth full. Which is best for me for different aspects of the test? Rocket Review, Grammatix, or other?</p>