<p>Any1 know how good the book is? What it is strong on?</p>
<p>BUMP anyone know?</p>
<p>I have it.</p>
<p>Math is really good, especially for algebra and geometry. My weakness was in functions & probability stuff though, so I used other books to get more practice on that; functions weren’t as thoroughly discussed as the other concepts. I think there were a total of 8 chapters for math, and then each chapter had 50 questions relating to the concepts tackled. VERY helpful for me. I was consistently scoring in the 700s range after I finished the math section.</p>
<p>For the CR section there was a 3400 word list and then TONS of vocab questions (i.e. there’s a word and then you pick a synonymous word from 5 choices). I found the latter quite helpful; it was easier to memorize words that way, and the definitions given are pretty concise. The passages were a bit harder than CB questions, and some of them are not in the same format as CB’s (I mean I wouldn’t expect them to come out in the actual test). Also, I found them quite dense (and for some reason I was always drained after each section); I had a harder time finishing within the alloted time limit.</p>
<p>The writing section is the weakest of the three (my $.02). It has a comprehensive review of grammar rules, but don’t focus solely on those because there are some extras, and there are some rules that weren’t given enough emphasis. The practice questions were alright, although some of them were a bit confusing; I didn’t find the answer explanations sufficient or transparent enough, so I usually post here to have them clarified. Writing is really just a matter of answering a lot of questions to familiarize yourself with the rules (PRACTICE!!) and cross-checking some of the questions you deem suspect with CB questions. It’s tedious, but effective.</p>
<p>–> Overall, I would use the book as a starting point and branch out to other books for tests/additional study materials. It’s the most comprehensive REVIEW book I bought. But for the practice tests (there were 5), I found them harder. I would score in the 1950-2100 range, but for CB tests I never scored lower than 2100. </p>
<p>**Oh yeah, there are critical thinking skills in the first few chapters; it’s the usual strategies given by most sites/books but worth reading nonetheless.</p>
<p>First of all, I would like to thank you for that great detailed response 
</p>
<p>Which other books would you recommend to be successful? Specifically from a 1350 SAT to reaching a 2000+? (which would be my case, haha)</p>
<p>I would agree with the general consensus in this board –> use the blue book.</p>
<p>Like I said Gruber’s is a great starting point for math, so you could use that first and work your way up. What are your weaknesses? What exactly is the breakdown of that 1350 score? </p>
<p>For writing, although I did read through Gruber’s grammar review, I depended on tests to kind of make my own list of grammar rules. I suggest Sparknotes 7 Deadly Screw-Ups ([SAT:</a> Improve SAT Score with SparkNotes: The Seven Deadly Screw-Ups](<a href=“SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides”>SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides)) as a starting point. And then it’s up to you if you’d like to go through the Gruber’s grammar (or any other book for that matter). Personally I don’t think they’ll help much; they either reiterate what Sparknotes had already said, or they’d just confuse me. I suggest you then start taking practice tests (from anywhere), identify which rules you have a hard time spotting, and work on those. You can always clarify grammar questions here; they’ll tell you too if certain questions wouldn’t likely be tested. If you haven’t noticed, I have a writing thread full of questions that crazybandit answers; he’s basically my grammar teacher </p>
<p>For CR, just remember that EVERY ANSWER IS IN THE PASSAGE. That’s it. You just have to work on speed. I did use Grammatix for some strategies (it was quite helpful), but mainly you have to practice a LOT. I would highlight the words I don’t know on every practice test I take, and that’s how I learn vocab. Barron’s CR workbook wasn’t bad for sentence completions. For passage based readings, I’d depend on CB because the questions in various books don’t always mirror actual CB questions.</p>