<p>thanks IceQube for the effort, and Xiggi for helping me out.</p>
<p>hopefully this works.
</p>
<p>To Josh05 and SATWriter…
Since I probably don’t live near you, which books would you recommend buying or looking at, that do the same thing as your SAT Math tutor,in the sense of his “don’t use formulas, etc., just use simple logic and memorized comparison”? Also, is that the way he teaches the CR and Writing section (if he is a total SAT tutor)? If so, again, which books do you recommend, or how do you recommend studying for those sections as well.
If you don’t know of any books that do these things, how would you recommend studying for the SAT like your tutor would recommend? My strength right now is going to be my dedication, so despite how extreme it could be, I’ll do it.
Thanks</p>
<p>-dv</p>
<p>Hi dv,</p>
<p>I wrote PowerScore’s (not Nova’s) SAT Math Bible. I think it’s unique because I was never naturally inclined to math, so it comes from the perspective of someone who’s had to learn to think differently. But now math is my favorite part of the test.</p>
<p>I do not believe that you attack the Writing and Reading sections in the same manner. For the Writing section, it’s about learning the 20-25 most common errors and then practicing spotting them. Once I categorized the questions in the Blue Book by error type, I rarely ever missed a writing question again. You start to see patterns, in both sentence structures and errors, and you learn to anticipate errors based on the words that are underlined. I recommend this tedious task to anyone who wants to improve their MC score.</p>
<p>As for Reading, it’s a whole other beast. I’ve always considered myself strong in verbal reasoning, so unlike Math, it’s harder for me to verbalize my natural tendencies that have developed from years of practicing something I love. I am currently working on our Reading Bible, so I’ve been categorizing the questions and have definitely seen some patterns. I think Sentence Completion is an easy improvement—study vocab, learn to decode words, and learn to decode sentences. But the Passage Based Reading is different. All prep books will give you the basics for improvement (active reading, finding the main idea, etc.), but I am currently looking for more definitive strategies. I’m sure I’ll post my findings when I’m done.</p>
<p>Dr. Steve has some good advice, especially about going over the problems you get wrong. The SAT reuses math questions, just changing the numbers, so anything you see you may see again. </p>
<p>As for solving things using algebra vs. using the creative method: that’s different for each student. I’ve had students who weren’t creative, and trying to solve things by using shortcuts didn’t work for them. Other students thrived on them. Shortcuts can save a ton of time . . . if you quickly see the shortcut. But if it takes you 45 seconds to see the shortcut and 20 seconds to do the problem the short way, you just spent 65 seconds on a question that would have taken you 50 seconds if you’d done it algebraically. </p>
<p>Also, sometimes you need to start doing a question the long way before you see the short way. My advice is look at the problem, take 5 or 10 seconds to try to find the short cut, then start doing it algebraically. You can stare at a question all day waiting for the creative way to come, sometimes it doesn’t. The exception to this rule is late-section algebraic word problems. Always plug in numbers for these types of problems. The reason is that often they are both tricky AND difficult. Most students can handle the difficulty but miss the tricks. Plugging in numbers for variables helps avoid errors. </p>
<p>The statement that you shouldn’t use formulas because they’re more difficult to memorize is weird. How many vocab words are you learning for this test but you can’t memorize the formula for average? Make flash cards and study them. </p>
<p>The best advice I’ve found when students are confused by a math question is to start writing things down. Most students think that they need to understand everything before they can start writing, but often, it’s writing something down that lets you understand how to solve a problem. Even if you’re just rewriting what they’ve given you, it still can help.</p>
<p>Josh05, </p>
<p>Familiarize yourself with the section format first off. What is giving you trouble? MC, grid ins, or both? Don’t worry about the score yet, worry about learning the concepts. The above comments sum what to do up pretty nicely. Learn the types of questions that give you trouble, for example questions involving exponents. Then really practice those types from Grubers or any other math test source, such as Kaplan or PR. Just learn the topics and you’ll be set. Read the answer key, and it doesn’t help, just post it on the forums and people will give you better feedback. What kind of calculator are you using? That also effects your scores greatly (scientific vs. graphing vs. good graphing calculator). Learn to use your calculator, as it can greatly accelerate you and give you more time for questions you can’t solve. Keep at it, math is the EASIEST section. You can learn a formula, you can’t learn to “critically read” and you’re already doing well on CR, so you’re on the path to success my friend. Keep at it, good luck!</p>
<p>~Aceventura74</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone in this thread said you shouldn’t memorize formulas. You should know and understand the formulas that the SAT provides in the Formula box. You do not *need *any other formula, though. For some naturally-inclined math people, memorizing other formulas is important. For people who have a hard time with math, using reasoning is often a more efficient solution method. Good books will provide relevant formulas (and there really are not many) but also show alternative solution methods.</p>
<p>@SATWRITER
There are a couple acronyms which i’m not quite understanding for the CR guide and the others. Could you expound a little on these things.
Also, when you said before that you had dropped the conventional “formula” methods, and resorted to easier and more efficient ways that didn’t have to have calculators involved, what are these methods/where can I find them, etc.
Thanks alot.</p>
<p>@SATWRITER
There are a couple acronyms which i’m not quite understanding for the CR guide as well as the math and writing. Could you expound a little on these things.
Also, and most importantly, when you said before that you had dropped the conventional “formula” methods, and resorted to easier and more efficient ways that didn’t have to have calculators involved, what are these methods/where can I find them, etc.
Thanks alot.</p>
<p>@DRSTEVE, which specific math strategies are you referring to, and where can I find these?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m also trying to find these specific SAT math strategies. People on here always refer to them, but never reveal or explain them!</p>
<p>@Dv and Billy The reason that we don’t get into details is because this forum has strict policies against marketing our own products and giving links to our websites. So unfortunately we’re stuck being vague on this issue.</p>
<p>To try and be a little helpful I’ll give 2 examples of strategies, a basic one and an advanced one:</p>
<p>Basic: If in a geometry question, it does NOT say “figure not drawn to scale,” then assume that it is. This can make a seemingly difficult problem easy just by measuring “with your eye.”</p>
<p>Advanced: A seemingly difficult geometry problem can sometimes be made easier by moving the sides of a figure around. An example of this is when you have 2 intersecting right triangles, and you’re looking for a certain length in the figure. (Note: this strategy does NOT work when you’re looking for areas because moving sides can change the area.)</p>
<p>It might be a bit hard for some to visualize implementing these strategies without specific problems in front of them, but hopefully this is somewhat helpful.</p>