<p>Which prep books should I use to attain such a score? Right now, I'm at a 710; most of the time, its just stupid mistakes. But occasionally, I run into those super difficult problems at the end of the test I don't have time to solve! I really need an 800 on the math, so help me on this one. :D</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. On all the BB practice tests, I always seem to miss at least 1 or 2 due to bubbling errors or a difficult question. The closest I got to an 800 was -1 and it was on a easy level question >.< . Anyways, I think it all comes down to finishing each math section somewhat early and checking all your answers for silly errors.</p>
<p>On the my psat sophmore year I got 1 wrong in math, and it was the first question wrong on the first section (I misbubbled).</p>
<p>Which prep books should I use to attain such a score (besides BB)?</p>
<p>A lot of people recommended Gruber’s to me, although so far, it really hasn’t had anything other than a review of basic math concepts. I have yet to get into the real help it provides for the SAT Math.</p>
<p>Stupid mistakes were always my demise on the math section. But I managed to snag an 800 on the May sitting through good techniques and focus. Most importantly, read the question again after you bubble your answer to make sure you didn’t misinterpret the question. This is crucial. Here are some excellent tips from Rocket Review’s study book:</p>
<p>Math:
• The 10 Grid-In questions go E-M-H-E-M-H
• Before you rush off in a mad dash to find and apply some formules to a problem, see how far you can get applying a few moments of thinking about the question. At the very least, thinking about the question will clarify the issues you need to consider to avoid potential blunders.
• The SAT Math section rewards students who notice things and punishes students who don’t.
• Think for a few moments about each problem before attempting it mathematically.
• Always verify each step of your solution as you work through the question. Step, verify, next step, verify, next step, verify. Always verify – right to the very end of the solution.
• The biggest cause of avoidable math errors on the SAT is not miscalculations but rather misreading the question! The primary way you’ll catch errors just after you’ve made them is by rereading the question! The last, last step in solving any SAT math problem – the step right before you fill in your answer – is to say, Wait, let me reread the question!
• Your inner voice often alerts you to errors as you make them – listen to it! Trust me: you’ve either just made a mistake or you’re about to make one when any of the following thoughts flash through your head:
- That seemed pretty easy…
- Isn’t there a rule that says…?
- I just figured…
- This choice is too obvious for a difficult question but I don’t see how any of the other choices could work…
- Of course…
- I can do this problem in my head…
- Obviously…
- The answer has to be…
- No way the answer is…
- What a stupid question!
• Never anticipate the answer to an SAT math problem; let the answer come as a surprise. It’s always a good sign if the answer to a medium to hard question seems a little strange. If your solution seemed a little too easy, a little too obvious – red alert!
• The answer to a hard question will be an unupopular-looking choice.
• The most obvious answer on a hard question is obviously wrong – but it’s not far off.
• If you get stuck on a question, for whatever reason, immediately circle the question number in your test booklet and move on to the next question. When you return to the question, start over. Do not check your work or you’re likely to make the same mistake. The first thing to do is to reread the question carefully. Work out the question completely.
• If you’re stuck on a difficult question, select a hard, unpopular-looking answer choice.
• Never, ever, never, ever, never dismiss any mistake on the SAT math as “stupid” or “just careless”. You’ll rarely if ever hear a professional athlete saying that he or she lost a big game because of a “stupid” mistake. Any mistake on the SAT costs points – the grading computer doesn’t care – and “stupid mistakes” are the hardest to get rid of.
• The key to avoiding and catching errors on the SAT Math Test is – listen to the words I’m about to use – being willing to take pains. The tricky thing is that the only way to be sure that you’ve been careful enough on an SAT math problem is to be more careful than you think you have to be. Always. In other words, if you want to achieve your maximum possible SAT math score, you need to be paranoid about making errors, even on the easiest-looking math questions on the SAT – especially on the easiest-looking questions.
• If you’re serious about improving your math score, you’ll focus more attention on avoiding errors than you will on solving problems.
• If you take pains to get them right, you will. TAKE PAINS.
• Never cut corners: assume nothing; verify everything; check it out!
• Always try to draw the information to scale. Remember that the pictures you draw will influence how your brain processes the problem, so if you misrepresent the information with a casual or even sloppy drawing, your thinking could very well be sloppy, too.
• Use variable that suggest the quantity being indicated – b for base; s for side; r for red – rather than the standard variables x and y.
• Always take pains to avoid errors on the SAT math – writing everything down, rereading the question, you know the drill – not just on the harder questions, which you may already do, but even on the very easiest questions. ALWAYS. You wear your seatbelt always, not just when you think you will have an accident.
• Once you reach 800, why quit taking the precautions that got you there?
• Check the choices on any word problems rather than setting up and solving elaborate equations.
• If you don’t know what to do on a problem, do whatever you can do – it’s almost always a step in the right direction. You don’t have to see how to solve the problem in order to solve it; you just have to see what to do next.</p>
<p>dr john chung’s sat math. Do all the practice</p>