I just bought Grammatix and the strategies arent helping????

Test Preparation
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<p>hey i applied the reading strategies which say to read the excerpt lines and than look for the answer, does that work for all the questions with line references and 100% correct?? Has anyone seen their verbal score improve by using grammatix strategies???</p>

<p>also how do i use grammatix??? yeah it sounds stupid but you know what, I dont think i know what im doing because after 2 years of studying for SAT, my score hasnt improved:(, so will someone guide me in using Grammatix and getting results??</p>

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<p>
[quote]
sounds stupid but you know what, I dont think i know what im doing because after 2 years of studying for SAT, my score hasnt improved

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's pretty sad lol</p>

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<p>Is this copyright infringement?</p>

<p>well I bought the grammatix book and I've been using for about a year the exact same strategy he outlines. with some modifications of course. PM if u would like me to explain how I approach the Questions</p>

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<p>Wow you have been using it for a year... 12 full months? How much did you improve? What was your old score and your improved score after the year? I just ordred Grammatix a few days ago.</p>

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<p>my math score on old SAT- 610 Verbal: 500</p>

<p>Now my math score: 580-630
my verbal: 530-570</p>

<p>Sorry I didnt mention that Ive just bought grammatix and have been preppin for SAT with other materials like Kaplans, Barrons, CB, Princeton, 10 REALS, Barrons SAT Math workbook, etc.... and i havent seen improvements....</p>

<p>i dont know what im doing wrong, will someone help me out here?</p>

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<p>sanguine007: the same is happening for me</p>

<p>When I took a grubers practice test I got 740m 470v 540w. I improved my verbal about a 100 points but its still fairly low. Can someone please help?</p>

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<p>sorry for confusion.</p>

<p>I bought the Grammatix book a few weeks ago. The strategy he outlines is the same as the strategy I have been using for a year</p>

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<p>sounds weird but u gotta become smarter</p>

<p>grammatix is really a guide for people around 700's trying to find a way to save time when looking for answers. </p>

<p>however, you can definitely benefit from the essay guide.</p>

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<p>hey i applied the reading strategies which say to read the excerpt lines and than look for the answer, does that work for all the questions with line references and 100% correct?? Has anyone seen their verbal score improve by using grammatix strategies???</p>

<p>and also, does the Grammatix cover all the math concepts as it only goes over like 10 problems.. and same for the reading.... does it cover all the concepts that would appear on the real SAT?</p>

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<p>hey i applied the reading strategies which say to read the excerpt lines and than look for the answer, does that work for all the questions with line references and 100% correct?? </p>

<p>what are you saying?! i don't understand you. what is "and 100% correct" ?</p>

<p>speak english!</p>

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<p>Yeah you may have a hard time improving if english is your second language.</p>

<p>I think you need to stop studying SAT strategies and start focusing on more of the material. For math, you need to review all your algebra, trig, and geometry notes instead of just taking practice tests over and over and over. For verbal... just start reading books and newspapers.</p>

<p>I think sanguine007 means if grammatix's strategy is 100% accurate.. of course not! I don't think it depends so much on the strategy so much as who is taking the test.</p>

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<p>hahaha sorry about that. Dont take it that Im bad at english....</p>

<p>Heres what I mean:</p>

<p>The strategy in the guide tells you to go back to the ''excerpt line'' and read the sentence above and below it to get to the answer, does that always work?? I mean I tried that and I got confused and ended up getting questions wrong. Whats the best way to apply the strategies in the guide on a real test? Can I improve my reading score of 540 to a 640+ if I apply the reading strategies that are in the guide? HOW?</p>

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<p>^ thats one strat that i don't like about grammatix, its cause its soooo generic. Haven't we ALL heard of "reading 1 line above and below" in our lives BEFORE grammatix came along with this stunning revelation?</p>

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<p>hey can somebody please answer my question??</p>

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<p>I dont think grammatix says that... doesnt it say read only the lines they ask you??? I dont have grammtix. Correct me If im wrong. Also the website says that he uses CB Blue Book so it must work ..right?</p>

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<p>thats what i wanna know</p>

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<p>I think that the best strategy is Barron's SAT 2400. I will explain it for those who doesn't have the book.</p>

<p>First divide visually or with pencil the whole text into several parts (the best for me is to read a passage or two) Then go to the questions and very quickly find those that are more specific, like reference lines or meaning of the word. Don't try to understand question, what you need on this phase is number of the line. Mark line references and words in the text. </p>

<p>Then start reading the first part. Pay attention to underlined sentences if any. When you are done reading answer all questions that relate to this part of the text. Live the questions like authors idea etc. for last. When you are done with this part move to the next one. At the very end answer questions that relate to the whole text.</p>

<p>This strategy works for me and although it may seem a little bit time consuming, it actually saves time. Since you answer questions after each part of the text, you alway remember what the text says and don't need to reread. When you've already answered almost all questions it is easier to answer more vague ones.</p>

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<p>Hey Sanguine007, here's one of my favorite strategies. I wish I could explain it with the blue book in front of me but if you try it, it might work for you.</p>

<p>To begin with, don't read the whole passage. (Lots of books recommend this strategy, and it's a good approach, at least until you hit 650 or so). Read the introduction, the first sentence of each supporting paragraph, and the conclusion. (Some people also like to read the last sentence of each supporting paragraph. I think this is personal preference, although it does sometimes help.) </p>

<p>When you read the introduction and conclusion, underline the main idea sentence. If you're not sure what the idea is, try to find the most general sentence (the least specific one).</p>

<p>When you read the first sentence of each supporting paragraph, underline it. </p>

<p>Now you should have one sentence underlined per paragraph. Make sure you understand each of them. If they have pronouns, words like "this" or "these," or expressions like "this comparison," "this argument," whatever, go back quickly and make sure that you understand what those words and phrases refer to. If the main idea sentence contains the word "it," read backwards until you figure out <em>exactly what "it" is.</em></p>

<p>If there are important words you don't know, isolate them. Make a good guess about them or replace them with a generic word like "people" or "things." Don't let them confuse you!</p>

<p>Now pause for a moment. Look at the main idea sentence of the intro and the main idea sentence of the conclusion. What do they have in common? What is the author talking about? What is his opinion about whatever he's talking about? What is his tone?</p>

<p>Now you can attack the questions!</p>

<p>When you have a main idea question, remember the important sentences from the first and last paragraph. Remember how they were connected. Then choose something that fits. </p>

<p>When you have a specific information question, find the reference. This can be a little more complicated than it sounds! For instance, imagine that the test says something like, "How does the author develop his claim in lines 67-68"? It's not enough to go find lines 67-68. You have to find <em>the claim</em>. In this way, the reading section can be a little bit like a treasure hunt. . . one clue leads you to another. Make sure that you are finding exactly the reference that the test is asking you for, not just the line numbers.</p>

<p>Then, instead of reading the text above and below the reference, <em>reread the main idea sentence of the paragraph.</em> If the reference is in the main idea sentence of a supporting paragraph, reread the main idea sentence of your introduction.</p>

<p>Ask yourself, "How does this detail connect to the main idea sentence of the paragraph?" The answer to that question will help you figure out the deeper meaning, the purpose, or the meaning-in-context of the reference. . . which is really what the test is asking you to figure out. (Then, if you are going slowly, ask yourself "Why?" Make sure you really understand the connection!)</p>

<p>Now, when you are doing the question, choose an answer that <em>fits the relationship between the specific reference and the main idea.</em></p>

<p>In my experience, this little trick works almost all the time. I hope it works for you, far away from me, and not just for my own students in my own classroom! </p>

<p>Remember, you're not reading the whole passage, so you should have time to study these lines a little more carefully. Even if you can't be this careful the first time through, when you're going over your wrong answers, you should take these steps.</p>

<p>If you find that this method takes way too much time, don't worry about it when you're doing timed practice tests, but use it when you are going over your wrong answers or when you are doing tests untimed. </p>

<p>If you find that you frequently don't know important words in the main idea sentences, then you definitely need to work on your vocabulary.</p>

<p>I know this was a long post. I hope that some of this was helpful. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Oh, two more things:</p>

<p>1) Do word-in-context questions like a sentence completion problem. </p>

<p>2) If the method I suggested above doesn't work for you, see if you can find a teacher or a higher-scoring friend to help you identify main ideas and connections before you give up on it. I'm not promising it will help, but it has helped a number of people I know.</p>