<p>M: 760
CR: 620
W: 670</p>
<p>For CR, I got most of the sentence completion correct (skipped the one usually). But it's reading comprehension which kills me everytime. I've been searching for new methods to attack the problem efficiently.. Bracketing, no bracketing, etc..</p>
<p>For writing, I just get the last few questions wrong. On the recent test I took I skipped 1 (the last question on the improving sentences) and 3 wrong</p>
<p>Math. Last section 2 level 5 questions wrong</p>
<p>[How</a> to Attack the SAT Critical Reading Section Effectively](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html"]How”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html)
[How</a> to Write a 12 Essay in Just 10 Days](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html]How”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/645763-how-write-12-essay-just-10-days.html)
Math: When you know how to solve every problem (through more practice if necessary)…
<p>This is what I used - of course, you’ll have to practice, practice, practice and gear these tips toward yourself. Gl</p>
<p>Here’s the secret: SAT CR is NOT about analysis or interpretation like you’ve been trained to do in English class. It sucks, but you have to UNTRAIN yourself now for the SAT. If you do what you’ve been trained to do in school, which is to analyze and interpret, you’re going to get stuff wrong on the SAT.</p>
<p>This ain’t English class. This ain’t Ms. Holden’s British Lit class. This is the SAT, which is about finding the answer directly in the passage (not analyzing). It’s a giant open book test.</p>
<p>Here’s another secret: don’t justify your answer, identify the wrong answers.</p>
<p>Looking for the right answer is the WRONG METHOD for the Critical Reading section. Instead, you need to identify which four are wrong and WHY they are wrong. The reason you are debating between two or three choices is because something about each of them feels right; that’s why they’re still in the running. You can easily convince yourself that any one is right (this is called justification). But if you identify what’s WRONG with a choice, it’s game over for that choice. Identify four wrong choices and you’re left with the right answer.</p>
<p>There are 7 main reasons why something is wrong:</p>
<p>1) Not stated in the passage. Duh. The trap here is that some answer choices actually feel really logical and make sense to any smart-thinking student like yourself. But if it doesnt say it directly in the passage, its wrong no matter how much that choice makes sense.</p>
<p>2) Opposite of whats stated in the passage. Duh again. But they will try to trick you by mentioning something you remember reading about, and then contradicting what the passage said. Even small discrepancies can mess up the whole game and meaning of an answer choice.</p>
<p>3) Too extreme. Good writing is about grey areas, nuances, and subtleties. So the SAT probably isnt going to make the right answer so black and white. Things like extremely or absolutely or undoubtedly or stuff along those lines are probably wrong. “Always” or “never” are usually bad too. The SAT is also part of the PC (politically correct) police, so controversial stuff probably isnt right either.</p>
<p>4) Too broad. Good writing is about being specific. So if one of the choices feels too general or vague, its probably wrong (unless the question is asking for the main idea). This answer choice might feel true in a general sense, but it’s just too broad.</p>
<p>5) Too narrow. This choice might actually be true and stated in the passage. But its not the full reason, so it doesnt completely answer the question.</p>
<p>6) True, but unrelated. This choice might actually be true again and stated in the passage. Unfortunately, its unrelated to the question, so again, its wrong. This one is a killer because if you read the entire passage at once, youll have all these thoughts about various parts of the passage in your head jumbled up. The SAT loves to ask something about paragraph 3 but have an answer choice reminding you of something you read about in paragraph 5. This is why you reading the passage all at once can be detrimental. </p>
<p>7) Only half true (or partially true). Remember, even if the rest of the choice is perfect, if theres even ONE word thats wrong, then the entire choice is wrong.</p>
<p>Note:
The answer choices themselves are not the only things to pay special attention to though. The question itself is quite deserving of your attention. Be wary of key words such as “primarily.” A choice might say “because Bobby was a smart guy.” There might actually be a specific incident in the passage where Bobby did something incredibly stupid like microwaving a metal fork. Many test takers would then say the choice is wrong because Bobby did that one stupid thing. But if the rest of the passage shows how smart Bobby was, then Bobby was “primarily” or “mostly” smart. You can’t cross this choice off as wrong anymore. </p>
<p>Again, dont justify why somethings right identify whats wrong. What I suggest (and this will take a lot longer in the beginning by like tenfold) is to create a Word document with the following:</p>
<p>A) _____________
B) _____________
C) _____________
D) _____________
E) _____________</p>
<p>Have A, B, C, D, and E for each and every reading passage question. Youre going to need a lot of paper. When you answer a question, write down the reason why the four answers are wrong. Print out the list of wrong answer reasons and refer to it every question. Just leave the right answers slot blank.</p>
<p>Itll end up looking something like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>A) too extreme
B) _____________
C) opposite
D) not stated
E) half true</li>
</ol>
<p>Getting the right answer is good, but it’s not enough. To become a master, you have to know why ALL the other choices are wrong. It’s not hard to get the right answer by looking for it in the easy questions, but my method is going to train you for those tough questions.</p>
<p>Parting thoughts on the right answer: the correct answer should feel right easily and effortlessly. You shouldnt have to force it to feel right. You shouldnt have to say, Well, if I think about it from this angle, I can see how itd work. No. If you have to look at it crookedly for it to make sense, its probably wrong. </p>
<p>The right answer MUST BE SUPPORTED by the passage itself. That means you must be able to point to a specific word, phrase, or sentence(s) that led you to your answer. Dont let yourself off the hook with Oh, I got the overall sense that she was feeling scornful. Instead, be able to point to a sentence that says, Those theories are all hogwash. The pioneers of those schools of thoughts knew nothing.</p>
<p>No matter how attractive or logical an answer choice sounds, if you cant support it with the contents of the passage, then you cant pick it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Great description and tips. Thanks!</p>
<p>But okay, I know you said that everything have to be DIRECTLY STATED. But sometime if you read the BB answer explanations, it writes “This answers means -------”. Making it an inference. </p>
<p>And also, tone. Gawd, that kills me almost everytime. The last time I asked, IceQube gave a great explanation, which allowed me to decipher the tone in a short paragraph. Now I have trouble with the long paired passages.</p>
<p>Speaking of that… Long Paired where they ask how passage one would respond to the person mentioned in passage 2. How to answer that? Just cross out wrong info? But the person mentioned in passage 2 is only like 2 sentences, so infer?</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>Well, by directly stated, I don’t mean word for word. For example…if something in the passage says “I hate you, I hate you so much, you big piece of dog turd” and the question asked how this person feels, you’d be silly not to put down “scornful” or something similar. Yeah, it’s inference…but it’s such a direct inference, completely supported by an explicit line in the passage.</p>
<p>When I say don’t infer, I mean don’t make it so much of a stretch. Look for “direct inferences” if you will (yeah, it’s an oxymoron…but hopefully you get what I mean). Look for specific lines where no one can reasonably argue that this line does not support whatever answer choice is right.</p>
<p>There’s no way someone could argue that the dog turd line shows that this person is happy, unless there’s sarcasm involved (in which case you’d need another line to support that sarcasm is actually happening).</p>
<p>Sigh. Not this again, Dorky.</p>
<p>Wow man, you solved some of my problems with that!! Thanks alot!!</p>
<p>Sweet, TianboZ! Let me know if you have more questions. Glad to help.</p>