Last Minute Preparation?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>My plan for the SAT was to do practice tests from the Blue Book until I could consistently score 2200s-2300s before I took the actual SAT. This way I would have a good chance of scoring 2200+ (goal) the first time I took the test and don't have to worry about taking it again (or if I decide to take it a second time, I won't be as pressured as I have crutch). However, my parents urged me to take the SAT coming up in less than a week, though I still feel unprepared for it. I've taken 5 practice tests from the Blue Book in the past 2-3 weeks and have scored from a range of 2000-2200 depending on the curve (exact scores aren't given for some of the tests in BB). </p>

<p>The math section- I am confident I will get 800 as I was able to achieve this on most of my practice tests. This section is just EZ to me.</p>

<p>The writing section- If I reviewed my mistakes again, and watch out for the tricks and traps that can get me, I am confident I can get at least 700. I often still miss 2-4 that I honestly don't understand until I read see the answer. I have yet to think too much about what to do for my essay too. My goal is to get a 750+ if possible.</p>

<p>The reading section- kills. My goal is a 700+, but I have yet to break 700 on my practice tests. I miss a few on the sentence completion, I don't understand a few parts of a few passages. It all adds up to me missing around 10-15 questions total in this section.</p>

<p>Now my questions are:
1. What is the recommended way to use this week I have left and prepare efficiently? I'm still hoping I can get lucky and get a good score so I don't have to worry as much about the SAT, but I also want to see what I can do to prepare with this little time I have left. Would it just be best to go over most of my mistakes? If I have time for it, should I do one last practice test (or even two)? Is it enough to just look through the "12 Essay in 10 days" and basically wing it the day of? (if it is a favorable prompt, I can churn out ideas fast and imo I have good writing basics down ie answer the prompt, good thesis etc.)
(I'm not looking for a magical jump, just looking for the best way to prepare and also hoping that I will get lucky and a combination of both will get me a desirable score)</p>

<ol>
<li>What is the recommended long term preparation for a second SAT I might/probably will have to take. My plan is just to take a better look at the "Direct Hits" vocab list and read a few TIMES magazine articles each week to increase my reading comprehension ability. I'll also probably do a few more practice tests a week or two before the test. Does this sound sufficient for a long term prep plan?</li>
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2

<p>For last minute preparation, I would suggest practicing on the sections you need the most help with, such as on the essay. Improving your essay is one of the best ways of dramatically improving your score. Looking over some vocab (like a 100 more frequent list or something) won’t hurt either. It would help with your reading score. Perhaps practice some CR passages sections and look over all the answers in order to get a feel for the kind of trend there is.</p>

<p>Your long term plan is good, except I would definitely recommend doing practices tests MUCH earlier than just a week or two before the test. Try to do at least one every week or two maybe? Practice is extremely important for the SATs. Good luck (:</p>

3

<p>I don’t want to “use up” all my blue book practice tests and also I don’t think my parents are willing to spend alot of money just for the extra tests that come with the College Board preparation course thingy. Any recommendations on how to practice but preserve these valuable BB tests?</p>

<p>(I have a bunch of hand-me-down PR practice tests, is it good enough just to use those?)</p>

4

<p>Bump, anybody have advice?</p>

5

<p>spacing effect.
do not cram it too much.
take it easy and act normally.
practice every day (not Friday) as you did for past several weeks.</p>

<p>do not overwhelm yourself :)</p>

6

<p>So your two main problems would be RC and W, correct?</p>

<p>Your writing score would be the easier of the two to raise, because English grammar should flow pretty naturally to you as a native English speaker. So now I’ll delve into some answers:</p>

<ol>
<li>One week left:
Writing: Flip through your completed practice tests, mark the ones you got wrong with one color, the ones you guessed one (and got right) with another, and the “hard” ones with another. See if you can identify the grammar mistake in that sentence (like subject-verb agreement, pronouns and antecedents, etc.), then reread the study guides in your SAT books on that specific grammar mistake.
Also, ask around school for people writing essays, and ask if you can peer edit their essays for them. I can guarantee you that if you can spot other people’s mistakes, you’re more likely to spot your own.
Lastly, I’m pretty sure you already do this, but sounding out the sentence in your head always helps. If it sounds wrong to you as a native speaker, it probably is wrong.</li>
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<p>Reading: I posted a really, really long strategy on another thread. To improve your reading score, I would focus on learning how to get the gist of a paragraph. Imagining a short one sentence blurb about the key points of that paragraph. Summarizing will help you understand a passage better as a whole and as individual parts. Going over your mistakes for R would be dull and kinda pointless if you don’t understand why you made the mistake. Learning how to better interpret should be your goal.</p>

<p>Don’t take an entire practice test. Focus on the part you need help on most. Practice for the essay by getting a topic, then outlining how you would respond to it. Thesis, two body paragraphs, major points/examples, the works. Do a few Reading sections, but don’t go overboard.</p>

<p>Outlining your essay and staying on task is key in the essay. It doesn’t matter if your examples are fishy as long as your essay demonstrates proper spelling, grammar, structure, and argumentation. After doing your outline, ask yourself: How can I use these examples to convince someone that what I’m saying is right?</p>

<ol>
<li>Long term approach? TIME’s vocabulary is nearly basic. Invest in more literate magazines like the Economist (I started reading the economist for the science articles, now I read it for nearly everything), the New Yorker, things that are more text-dense. In my opinion, TIME doesn’t have nearly the appeal as international magazines, simply because they cater to a more…how can I put this, simplistic audience. Let’s face it, Americans in general doesn’t like to see and have to understand big words.</li>
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7

<p>mmk, I’ll take this advice into consideration. Also I asked earlier but I guess I’ll ask again. After I burn out all the Blue Book practice tests, is it fine to use practice tests from other books? Which ones provide the best tests I can take?</p>