<p>I have a question for those of you who have scored 800s in Math or Writing. I'm at that stage where I consistently miss one or two questions in each of these sections (sometimes I pull of a perfect writing MC, but not always). Are there any strategies or advice I can use to eradicate those last couple mistakes, or should I just cross my fingers on test day and hope I pull it off? Did you consistently score 800s on practice tests before getting an 800 on a real test, or were you like me?</p>
<p>I did pull off an 80 in math on the PSAT even though I usually missed one or two on my practices, so that gives me some hope, but I don't know if I can count on doing that again.</p>
<p>First…know all your math. if you know all the math concepts, the only thing you have to do is build up your speed. I usually finish within 15 minutes. With 10 minutes left, I first make sure that I bubbled everything in correctly. Secondly, I look at the question and see exactly what it is asking. (Sometimes you may answer x when it asks for 2x). I look at all my answer choices and plug in the answer to see if it works (dont redo the problem a mere plugging in should work). Oh yes, you should also try and get OCD. It might help.</p>
<p>Btw, I got an 80 on both PSATS and an 800 on SAT Math. I get 800’s consistently on practice tests too.</p>
<p>If you are consistently getting 0-2 wrong on writing multiple choice, you have a great chance of getting an 800 b/c the essay also has to be factored in (if you are good at writing). I would do practice writing tests (only MC) and usually get them all right, sometimes 1 wrong, and once I got two wrong. I’m a strong writer, so come real SAT time, I got 1 wrong on the MC but got a 12 on the essay: 800.</p>
<p>I go a lot slower than you, usually finish with 2-5 minutes left. While there are usually a couple problems that take me a good 2-4 minutes to figure out, it’s almost always because I don’t immediately see how to solve it, rather than that I don’t know the concepts. For the rest, I think my slowness is primarily caused by caution, I circle/underline all the keywords and make sure I know exactly what the problem is asking. I also check it immediately after solving instead of after finishing the whole problem set. Should I change methods and go as quickly as possible the first time through, then go through a second time to check? When I do that I tend to make the same mistake twice because I’m already looking ahead to the answer I got the first time.</p>
<p>lol, how does OCD help? I’m a bit OCD, but that usually slows be down because I get obsessive with trying to solve everything three different ways to make sure I got it :P</p>
<p>Getting the 800 in math is especially important for me because I’m primarily looking at math/engineering schools.</p>
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<p>All my english teachers have considered me a strong writer, but I’m a little leery about the SAT essay because I’ve never had one graded before and the grading seems kind of random; a lot of essays that look good to me get low scores and then I’ve seem some 11s and 12s that I wouldn’t even call decent. As a 12’er, do you have any tips? I’m also a bit worried about examples; for some prompts I can come up with a ton, and for some I can’t think of anything to save my life. My worst fear is that I’ll miss 1 mc question and get a low essay score and end up with a 710-720.</p>
<p>I’m not getting 800s, but I too usually only get 1 or 2 wrong.</p>
<p>What I’ve found to be helpful is a back-to-the-basics approach on the toughest ones. Its easy to forget what you learned back in elementary school regarding subject/object etc, since after a few years of that you instinctively know how to write. However, a 4th grade analytical approach is a very powerful tool on the hard ones, so don’t forget you have that in your repertoire.</p>
<p>Since you’re already way up there, you’re probably already doing this stuff, but each question that you can’t find an error in, you should read three times, more if you have time later. </p>
<p>And don’t forget that organizations and things of that sort are singular. Maybe it’s just me, but they slip one of those in real sneaky-like once in a while and almost get me.</p>
<p>But yeah, I’m talking about stuff probably far below you sorry.</p>
<p>Getting a 710-720 shouldn’t be your worst fear especially if you want to go to an engineering school. A writing score above 700 is respectable at any school.</p>
<p>I guess so; I’m just an uber-perfectionist It just seems like it would just be a shame to be so close to an 800 and then wind up 80-90 points below that.</p>
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<p>Not at all, it’s easy to forget the basics; reminders are always good.</p>
<p>“I think my slowness is primarily caused by caution, I circle/underline all the keywords and make sure I know exactly what the problem is aI also check it immediately after solving instead of after finishing the whole problem set.”</p>
<p>See, that’s the problem. You say that you check every question after solving it, yet you still make 1 or 2 mistakes. I don’t see any way of missing a problem after doing the problem and checking it thoroughly…assuming you had the knowledge to answer all of them. Clearly, you are not checking carefully enough…or you are misbubbling. That’s why I recommend OCD. Also, the more and more you practice, the faster you get at doing the problems. So if you practice more, you will probably increase your speed and hopefully have more time to check (you can then check in between problems more AND after the whole set for double dosage of checking). According to Mike Barrett, every math problem can be solved in 30 seconds. Why would he lie?</p>
<p>Hmmm…I haven’t been using a math review book because I figured I knew the material well enough, but it sounds like I should pick up a copy of Grubers and work through problems just to get my speed up. Would you agree? I’m not sure just doing the BB practice tests is going to improve my speed.</p>
<p>Misbubbling isn’t really a problem for me. My mistakes are either due to misreading or making an error in logic (e.g., on a practice test I took yesterday the question asked for the number of factors and I solved for the number of prime factors x_x).</p>
<p>Finally, when you check your work, do you mainly check the hardest problems, or do you devote equal time to all of them?</p>
<p>Thanks for your willingness to answer my questions.</p>
<p>112358… as for the essay, here are a few tips I can give you that I have gleaned from my own experiences and from the hearing about experiences of others:</p>
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<li>Your introduction is by far the most important paragraph, so make it good and long (mine was half the first page). SAT essay graders will get a sense of how good a writer you are by the end of the first paragraph, so you want them to have no doubt that you can write well, even if it’s just an SAT essay within a short time frame.</li>
<li>Use SAT-level words to show that you know sophisticated vocabulary that adds to your essay (I remember that I used fastidious, assiduous, ephemeral, and a few others in mine).</li>
<li>5 paragraph format is good; 4 paragraphs are better. I had an intro, 2 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. My friend gave me this tip (and it worked for his essay - a 12), saying that if you can provide enough examples and strong support with only two reasons then that looks very good to graders.</li>
<li>FILL. THE. PAGES. I really can’t stress this enough. If I remember correctly, some guy at MIT did a test a few years back by hanging SAT essays on a wall and giving them a score based on their length; he turned out to be within a point of what the actual SAT graders gave the essays most of the time. In other words, if you can fill at least 1.75 pages, that’s good. 2 is ideal. I went to the last line, and look what score it got me ;)</li>
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<p>Thanks for the advice. I’m glad the intro is so important, because I can write a nice flowery introduction even if I have absolutely nothing else substantive to say in my essay ;)</p>
<p>As for the supporting paragraphs, most of the essays I see basically just describe an example. Is it better to treat it more like a school essay, with a topic sentence and overarching idea that the example supports, rather than making the example the sole focus of the paragraph? It seems like such an essay would be more impressive, but I don’t really see it done much.</p>
<p>I got 800 on both Math and Writing (on different occasions)</p>
<p>For Math, it is imperative that you know all your formulas.
Not just memorizing, but also how to manipulate it to fit the question.</p>
<p>Another thing is to just check, double check, and triple check.</p>
<p>For writing, I use a mental checklist that can be found on Sparknotes.
If you are at a question you don’t know, just go down the checklist until you found the answer or have proven the answer is no error.</p>
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<p>this will guarantee you a 10, but don’t be so confident as to expect a 12…</p>
<p>I got a 12, 12, 11 on my SAT essays using the same method</p>
<p>“My mistakes are either due to misreading or making an error in logic (e.g., on a practice test I took yesterday the question asked for the number of factors and I solved for the number of prime factors x_x).”</p>
<p>There you go…read the question more carefully…(every WORD counts, prime factors and factors are NOT the same thing) and like anhtimmy said, “check, double check, and triple check.” If you do that…800. I spend more time checking based on the type of problem not its difficulty. If its a 1, 2, 3 problem you have to check everything. If its a what’s the answer type of thing just plug it in. For more practice, BB or anything harder than it is best to work on. Don’t work on stuff easier than BB. I dont have Grubers so I dont know its difficulty.</p>
<p>I think I have solid examples, decent vocabulary, and I always fill the 2 pages, but I think my weakness is in the introduction, and conclusion. What do you include?</p>
<p>Basically, I just state my thesis, and the examples I’m going to use as support, but I’m not sure what else to say…</p>
<p>For example, I recently took a PR practice test at the library, and the question was about censorship - basically whether or not it can be neccessary…</p>
<p>All I could come up with was something to the affect of…</p>
<p>"Despite the claims of societies throughout civilization, censorship is a sordid, and ineffective method. The the dark ages, the soviet union, and 1984 are all analogous in that the censorship was omnipresent in all of them, and the consequences of the censorship was destruction of the societies. "</p>
<p>I always begin my introduction with a sentence or two that frames the topic in some sort of societal/historical context and then I provide my viewpoint on the issue. For example: “For decades, people from all corners of the globe have debated whether or not practice makes perfect. I have heard conflicting opinions regarding this mantra, but in my mind, one can not be “perfect” at anything with out copious amounts of practice” (or something like that, based on what the topic is). This may not have contributed to my 12, but it is what I did on my 12 essay and is what I have done on all SAT essays in the past.</p>
<p>My conclusion is very similar to my introduction (I sum up my argument, restate my thesis, etc - what everyone else does), but with one difference. The last part of my conclusion has/had an “enlightening” phrase or something like that to make the reader think, “Wow, I’ve never thought of it like that before.” I just tried to picture in my head what an SAT reader would think to be memorable, so I try to come up with another viewpoint or little tidbit in one sentence that allows my essay to end on a high note. I know that sounds kind of vague, but I really don’t know how to explain my special essay-ending phrase/sentence any better.</p>
<p>Anyways, what worked for me may not work for you… a lot of it comes down to your general abilities as a writer. I have always been very good at writing, so getting such a high score on my essay was (almost) expected.</p>
<p>Hey Government, would you be willing to PM me the essay you got a 12 on (if it’s readily available and wouldn’t be a hassle - don’t bother if it would)? I know the CB has some examples on their website, but I think it’d be helpful for me to see how a “real” person did it.</p>
<p>I’d have to go digging around to find the password to my CB account on which I received my SAT scores, so I don’t think I’ll do that (sorry). But I do have an essay I wrote for the CB Online Course (that the computer gave me a 12 on) that is very similar (in terms of structure, format, etc) to the one I wrote on the real SAT; I could send you that if you wish.</p>
<p>Anyways I actually thought my Online Course essay was better than the one I wrote on the real SAT.</p>
<p>I always miss between 2-4 MQ and this prevents me from getting an 800 …NO matter how i practice,2 errors are guaranteed…NOt that the WR score is that important ,but i just want it perfect</p>
sorry.</p>