SAT Writing Help!

<p>Okay, so to keep things short, i KNOW all the grammar rules. I take a timed practice test, and get 13 wrong. I go over the wrong ones over again before i even look at the right answer, and when i look at it a second time, i KNOW why i got it wrong and what was the right answer. Thing is though, i don't know how to fix this. Why do I keep making silly mistakes? How do i fix this? Is there a book, like Barron's 2400, thatll help me stop making these silly mistakes or what?</p>

<p>If you keep making silly mistakes, that means you are really exhausted.
Have a cup of water and keep your mind relax!</p>

<p>i dont know it could be the case, anyone else?</p>

<p>If your situation is that you are getting 5-6 wrong because of the time pressure and the possible stress of taking a full test then your explanation that “you KNOW the grammar rules … but …” may make sense. But that’s not the case. Getting 13 (or more?) wrong in a timed environment suggests that you may sort-of-know the grammar rules but that they haven’t sunk in. Not knowing you I may be totally wrong, but in case I am my advice is that you intensify your review and that you accept wrong answers for what they are and deal with them as gaps in your writing skills. Don’t take any shortcuts in assessing the wrong answers. That means that even “careless” errors need to be treated as knowledge gaps.</p>

<p>It’s quite common that when you show a test taker the problems that they got wrong, they immediately tell you the “right” answer. In practice most test takers narrow down the answer to 2 or maybe 3 choices anyway, so the skill of figuring out the right answer after someone is alerted that they answered the problem incorrectly is hardly a skill.</p>

<p>So restart. View each wrong answer, each guess (whether or not you got the right answer), and each question on which you spent a great deal of time as an indication of a grammar gap. Study the explanation for the “right” answer and then find 5-10 examples of the “right” and “wrong” usages for that gap. Keep a record of the examples. Perhaps an adult or a very grammar savvy friend can help you create like examples. The web is also a great resource.</p>

<p>Keep doing this with a very high level of discipline. Write down the examples and review them multiple times. Avoid the temptation of taking sample test after sample test. Address the gaps. Actually overdo this. And when you address the misunderstanding, only then move on to another sample test. It may be more work than you’re willing to undertake, but it’s hard to think of an alternative.</p>

<p>Well i mean i KNOW what i got wrong without even looking at the answer or explanation. I know the rule and i realize that i just made a stupid mistake. Like i dont know it just feels different when you are timed…it’s like you start reading differently compared to reading soemthing by analyzing it. I dont know how to overcome this. Will the Barron’s 2400 book help me? Along with the other sections? I’m at a 1700 with 600 in each section and 500 in CR. Im learning vocab. Do you think I can kill this book within a month since i take it on Oct?</p>