<p>theworld8905,</p>
<p>I think you misunderstood my advice. This is NOT what you would do on the actual exam, or even when you take self-proctored diagnostics. It is preparatory work in advance of diagnostics or the official exam. You can do a section or two per week in this fashion to really break down the CR section and understand the nuances of the questions and answer choices. I hope this clears up any confusion.</p>
<p>Oh in that case then it is ok. Becuase if you give someone that type of advice for the real SAT, I would say that is very bad. But since this is only practice, i guess it would suffice.</p>
<p>"Xiggi, I've stopped worrying about your contributions since last year. My advice on the Critical Reading section can't be summarized in one post, or even a series of posts. I guess CCers will have to wait for my future book, whenever I write it, to get the advice."</p>
<p>Well, Godot, your comments speak volumes about YOUR contributions on CC: overly critical of others but pathetically hollow on your end. You, the self-appointed expert would not be able to condense your advice in a post, or even a series of posts, yet you'd expect others, especially amateurs to do so! </p>
<p>And, then, your recommendation is to read Adam Robinson's RocketReview, which is such a keeper! LOL! </p>
<p>I hope you'll discover a bit of substance for your "future" book; A LOT more than what you have thus far shared with this board, which unfortunately amounts to nothing but an abstract and vague sea of nothingness.</p>
<p>PS Don't bother replying to ... me, as I frankly could not care less. As I said: the floor is all yours! The board is listening ...</p>
<p>Wow, Xiggi. I'm speechless. I'm not here to get into a fight with you, but this animosity that I sense from you in this post is precisely what put me off with your previous PM reply. I never once on this site promised to share every bit of advice I have on the CR section, or any other section, for that matter. I contribute what I can, and I hope others appreciate it. And while I do present myself as an expert at times, I don't feel obligated to impress you or anyone else with my knowledge of the exam and how to produce great score improvements. I don't think I've been critical of others (except maybe some other national test prep companies) on this site very often (one of the last times was perhaps my review of Grammatix, which I consider more a balanced, rather than an overly critical, review -- and I think many others have concurred with my views of the book since then). I am just expressing my frank opinions, and I don't think I am "overly" critical. The problem I had with you was that you actually promised CCers to finish the series you began and you promised me that you would reply to my reviews of Grammatix and RocketReview and offer your own assessment of the latter. You did not complete either task. Now, I understand you probably got too busy, but that doesn't mean you need to be supercilious or dismissive in responding to my PM. I also find the tone in your latest posts here to me unnecessarily condescending (e.g, "here's a novel idea..."). But understand this also: I appreciate (and I'm sure others do, too) all the advice you have dispensed on this site so far, including in this series.</p>
<p>I never asked others to condense their CR advice in one post. You should also respect the fact that I am a professional SAT tutor and own my own business. In some ways, I need to guard my "trade secrets" closely, and I can't just exactly "give away the store" on a public site. This might sound selflish to you, but it's my livelihood (while you don't have similar concerns, since you are not a professional, or even an amateur, by your own admission), and I hope you can respect that. Therefore, the "hollowness" of my contributions on this site may be attributed to several different factors: lack of time, lack of interest, and/or concern about revealing too much. But I am not going to apologize for any perceived deficiencies in my contributions; I do what I can. (I don't remember signing a contract stating that I will contribute a certain amount every month, and I have not promised CCers that I will definitely offer help or advice in any area.) I've offered free help to students both in this forum and by PMs and e-mails numerous times. I don't get paid for it, and I don't even get referrals from it. I just enjoy it.</p>
<p>So it's unfortunate that you chose to deride my contributions on this site, but I will continue to contribute and help others when I can on this site. I'm not here to prove anything to you. I hope you can find a more amicable and respectful way of responding to me in the future. And I stand by my recommendation of Robinson's RocketReview (God knows I don't get paid for this, and he's potential competition in the future). :)</p>
<p>I have several Real SAT Books for my older son. They were published in 2000 and 2003, I believe. Are these still good in terms of the new SAT? MY younger son is taking the PSAT this year. Thanks!</p>
<p>definitely</p>
<p>Winnie,</p>
<p>I would not recommend using the old books; spend the extra money to invest in new books for the SAT. If you have the 10 Real SATs book, that can serve as additional practice for the new test if you run out of materials (which should not happen at this stage), but the Official SAT Study Guide is still better. There are subtle, but important, differences between the old test and the new test (besides the elimination of analogies and quantitative comparison questions) on the critical reading and math sections that the new books should address. The biggest difference, of course, is that the old test did not have a writing section, and your son should be preparing for that, too!</p>
<p>Thanks and sorry for posting twice. I did not see the earlier replys.</p>
<p>It's funny how a post can last for one and a half years with the same people around (and occasionally some different people as well). </p>
<p>I recall in spring of 2005, Godot said he was "invited" by xiggi to contribute to this thread, yet now they're fighting!</p>
<p>How ironic!</p>
<p>maybe that's why it's said "people change"</p>
<p>may be the circumstances changed...the ppl are as they are</p>
<p>but then don't circumstances and experiences change people too?</p>
<p>"The only thing constant in the world is change."</p>
<p>Does anyone possibly have Xiggi's whole series in a Word Document or and e-mail or somethign of the nature? I don't mind going through these 33 pages, but if someone had already done so, I'd REALLY appreciate if you could upload it somewhere like sendspace.com or mediafire.com and provide a link for those of us just finding this thread.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>To get a concise summary by Xiggi himself:</p>
<ol>
<li>Google "admissions advice"</li>
<li>Go to the blog with that name</li>
<li>Go to Join the Discussion</li>
<li>Go to Preparing for College, Test Prep</li>
<li>Bring up Xiggi's musings on preparing for the SAT</li>
</ol>
<p>If you're willing to put in the time, this method really works. Good luck!</p>
<p>entomom i'm not really sure.. i mean i googled it but too many results came up i have no idea where to go... would you just be able to send me a link? thanks so much.</p>
<p>glam, I pm'd you.</p>
<p>thanks for that entomom...its easier to read the full method now!!..lol</p>
<p>i know this has been asked before, but should I get the Testmaster's solutions book for the Blue book? I don't like checking my answers over the computer screen in the online course. Or should I try to figure them out myself? But how would the previous suggestion help in the Writing MC part? What have some of you guys done?</p>
<p>My D used Testmaster's to quickly get the answer and figure out where she went wrong. I've heard other students say that they like figuring the right answer out for themselves as they feel that they remember it better that way. So, I guess it kinda depends on your learning style.</p>