2400 SCORES (Part II): 12 More Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT® & Boost Your Score

The preacher complained that commercial interests have tarnished religious holidays. The architecture student expressed a reverence for Frank Lloyd Wright. The ethics committee criticized the lawyer for his lack of integrity. Most scientists are skeptical about the existence of UFOs. The professor lamented the decline of voluntary reading among American high school students. The new father declined the invitation to the poker game, citing domestic responsibilities.

Tommy shared a hilarious anecdote about the time he fell into an aquarium. After studying the syllabus, Henry opted for the less rigorous calculus course. Sam wanted to take a hot-air balloon across the Atlantic, but his wife suggested the more pragmatic option of an airplane.

Many people have an inherent dislike of broccoli. According to the advertisement, this laundry detergent evokes the countryside and spring rain. The prosecutor was aggressive in his accusations but was unable to substantiate the allegations with physical evidence. After rambling for ten minutes about his preference for non-dairy creamer, Dr. Franklin realized he had digressed from the lecture topic. Of course, the best way to build a vocabulary is to read a lot of books, looking up unfamiliar words as you encounter them.

Perfect practice makes perfect. The only way to excel at sports is to practice. The same is true of music. The same is true of standardized tests. Practice has to be done right to be effective. Running in circles holding a football does not count as football practice. Pounding random keys with your fists is not piano practice.

If you want to succeed on a standardized test, you have to practice, and you have to practice the right way.

Here is the right way:. The easiest way to fail is simply not to practice. Shoot for one section a day. You should start practicing at least two months before the test. For example, every English section has five passages, so you could do three one day and two the next. If you run out of time, go ahead and finish so you get the practice, but make a note of how many problems were left when you ran out of time. For whatever reason, most students are reluctant to follow this rule. They tend to erase their wrong answers and circle the correct ones, which is pointless.

Which brings us to. By attempting the question a second time, you improve some small amount. The more questions you do over, the more you improve. This is the key to improvement. If you want to play a piece on the piano, you play it over and over again, trying to make fewer mistakes each time.

You think about where you messed up, and try not to do it again. This is also why football coaches watch recordings of the games with their players: When you attempt a problem the second time, you will often get it right. You could also get help from a friend or teacher. If you live in the Austin area, you can attend one of our free tutorials.

And finally, we come to the Essay section. The Essay is optional but required by some colleges. So why should you even care about it? Because some colleges care about it. You might have a composite score in the 30s, but if your essay score is dismal, that could raise a red flag for the admissions department: Learning to write well is the most important skill for success in college. Furthermore, most high-paying jobs require some amount of writing.

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It takes years of practice. He basically shows you all the mistakes every college freshman makes everybody makes the same mistakes and then shows you how not to make them. Write to be understood. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Back to the essay. You will be presented with three viewpoints on an issue environmentalism, healthcare; it could be anything really.

Your job is to analyze and evaluate the three perspectives, provide your own perspective, and explain the relationship between your perspective and the three perspectives given. Short essays get low scores , so be sure to use the full 40 minutes, and make your essay as long as possible without repeating yourself.

The best way to prepare for the essay is to read the sample essays and scoring explanations on the ACT website. In most cases, an 8 on the scale is probably good enough, but higher is always preferred. Want to know where you stand? This concludes our series on the ACT. If you live in the Austin area, you can sign up for a free practice test. The test makers like to brag that the ACT tests what you learn in school. And yet one of their favorite subjects on the Science section is geology.

No one takes geology in high school! You will see words and concepts that are completely foreign to you. The hardest part about the Science section is dealing with information overload. The good news is: Some students who excel at science classes in high school will actually bomb the ACT Science section the first time they take it. Because they try to read and understand all the paragraphs, charts, graphs, and tables before going to the questions, and they inevitably run out of time. Most of that information is irrelevant anyway.

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Go straight to the questions. Most questions will tell you exactly where to look. The easiest way to miss a question on the Science section is to look in the wrong place. Table 2 is not the same thing as Figure 2. Nine times out of ten you do not need to read the paragraph introducing Experiment 1. Read these paragraphs only if the question directs you to. These questions are rare. Also, if you ever feel completely lost, you might want to read the introductory paragraph, which is usually pretty short.

When looking at a graph, always read the labels on the axes. The last question on any passage is usually the hardest. The Conflicting Viewpoints passage is the hardest one. Occasionally there will be more than two viewpoints. Since there are few or no charts and graphs, you will have to do some reading on this one.

Read the intro paragraph and the first sentence of each viewpoint. Then you can go to the questions. You can find the answers to most of them by scanning for key words. If you struggle with time on the Science section, it might be a good idea to guess on the Conflicting Viewpoints passage. This is the fourth in a six-part series on the ACT. Let me just say this: And all the other ones, since they all—including the math section—require reading.

Another major challenge is time. Some students simply cannot do it. Plan A is to answer every question. Read the questions first. In other words, the first question might be about the last paragraph. You just pause every once in awhile to answer a question. Ask yourself what each question tells you about the passage. Then, when you read about Fran getting a letter in the first paragraph, you already know who it is most likely from.

Mark the line number questions. Many questions come with line numbers. You should write these question numbers in the margin of the passage. Now quickly answer the rest of them. Do not get bogged down on a hard question. Try to do as little re-reading as possible.

If you also get every question right on the first three passages, then you can still get a good score anywhere from a 26 to a 30 depending on the test. The passages always come in the same order: I think Natural Science tends to be the most difficult technical, dry , and it is conveniently last. However, I have met students who genuinely do not do well with fiction. The Social Science passage also tends to be difficult and dry. The Humanities one is all over the place. These are just guidelines that work for the majority of students. Feel free to experiment with strategies as you practice.

But on test day, have a plan and stick to it! This is the third in a six-part series on the ACT. Part 1 — Intro , Part 2 — English. The second section on the ACT is Math. It is the longest section one hour and the only one that gets harder as you go on. There are 60 questions, so you have one minute per question, but many of the early questions will take less than one minute while some of the later ones might take a little more. ACT Math 60 questions 60 minutes 1 minute per question, but later harder questions may take longer.

The test covers not just algebra and geometry, but higher-level concepts including quite a bit of trigonometry. There are also a few questions on relatively obscure topics like imaginary numbers, matrices, and logarithms. There are no formulas provided. The last ten problems are pretty tough.

Students who struggle in their math classes at school might be better off spending the full hour on the first 50 questions and guessing on the last ten. If a problem gives you a right triangle and tells you that:. Some problems contain irrelevant information. Take a look at 34 on p. This problem is easy, but many students get confused because of all the distracting information. All you have to do is plug in 50 for d in the formula and put it in your calculator; all the other numbers are irrelevant.

This is good advice for doing math generally. Showing work is important for a couple of reasons. First, writing things down helps you think. Showing your work will also help you minimize arithmetic errors. You are much more likely to forget to distribute a minus sign, for example, if you do everything in your head. So show your work, and make it nice and neat! Try to make your steps look like the steps in a math textbook.

Anyone else should be able to look at your work and follow your thought process. If you make good grades in your math classes, you will probably do just fine. The math section really does test what you learn in school. If you feel under-prepared, get a copy of the Official ACT Guide , and work through a couple of the math sections, looking up the answer explanations to any problems that give you trouble. Most of the problems are pretty basic if you understand the concepts being tested.

The next post will cover what many students find to be the most challenging part of the ACT: This is the second in a six-part series on the ACT. Part 1 — Intro. The first section of every ACT is the English section. You have 45 minutes to answer 75 questions. The questions are based on five passages.

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Each passage has 15 questions. You have nine minutes per passage. Most of the questions ask you to choose the best version of the underlined portion of a sentence. Since most questions focus on only a few words in a sentence, many students do not read the entire sentence. This is a huge mistake.

To see why, consider the following example:. But the whole sentence says:. The washers and dryers are lime green, and the paneling on the walls has been painted to match, although it was later varnished with some kind of artificial wood grain finish. But some come with questions. Read the questions carefully. Sometimes all four answer choices will be grammatically correct, but only one will answer the question. Even though these words appear in all caps, it is very easy to overlook them.

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Read every word of every passage. When the four answer choices are all the same except for the punctuation, the choice with the fewest punctuation marks is probably right. For example, if you see answer choices like this. Joe ate a sandwich B. Joe ate a sandwich, D. Joe, ate a sandwich,. Things like subject-verb agreement , comma splices , possessives , and parenthetical phrases.

Many questions require students to identify redundant information. Another important concept is relevance. So anything irrelevant or redundant is wrong. I told my dog to get in its house. For information about the new SAT coming in , click here. In fact, the ACT has been accepted by all U. Students applying to highly selective universities may want to submit scores for both tests. The ACT was introduced in The SAT dates back to For a quick overview of the differences between the tests, see our post on the SAT vs. There is no penalty for wrong answers. You do not have a lot of time per question.

That depends on the section. English, Math, Reading, Science, and Essay. A perfect score on the ACT is a The average score is around This composite overall score is an average of the English, Math, Reading, and Science scores. The Essay is scored separately and not factored into the composite score. It is optional but required by some colleges. If you choose to take the ACT without the essay and then apply to a college that requires it, you will have to retake the entire test.

So we recommend that students take the essay. To better understand how colleges view your test scores, you should read this. The best way to identify yours is to take a diagnostic test. If you live in the Austin area, come take one with us ; if not, you can download a free ACT with grading instructions here. Many people assume that students should focus on their weaknesses. This is our second post about the upcoming changes to the SAT. To read the first post, click here. The math is tough! There are trig functions, radians, imaginary numbers, and other high-level math concepts not found on the current SAT.

Consider this geometry problem , for example, which is considerably more complex than any geometry problem in the Official SAT Guide. And take a look at this multi-paragraph word problem. We already knew there would be no fill-in-the-blank vocabulary questions, and the three vocabulary-in-context questions are easy.

As expected, some of the reading passages come with graphs and illustrations, but the questions about them are pretty easy. The other passages are from science and social science contexts and are all from or later. The essay asks you to analyze how an author builds a persuasive argument. Piece of cake, right? For information on the relaunch, click here.

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The short answer is that the SAT is trickier and involves more abstract thinking, while the ACT is more practical and down to earth. On the other hand, you have less time per question on the ACT. Neither test is necessarily easier than the other, though some students may perform better on one test than the other. How do you know which test is right for you?

You can download a free copy of each test with grading instructions here and here. If you live in the area, you can also sign up for a free practice test at one of our Austin locations. Taking a practice test in a realistic setting is ideal, but if you have to take it at home, just be sure to work in a quiet, distraction-free environment. Turn off the phone! And if you qualify for accommodations like extra time , be sure to use them when you practice!

Many students will bomb the ACT Science section the first time they take it.

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With practice, it gets much easier. Hardly anyone is going to get a good score without doing quite a bit of studying, so ask yourself which test you would rather spend time with. The strategies are different. But that strategy could be disastrous on the SAT. Just about any college will accept either test, but you should always check. The SAT Guide comes with 10 practice tests. The ACT Guide has only five practice tests, but it also has answer explanations. Whichever test you choose, practice is key.

So take as many practice tests as possible. The short answer is that the new SAT will look more like the ACT—no guessing penalty, less vocabulary, more charts and graphs. The details are hazy, but according to the College Board website , there will be eight key changes. Of course, these summaries are like a lot of SAT problems—convoluted and confusing. Here they are in plain English. Some questions will require students to select a sentence from the passage that best supports their answer to the previous question.

Much like on the ACT English test, students will analyze multi-paragraph passages rather than focusing stand-alone sentences like on the current SAT. This section will also require students to edit passages so that they accurately convey information from infographics. Essay Analyzing a Source: This new essay will also be evidence-based.

Students will read a source document and write an essay explaining how the author constructs his or her argument. This sounds much more difficult than the current essay format. The idea is to make the SAT essay more like college essays. The essay will be optional like on the ACT , but some colleges will require it. The new math section will focus on three areas: Problem Solving and Data Analysis using ratios, percents, and proportions to solve problems in science, social science, and career contexts , The Heart of Algebra linear equations and systems, abstract thinking , and Passport to Advanced Math manipulation of complex equations—the College Board is pretty vague on this one.

No Penalty for Wrong Answers: On the current SAT, you lose one-quarter point for every wrong answer. If a wrong answer gets you the same result as leaving the question blank, then guessing is a no-brainer. Decision making is mentally and emotionally taxing. Taking a little stress off students should actually make it easier to get a more accurate assessment of their performance on the test material. The College Board will release a full-length practice test in March of Until then, students should make sure their basic math and reading skills are up to par.

At More Than A Teacher, we understand how overwhelming the college application process can be. And with the new SAT debuting in , things are more confusing than ever. Subscribe to The Score today. Prepare for the April 9th SAT at a location near you. View SAT course schedules here! Need help studying for your finals? Chances are you hate them. Most students struggle with math problems that contain more words than numbers.

Translating sentences into equations is not always the easiest thing to do. Despite the challenge, there is no way around word problems. So how do you tackle word problems? How do you sift through the cornucopia of words to drill down to the important math equation? The answer is quite simple: Often by drawing the information you know, you can create an easy shortcut to the correct answer. For example, let's say you are given the following question taken directly from the College Board website: A special lottery is to be held to select the student who will live in the only deluxe room in a dormitory.

What is the probability that a senior's name will be chosen? So many words here! But don't freak out. Take it slow and start with your pencil: Draw one block to represent seniors, another block to represent juniors and one more block to represent sophomores. Now, you also know that the senior's names are placed in the lottery 3 times. So draw two more blocks next to the senior's block, each identical to the block representing names.

Draw two blocks for the juniors, each representing names. Finally, sophomores don't need an extra block. Once you have your drawing, now comes the easy part. Probability, you might recall, is nothing more than a fraction.