THE KEYS FOR SUCCESS

KNOW THE TEST

Be familiar with the types of questions and the directions for each section of the test—this will help you save time on the test

WHAT’S ON THE TEST There are 10 sections on the

test—3 hours 45 minutes 3 math sections 3 critical reading 3 writing skills section 1 section that is a “variable”

section –math, critical reading or writing multiple choice—does not count

SCORING OF THE TEST You gain a point for each

correctly answered question

You lose a fourth of a point for each incorrect multiple choice answer

You are not penalized for omitted answers—if you have no clue it is best to skip it

EXAMPLE OF SCORING

30 out of 39 questions were answered 22 were correct for 22 points 8 were incorrect 8 divided by 4 is 2

which is the number of points lost 22 – 2 = 20. This number is then used

with a scoring table to get a score for that section

GUESSING OR SKIPPING

Guess if you can narrow the answer down to two choices

Skip if you have no clue and can not eliminate any choices

Remember you aren’t penalized for skipped answers

YOUR GOALAnswer as many as you can in the time allotted. If you finish early go back and look at the ones you skipped

DAY OF TESTING

Be well rested and ready to go Eat a good breakfast Bring a photo id and your test

admission ticket Bring number 2 pencils with good

erasers Bring a calculator that works and that

you are familiar with

DAY OF CONTINUED

Bring a healthy snack—there will be a break each hour and a healthy snack can keep you energized and focused

Arrive early to allow yourself time to get checked in and settled before testing begins…testing should be complete around 12:30-1:00

General Strategies For All Sections

Answer easy questions first Make educated guess IF you can eliminate

some choices Skip questions you can’t answer Limit your time on each question—don’t

dwell too long on a single question—keep moving

Keep track of the time—wear a watch

More General Strategies

Use your test booklet as scratch paper….mark it up, cross out things, underline things….

Check your answer sheet to make sure you are answering the right question—especially if you start skipping

Use No. 2 pencils---no mechanical pencils or pens…erase completely if you change your answer.

ESSAY

The test will begin with a 25 minute essay.

Be sure to read the essay topic completely

Essay section measures your ability to organize and express ideas, develop and support main idea, and use appropriate word choice

Scoring of Essay

Score of 2 to 12 0 score if the essay

is blank, illegible, written in ink or completely off topic

WRITING SECTION 49 MULTIPLE CHOICE

QUESTIONS ONE 25 MINUTE, 10

TEN MINUTE SECTION 25 IMPROVING THE

SENTENCE 18 IDENTIFYING THE

ERROR 6 IMPROVING THE

PARAGRAPH

IDENTIFYING THE ERROR EASIEST SECTION CHOICE “E” IS

ALWAYS “NO ERROR” ONLY 1 OUT OF 5

TIMES IS THE ANSWER “NO ERROR”

MOVE QUICKLY IN THIS SECTION

YOU ONLY HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHERE THE ERROR OCCURS

EXAMPLE IDENTFY ERROR

The results of many agricultural experiments Ahas emphasized the necessity of controlling

B Cweeds during the entire course of crop

Dcultivation. No error

E

THE ANSWER

B—HAS EMPHASIZED

SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

IMPROVING THE SENTENCE

CHOICE “A” IS THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE—ONLY 1 OUT OF 5 TIMES

1/3 OF THE ERRORS ARE COMMA, SEMICOLON OR CONJUNCTION ERRORS

SUBSTITUTE THE ANSWER CHOICES FOR THE UNDERLINED PART—ONLY THE UNDERLINED PART WILL CHANGE

IMPROVING SENTENCE EXAMPLE Neither Francis nor her sister appears like

they are extroverts.A) like they are extroverts

B) to be extroverts

C) to be an extrovert

D) like extroverts

E) like an extrovert

THE ANSWER

C) TO BE AN EXTROVERT

SUBJECT IS SINGULAR DUE TO THE NEITHER…NOR

COMMOM ERRORS PARALLEL STRUCTURE—VERBS ALL END

THE SAME – HE LIKES TO WALK, RUN AND CYCLING.

• HE LIKES TO WALK, RUN AND CYCLE.

CONFUSED WORDS—– THERE(LOCATION), THEIR(POSSESSION),

THEY’RE(CONTRACTION OF THEY ARE)– WHICH (OBJECTS ONLY), THAT (PEOPLE OR

OBJECTS), WHO (PEOPLE ONLY)– IT’S (IT IS), ITS (POSSESSION)– WHO’S (WHO IS), WHOSE (POSSESSION)

OTHER COMMON ERRORS SUBJECT/VERB

AGREEMENT RUN-ON

SENTENCES– MUST USE

COMMA AND CONJUCTION TO CORRECTLY JOIN TWO SENTENCES OR USE A SEMICOLON

PRONOUN/NOUN AGREEMENT

SHIFT IN PRONOUN SENTENCE

FRAGMENTS SHIFT IN TENSE IMPROPER

MODIFICATION

IMPROVING THE PARAGRAPH SIX QUESTIONS ON

IMPROVING THE PARAGRAPH

CHOOSE THE BEST WAY TO FIX THE SENTENCE.

CRITICAL READING

3 SECTIONS 2 SECTIONS 25 MINUTES LONG 1 SECTION 20 MINUTES LONG 19 SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS 48 PASSAGE-BASED READING QUESTIONS LONG AND SHORT PASSAGES (100-850

WORDS)

Word Roots to the Rescue! omni=all morph=shape Anthropo/anthro=man mis, mal=bad anti, contra=against cise, tomy=cut logy=science bio, viv, vita= life ver=true cred=believe circum=around spec=look leg—read pac—peace philo—love

un, im, in, non, ir= not bell=war ante, pre, a (prefix)=before post=after cede,ceed=go super, hyper=over sub, hypo=under bi—two, tri—three quad/tetra—four equi—equal lat—side ist—one who fract—break hemo, hemi, sangui--blood

SENTENCE COMPLETION COVER UP THE

ANSWER CHOICES AND READ THE SENTENCE CAREFULLY

THINK OF A WORD THAT WOULD FIT IN THE BLANK

EXAMINE CHOICES, ELIMINATE AND SELECT

PUNCTATION MARKS SUCH AS COMMAS, HYPHENS, SEMICOLONS USUALLY INDICATE A CLUE IS NEARBY

QUESTIONS ARE ARRANGED EASIEST TO HARDEST

GUESSING ON SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS

GUESS ON THE LAST ONE IN THE SECTION—CHOOSE THE MOST UNUSUAL WORD IN THE CHOICES

DOUBLE BLANKS SOME SENTENCES

WILL CONTAIN TWO BLANKS

WORK WITH ONE PART OF THE SENTENCE AND ONE BLANK AT A TIME

TRY TO DECIDE IF THE SENTENCE SHOWS CONTRAST OR SIMILARITY

SENTENCE COMPLETION SAMPLE—EASY Some animals are capable of forming

emotional attachments to other animals, sometimes even of behaving ______ toward each other.– A)informally– B)lovingly– C)properly– D)strangely– E)indiscriminately

THE ANSWER…

The answer—B—LOVINGLY In this sentence “forming

emotional attachments” is a clue.

MEDIUM DIFFICULTY

While serving as surgeon general during the early 1990’s Antonia C. Novello endeavored to discourage teen smoking by _________ prior demands that the tobacco industry _________ advertising directed at young people.

A. rejecting…prohibit

B. reiterating…curtail

C. limiting…revoke

D. renewing…sustain

E. investigating…increase

THE ANSWER

B. reiterating…curtail

DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

The marine biologist found a shell fragment on the beach and identified it as part of the ______, the bony outer covering, of an Atlantic green crab.

A) antennae B) aperture C) cavity

D) carapace E) viscera

THE ANSWER

D) CARAPACE

ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Hoping to ______ the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be _____ to both labor and management.

A) enforce…useful

B) end…divisive

C) overcome…unattractive

D) extend…satisfactory

E) resolve…acceptable

THE ANSWER

E) resolve…accectable

PASSAGE-BASED QUESTIONS

READ THE TAG AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PASSAGE—ITALICIZED INFORMATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PASSAGE

READ THE QUESTIONS—BEFORE READING PASSAGE

ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT ASK ABOUT WORD MEANING

ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT CONTAIN LINE NUMBER REFERENCES

MATH QUESTIONS 3 SECTIONS 2 SECTIONS THAT ARE

25 MINUTES LONG 1 SECTION 10

MINUTES LONG 44 MULTIPLE CHOICE

QUESTIONS 10 STUDENT-

PRODUCED GRID IN QUESTIONS

MATH TERMS

INTEGERS CONSECUTIVE ODD/EVEN PRIME PERCENT FACTORING EXPONENTS/ROOT PARALLEL LINES

ANGLES PYTHAGOREAN

THEOREM SLOPE AREA/PERIMETER VOLUME MEAN, MEDIAN,

MODE PROBABILITY

Terms Consecutive--following in a sequence Integer--negative and positive numbers (...-2, -1,

0, 1, 2...) Prime numbers--2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13...numbers that

are only divisible by 1 and that number (remember 1 is not prime or composite)

Percent formula= percent = is 100 of mean--the average median--the middle number when numbers are

written in order mode--the most frequent number in a list

STRATEGIES FOR MATH MC

READ QUESTIONS CAREFULLY USE THE ANSWERS TO HELP YOU SOLVE

UNFAMILIAR PROBLEMS—ALWAYS START WITH CHOICE “C” & SUBSTITUTE INTO THE PROBLEM

SUBSTITUTE REAL NUMBERS—BUT KEEP IT SIMPLE—USE SMALL NUMBERS THAT SATISFY THE QUESTION RESTRICTIONS

HAVE A CALCULATOR

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice Answer

Answer: A

Multiple Choice 3x +5y = 4z y = 4

If x, y, and z satisfy the equations above and if 4z = 20, what is the value of x?

A. 0 B. 3 C. 4 D. 4.5 E. 18

Answer

A

Triangles the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 degrees the sum of any 2 sides of a triangle is greater than

the 3rd side Example: In triangle ABC, the length of

side BC is 2 inches and the length of side AC is 10 inches. What is one possible length of side AB, in inches?

Solution: 2 +10 = 12 there for the 3rd side has to

be greater than 8 and less than 12. Possible answers are 9, 10, or 11.

Triangles

In a right triangle, the side opposite the right angle is the hypotenuse, the longest side.

The pythagorean theorem can be used on right triangles to find the missing side.

a2 + b2 = c2

Parallel Lines

1. If two parallel lines are cut by a third line, the alternate interior angles are congruent.

2. If two parallel lines are cut bya third line, the corresponding angles are congruent

3. If two parallel lines are cut by a third line, the sum of the measures of the interior angles on the same side of the line is 180 degrees.

GRID IN QUESTIONS

TRY ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS—YOU EARN A POINT FOR EACH CORRECT ANSWER

YOU DO NOT LOSE POINTS FOR INCORRECT ANSWERS!!

HOW TO GRID IN ANSWERS

WRITE ONE NUMBER PER BOX AND BUBBLE IN THE ANSWER.

NO MIXED NUMBERS—USE IMPROPER FRACTIONS OR DECIMALS

NO NEGATIVE NUMBERS NO LEADING ZERO BEFORE THE

DECIMAL—JUST BEGIN WITH THE DECIMAL—PUT AS MANY NUMBERS AS POSSIBLE

SAMPLE GRID IN

N=2K -16 K=N +2 N=2(N + 2) -16 N = 12

(2 + 3) y = 22 – 2 + 11

Y= 13/5 or 2.6

RESOURCES—STUDY TOOLS

WWW.COLLEGEBOARD.COM ROCK THE SAT—excellent book for

vocabulary building—songs set to music VOCABROCK—excellent book for

vocabulary building