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Approaches to the Critical Reading Section
• Work on sentence completion questions first. They take less time to answer than the passage-based reading questions.
• The difficulty of sentence completion questions increases as you answer them in order.
• Reading questions do not increase in difficulty from easy to hard. Instead, they follow the logic of the passage.
• The information you need to answer each reading question is always in the passage(s). Reading carefully is the key to finding the correct answer. Don't be misled by an answer that looks correct but is not supported by the actual text of the passage(s).
• Reading questions often include line numbers to help direct you to the relevant part(s) of the passage. If one word or more is quoted exactly from the passage, the line number(s) where that quotation can be found will appear in the test question. You may have to read some of the passage before or after the quoted word(s), however, in order to find support for the best answer to the question.
• Do not jump from passage to passage. Stay with a passage until you have answered as many questions as you can before you proceed to the next passage.
• If you don't know what a word means in a sentence completion or reading passage, consider related words, familiar sayings and phrases, roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Have you ever heard or seen a word that may be related to it?
• In your test booklet, mark each question you don't answer so that you can easily go back to it later if you have time.
• Remember that all questions are worth the same number of points regardless of the type or difficulty.
Approaches to the Mathematics Section
• Familiarize yourself with the directions ahead of time.
• The test does not require you to memorize formulas. Commonly used formulas are provided in the test book at the beginning of each mathematics section. It is up to you to decide which formula is appropriate.
• Read the problem carefully. Note key words that tell you what the problem is asking. Ask yourself the following questions before you solve each problem: What is the question asking? What do I know?
• With some problems, it may be useful to draw a sketch or diagram of the given information.
• Use the test book for scratchwork. You are not expected to do all the reasoning and figuring in your head. You will not receive credit for anything written in the booklet, but you will be able to check your work easily later.
• Decide when to use a calculator.
• For multiple-choice questions, you may want to refer to the answer choices before you determine your answer.
• Eliminate choices. If you don't know the correct answer to a question, try some of the choices. It's sometimes easier to find the wrong answers than the correct one. On some questions, you can eliminate all the incorrect choices.
• Make sure your answer is a reasonable answer to the question asked. This is especially true for student-produced response questions where no answer choices are given.
• All figures are drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated.
Approaches to the Writing Section
Approaches to the Multiple-Choice Writing Questions
• Read the directions carefully, and then follow them.
• Look at the explanations for each correct answer when you use practice materials. Even if you got the question right, you may learn something from the explanation.
• Eliminate the choices you are sure are wrong when you are not sure of the answer. Make an educated guess from those that remain.
Approaches to the Essay
There are no short cuts to success on the SAT essay. You will not receive high scores on your essay just because it is long, or has five paragraphs, or uses literary examples. The high school and college teachers who score the SAT reward essays that insightfully develop a point of view with appropriate reasons and examples and use language skillfully. So what can you do to write a successful SAT essay?
• Read the entire assignment. It's all there to help you. Every essay assignment contains a short paragraph about the issue. Imagine that you are talking to the author of the paragraph about the issue. Would you argue with him or her, or agree? What other ideas or examples would you bring up? Answering these questions will help you develop your own point of view.
• Don't oversimplify. Developing your point of view doesn't mean coming up with as many examples as you can. Rushing to give multiple relevant examples can lead you to oversimplify a complex topic. An essay with one or two thoughtful, well-developed reasons or examples is more likely to get a high score than an essay with three short, simplistic examples.
There's nothing wrong with "I." You are asked to develop your point of view on the issue, not give a straight report of the facts. This is your opinion, so feel free to use "I," and give examples that are meaningful to you, even ones from your personal life or experiences. Of course you need to support your ideas appropriately, and show that you can use language well, but remember: the essay is an opportunity for you to say what you think about an issue relevant to your life.
(Nguồn : Collegeboard.com)
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