Background of the SAT

It’s a new school year and the SAT or ACT is approaching you, depending on which one(s) you choose, along with the grade you are in. By this time, as a sophomore or junior, you should have already taken the PSAT’s as practice. Once  you enter 11th grade, you have the choice to take them in the fall,spring, and throughout your senior year. Taking the exam/exams as early as possible can aid your knowledge and test taking skills, and you will have the opportunity to take the test as many times as you decide. Getting into the credentials of the sat, or Scholastic Aptitude Test, there are 3 sections that are consisted of writing, critical reading, and math. Each section is based off of a 200-800 point scale. Starting with the basis on each section, the writing portion contains one essay that has a time limit of 25 minutes, along with 49 multiple choice-based split into one 25 minute period and one 10 minute period. Next the reading section consists of 3 portions with a total of 67 questions distributed to two 25 minute periods and one 20 minute period. Finally, the mathematical segment upholds two 25 minute periods and one 20 minute period with 44 multiple choice-based questions and 10 answers based questions. The higher your score, the higher your chances are to get into the college of your dreams. If your goal is to get a supremely high score, then adhere to the following guide and tips on taking the sat’s

Strategies

When it comes to taking the Standardized Exam, you have the option to leave questions blank and unanswered without losing any points. Unless you narrow your choices down 2 or 3 possible answers, then guessing can be an option to consider. Another method can be to answer all of the easy questions first and mark the difficult ones to go back to later on. You should not spend more than one minute on harder questions. The easier ones should be answered in a matter of seconds. Most importantly, read each question carefully, as you never know what it may be asking for. For example, you may look at a mathematical problem and think you are positive on the approach of work and formula(s) to engage in,but it may be asking for something completely different than what you viewed it as. Next, you are able to write in the test booklet as much as you would like to aid your steps upon answering. Do not write on the answer sheet unless you are filling out information instructed by the teacher or shading in the bubbled answers during the test. Additionally, you must keep checking that the answers you fill in corresponds with the correct question on the answer sheet each time you fill it in. People make the simplest mistakes, and accidentally skipping past a number will lead to every following answer to be incorrectly placed leaving most of your answer sheet to be marked erroneously during scoring. Know that easy questions are asked first and progressively get more difficult in each section. Preceding the sat test, it is crucial to get through the test more efficiently. To succeed at time management during the test, wear a watch and calculate the amount of minutes you have at the start of each module. then , figure out the amount of half of the questions, and calculate half of the number of minutes given. These two amounts should be finished amongst the same time. For example, you are given 44 questions to answer in 25 minutes.  One half of 25 minutes is about 12.5 minutes and one half of 44 questions is 22 questions. Meaning, you should answer about 22 questions by 12.5 minutes; therefore, recognize when the minute hand on the clock should end. This calculation should be done quickly, so that an important test time is not wasted.

Pre-SAT-Preparation

Essentially, you should get a good night’s sleep upon the night before test taking. Going to bed and readying yourself for bed at an earlier hour, along with maintaining dimmer lights in your home can enhance you to get into the sleeping mode more easily. Your brain will be well rested and refreshed the next morning if your body receives at least 8 or more hours of sleep before your mind is pressingly worked. When it comes to your brain and knowledge, eating a healthy breakfast will keep your thoughts in-fact. There are several brain foods that are known to keep the healthy and knowledgeable brain linked to great thoughts as a start to motivation. Namely, the best foods for thought are whole-grain cereal, wheat-bran, oatmeal, bread, blueberries, tomatoes, any source of B vitamins, broccoli, nuts, eggs, peanut butter, and fresh fruit and juices. Do not eat too much before a test, but eat enough to empower your energy and mind and to maintain good, positive feelings. You should also hydrate your body with extra water to wake your body up and adapt you to feel less tired. Way ahead of SAT exam day, you should have started, or may be beginning, to study. There are practice test online at www.collegeboard.com under  SAT practice where you can learn and inspect its set up and style of questions. Furthermore, Barnes and Nobel book store sells its yearly published updated SAT practice books. With riveting in the time to study, not only is there a higher chance to score strongly, but also an incorporation of learning and memorizing additional vocabulary and mathematical formulas. This will allow for quicker thought process and time skills to in time for the test. When it comes to the day of the test, the items you must bring are your admission ticket that is to be printed after signing up online, a photo id with the correct matching personal information, a calculator and separate batteries in case yours breaks or dies, several #2 pencils if the original 2 break or dull too quickly, and a bag to hold all of your your requirements and snacks/drinks that are only to be had during breaks.

In finalization, if you possess all of the needed items by the day of the test and have read and studied every strategic tip/ advice, then you should have a strong understanding of the steps to achieve a great score on the SAT.