One of the things you should be doing this summer if you want to improve your critical reading skills is making sure to read some sophisticated writing (newspapers, magazines, books) every day. You should be doing your best to understand the arguments made (if possible, by discussing what you read with others), and you should (more…)
I found this image all over the web but couldn’t find an original creator. 🙁 People are always asking me for the best way to increase vocabulary. Because I’m most often asked this question about a week before the test, what they usually mean by “best” is “most expeditious.” Let’s be clear: What I’m going (more…)
This is part 3 of a multi-post series on writing the 25-minute SAT essay, a paragraph-by-paragraph, sentence-by-sentence breakdown. Basically, these posts will construct a full-fledged essay template. If you haven’t checked out part 1 on the introduction paragraph, jump on over there first. And part 2 on topic sentences here. I had this convo the other (more…)
Source. This is part 2 of a multi-post series on writing the 25-minute SAT essay, a paragraph-by-paragraph, sentence-by-sentence breakdown. Basically, these posts will construct a full-fledged essay template. If you haven’t checked out part 1 on the introduction paragraph, jump on over there first. Paragraph 2 — Example 1/Analysis (approx. 7-10 sentences): (more…)
You know the 5-paragraph essay format you learned way back when? Use it. Or at least use a 4-paragraph essay where you cut out one of the body paragraphs. Of course there are other formats that can get you a nice score on this essay, but if you don’t already know them, now is not (more…)
I’m compelled, as I was when I wrote a similar post about the math section, to begin by saying this: If you’re striving for an 800 as a means to an end (admission to the school of your choice, etc.) you should know that close is probably good enough. An 800 is unlikely to open (more…)
By popular demand, here’s another essay challenge. By my own personal financial constraints, I can only award ONE winner this time. Let’s get right into it, shall we? And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know (more…)
Source. Read enough SAT essays, and patterns begin to emerge. Some of them are good (I mostly still love seeing The Great Gatsby used as an example even though I’ve seen it a million times, as long as it’s appropriate for the prompt) and some not so much. Here’s a hodgepodge of common things you (more…)
I have been following the SAT Cheating Scandal pretty closely since the beginning. I don’t check in on it every day or anything, but I have a Google Alert set up, so when news breaks, I peek in. Apparently Sam Eshaghoff, the kid who took the test for all those other people, is getting his (more…)
“Ain’t nobody chasin’ nobody nowhere.” Hopefully if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ve internalized the notion that YOU SHOULD CHECK EVERY SINGLE PRONOUN YOU ENCOUNTER on the SAT. The most common pronoun errors are pronoun-antecedent agreement errors, but pronoun case questions pop up enough in SAT writing sections that you should familiarize (more…)
Erica Meltzer, whose blog at ultimatesatverbal.blogspot.com should definitely be a daily stop for you if you’re prepping for the SAT (which you probably are if you’re stopping by my site), has spent years holding a microscope to the SAT writing section, and has compiled all of her findings into a book that, miraculously, is under (more…)
I got a comment on an old post about Error ID strategies (one of the first posts I ever put up) asking me to clarify the relationship between Comparison Errors and possession. I figured that, since it’s been a while since I wrote about writing at all, I’d oblige, — and go a bit further. I (more…)
I had an interesting conversation with a colleague last night about the importance of having a process. The gist of his argument was this: it’s all well and good to understand what a run-on sentence is (for example), but there are lots of kids who know, objectively, what one is, and still miss run-on questions (more…)
Much hay is made about what the SAT is actually testing. Does it function as some strangely-defined “college readiness” measurement? Is it a pure reasoning test? Is the SAT a test of innate intelligence, like an IQ test? Is it a completely meaningless hoop that you just have to jump through like a circus dog (more…)
A quick note before we begin: I’m positively elated to have teamed up with Tumblr all-star The YUNiversity for this post! Everybody knows that eye-popping visuals are a great boon to students trying to learn otherwise dry material, and nobody does them better. If you like the illustrations he provided for this post, you simply must make (more…)
