I’m getting a bit tired of all the focus on #20, which is usually the hardest math question on the test. I guess I’m a bit complicit in all the hype, since I like to illustrate techniques on here using difficult problems, but that’s only because I like to show how powerful those techniques can (more…)
source The SAT loves to ask a particular kind of question about averages that can pretty confusing without a nice, easy way to organize your information. Enter The Average Table. KNEEL WHEN IT ENTERS THE ROOM, KNAVE! Seriously, this thing kicks ass. To build it, just remember what you have known for a long time (more…)
Let’s talk a bit about lines. Like everything else on the SAT, questions about lines will require some very basic knowledge of a few math rules, but you don’t need to know everything you ever learned about Cartesian coordinate planes. It’s important to be able to differentiate what’s important from what’s not. We’ll get into (more…)
NOTE: This post is about the OLD SAT (pre-2016). The current SAT DOES require you to know things like circle equations and trigonometry. Because the current SAT will also still ask questions like the ones discussed in this post, though, you may still find the information below useful. Circles can be difficult to deal (more…)
source The Paragraph Improvement section accounts for only 6 questions per test, so mastering it shouldn’t be your first priority, but it should be an eventual priority. You’re going to see a lot of the same grammatical themes we’ve already discussed in Error ID and Sentence Improvement popping up again here. In fact, if you’ve (more…)
Imagine you’re given the task of picking as many apples from a particular apple tree as possible, in a short amount of time. You know that none of the apples on the tree are any more or less delicious than any of the others, but of course the higher up they are, the harder they (more…)
All the rules from Error ID still apply, but when you’re doing a Sentence Improvement question, you have to think about the following as well. Run-On Sentences. Since the only thing you need to know about Run-On Sentences on the SAT is that you can’t tie two independent clauses (translation: an independent clause could stand alone (more…)
[highlight style=”yellow”]Note: This post is about the old SAT (pre-2016). The “new” SAT does not have a penalty for incorrect answers. [/highlight] In short: almost always. (Note: This is generalized advice; if it doesn’t sit well with you, read this.) I’ve encountered a lot of misinformation about the SAT in my travels, but the single subject (more…)
You should be mechanical in checking every Error ID question for the following. Verbs. Start here. If there is a verb underlined in the sentence, you need to check: Subject/Verb Agreement. The SAT’s favorite ways to trick you include: Prepositional phrases (The display case of trophies at the top of the stairs in my father’s (more…)
