SAT / Basic Strategies
There are __ sections of the SAT
4: reading, writing, math with calculator, math without calculator
You should start with these types of questions
Ones with specific line references. You'll theoretically read enough of the text to be able to answer the general ones without having the whole passage then, which saves time.
You should be asking yourself these question(s) when it comes to writing & language questions
What is changing in the answer choices? What is being tested? Use context clues for tense/time.
You should always do this first with math problems
Read the Final Question!
Slide 1
D) v(d) = 150 - 7.3d
This section gives you the least amount of average time per question
Writing & Language (44 questions, 35 minutes)
The questions are arranged in this order
Chronological, typically following the order of the passage (aside from general questions)
How you should treat "they" when it comes to the SAT
"They" is always plural in the SAT.
The second step to most math problems
Labeling -- label the expression, label the answer choices, label the figure/understand the figure's label(s) + eliminate as you go working in bite-sized pieces
Slide 2
x > 11
Letter of the Day should be used when ___ because ___
Whenever you would leave it blank or are guessing. You do not get points taken off for wrong answers, and if you stick with one letter when you guess, ~25% of those guesses will be right.
You should read this much when given specific line references
A window of ~5 lines above and ~5 lines below the lines given (unless it's asking "as used in line x, [word] most nearly means)
The difference between how much you should read for proofreader questions compared to editor questions
You should read until the end of the underlined portion for proofreader questions and the whole paragraph for editor questions. (Tip: Use the wording of questions to your advantage with editor questions!)
True or false: If there is a mismatch between who was asked and who the conclusion is about, the sample is unrepresentative and thus the study is flawed.
True
Slide 3
C
POE stands for ____ and is used with ___ strategy
Process of Elimination, working in Bite-Sized Pieces
How you should approach questions that are phrased, "As used in line x, [word] most nearly means"
Find the word in the passage, cross it out, come up with a new word that would also fit, then find the word that best fits your prediction among the answer choices given.
Who acts as a subject/doer of the action; whom acts as an object/receiver of the action.
When using PITA (plugging in the answer), you should stop at this point
As soon as you find an answer choice that works. On the other hand, when you are choosing a variable of your own for plugging in, you need to test all of the answers to make sure your variable only works for one answer. (Bonus 100: What is an indication in wording that you can use PITA?)
Slide 4
C) |2-a| - 2
True or false: When it comes to GPA/test scores (compared to personal parts of the college application), large state universities care less about GPA/scores than small liberal arts colleges.
False. Large state universities care more about grades and test scores than the personal parts of the college application. Vice-versa for small liberal arts colleges.
True or false: If an answer is justifiable in your head but there is no concrete support in the text, you should choose it.
False. Unless you have no better guesses/answer choices you're more sure of. Remember that the entire answer must be supported by the text.
Draw a vertical line at the place where the punctuation changes in the sentence or any of the answer choices. Identify each part as complete or incomplete, then punctuate accordingly. (Bonus 50: When you see transitions changing in the answers, what should you check?)
You can use Plugging In when ___
When the question is a relationship between numbers. The question may contain variables, fractions, equivalent expressions, or the phrase "in terms of"
2x2y = 162
y = 0.5