Various Methodologies For SAT preparation
Prepare for SAT on Your Own
How Should You Start Preparing for SAT?
It is a competitive exam that is administered worldwide for evaluating test-taker’s skills in the education he has received in his schooling. It is designed to see how well a test-taker fair in a college course and how efficiently he can handle it. There have been a lot of discussions about how to prepare for the test as many test-takers swarm in the dense collection of books, courses and schedules in order to find the exact combination of study requirements. A test-taker must keep in mind the vastness of the syllabus and the structure of the test. One must be optimally equipped with enough knowledge about the test to start with the preparation. In the following sections of the article, there are given few directions on how to start your preparation.
What are Some Tips to Start SAT Preparation on Your Own?
The test consists of three sections, namely Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. Each of these three sections have three sub divisions making a total of nine sections plus one Variable section, that bases itself in either of these three sections. Therefore, the test has ten sections. The variable section at the last is an un-scored section. The whole test lasts for three hours and forty-five minutes. Each of these sections has a score scale of 200-800. If you are preparing on your own, you need to be extra dedicated to the preparation course. Following are few of the ways by which you can start preparing:
- Start early: The first and foremost job you need to do for preparation is to start early. The syllabus is vast enough to demand at least four months for preparation. Hence, depending on the date you wish to take the test, you have to spare a minimum of four months for preparation.
- Look for prep materials: The next step is to arrange study materials as you are preparing alone. There are online sites like: College Board downloadable preparation materials or learn hub, where you will get reliable preparation materials.
- Study time: You have to allocate a minimum of five hours study time everyday.
- Give major stress on vocabulary: the Critical Reading and Writing sections evaluate extensively your vocabulary strength. Therefore, you need to put extra labor for vocabulary. Make flashcards for words, revise an average of thirty new words everyday and incorporate the new learnt words in your practice essays.
- Improve writing skills: The next step is to improve your writing skills. Maintain periodic journals like Outlook or Wall Street Journal and go through the published articles. You can also compose responses to the prompt essays of practice papers.
- Prepare each section thoroughly: The most important tip is thoroughly revising each of the sections.
- The test contains the Critical Reading questions, for which you have to be careful in sentence completion and reading comprehension. Practice as much vocabulary as possible in the preparation period. For completing sentences, you need to select the exact word that will make the sentence grammatically correct. On the other hand, for reading comprehension, you have to practice more passage-based questions in order to take least time in comprehending passages of the test.
- It also contains the Essay Writing section for which you have to go through scored responses from earlier years and create your own responses to essay prompts. Also, make a habit of completing your essay within twenty-five minutes.
- Finally, for the Math section, you need to remember that an answer cannot be negative in the student-produced responses. While preparing, make sure you keep your answer in decimal or fractions. Do not provide mixed fractions as answers.
- Practice: The last and not the least important tip, is to practice. Remember, that you do not have tutors or fellow test-takers to guide you or compete with you, respectively. You are on your own and hence, you have to restrict your distractions yourself. Practice as many test questions and practice questions from books like The Official SAT Guide or the Kaplan SAT premier Program.
Prepare for the test with the top colleges in mind. The scores are useful indicators of your college-readiness. Therefore, you should follow the best preparation techniques available. If you follow the above-mentioned tips, you can hope to score well in the test.