How to Do Well on the SAT (1)

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How to Do Well on the SAT
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• Doing well on the SAT is an important step toward
  getting into a good college. But if your test
  scores arent what youd like them to be, that
  doesnt mean you have to give up on your dreams.
  You can improve by focusing on the subject areas
  you struggle with during test preparations.
• Some Tips for Do well on the SAT
• Prepping for the Test
• Using Test-Taking Strategies
• Preparing Physically

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Prepping for the Test

• Analyze your previous scores
• Focus on the subjects you struggle with
• Set small goals
• Sign up for a test-prep class if you can afford
  it
• Organize a study group if you're on a budget
• Memorize the general test instructions
• Take practice test

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• Analyze your previous scores
• If youve taken the test before, or youve taken
  practice tests, review the questions you got
  wrong. Figure out what types of questions these
  were.
• Focus on the subjects you struggle with
• Once you know what types of questions bring your
  scores down, focus your time and energy on these
  specific subjects. Buy a test-prep book or check
  one out from the library, and do 20 questions a
  night that are just like the ones you got wrong
• Set small goals
• If youre doing 20 questions a night, aim to get
  15 of them right. Once youve managed that, aim
  to get 17 of them right.
• Sign up for a test-prep class if you can afford
  it
• If you have trouble studying on your own, sign up
  for a test-prep class. Ask your guidance
  counselor about any classes offered through your
  school or any online platform.

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• Organize a study group if you're on a budget
• Test-prep classes can be too expensive for many
  families. If you're on a budget, gather some
  friends or classmates to create a study group
  that meets after school once or twice a week. Ask
  one of your teachers if they'd be willing to lead
  some sessions, or use a test-prep book as a
  guide.
• Memorize the general test instructions
• Its important to follow the instructions printed
  at the beginning of the SAT, but they can take a
  long time to read. And they dont change from
  test to test, so memorize them as part of your
  test prep. Know whats expected of you for
  filling out your answer sheet.
• Take practice test
• The SAT follows the same format every year, so
  you can do better by simply practicing taking the
  entire test. Mimic the test environment by
  closing yourself in a quiet room and asking your
  family not to bother you. Set a timer, silence
  your phone, and take the practice test at the
  back of your test-prep book.

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Using Test-Taking Strategies

• Answer the questions that are easiest for you
  first
• Make educated guesses for answers you dont know
• Ration your time wisely
• Write neatly on your answer sheet
• Track your progress on the test booklet
• Read the questions before reading long passages
• Write a four-paragraph essay if you write slowly

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• Answer the questions that are easiest for you
  first
• The SAT tends to have easier questions at the
  beginning and harder questions toward the end.
  But that doesnt mean that whats easy for
  everyone else is easy for you. Skip through the
  test and answer the questions you know youre
  good at, then return to the beginning and work
  your way through everything else.
• Make educated guesses for answers you dont know
• The SAT grading system used to deduct more points
  for a wrong answer than for an answer left blank,
  but thats no longer the case. Blank answers and
  wrong answers are deducted equally now. So if you
  dont know an answer on a multiple choice
  question, eliminate answers you know are wrong.
  Then guess between the choices you have left.
• Ration your time wisely
• Typically, you shouldnt spend more than one to
  two minutes on a question. If youre working
  through a difficult question and notice that
  youve spent more than two minutes on it, circle
  it and move on. Then come back to it later if
  theres time.
• Write neatly on your answer sheet
• Take the time to mark your answers neatly on the
  answer sheet and fill in bubbles fully. When the
  machine is grading the test later, it wont be
  able to interpret what a stray pencil mark means,
  so it may mark the question wrong.

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• Track your progress on the test booklet
• You can write on your test booklet, so make clear
  marks or notes for yourself to track your
  progress. Circle questions you skipped entirely,
  and make marks next to any you guessed on but
  want to come back to if theres time.
• Read the questions before reading long passages
• If you're not a fast reader, you wont have time
  to read a passage, look at the questions, then
  read the passage again. For long passages that
  are more than just a few lines, skim the
  questions first. Then underline any information
  that may help you answer them as you read the
  passage.
• Write a four-paragraph essay if you write slowly
• The typical SAT essay follows a five-paragraph
  format the introduction, three body paragraphs,
  and the conclusion. While the intro and
  conclusion are crucial, there is no rule that you
  have to have three body paragraphs. What matters
  is having well-developed paragraphs, so if youre
  a slow writer, consider dropping the third body
  paragraph and writing a four-paragraph essay.

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Preparing Physically

• Get plenty of sleep the night before the test
• Eat a protein-packed breakfast on the morning of
  test day
• Exercise on the day before or morning of test day

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• Get plenty of sleep the night before the test
• While you may be tempted to stay up late and cram
  in extra studying the night before the test, this
  could negatively impact your score. Aim to get at
  least eight hours of sleep the night before the
  test so that youre well-rested and better able
  to focus in the morning.
• Eat a protein-packed breakfast on the morning of
  test day
• Even if you dont normally eat breakfast, its
  important to do so on test day. This will
  minimize your chances of being distracted by
  hunger. Eat foods with lots of protein, such as
  eggs, sausage or bacon, and Greek yogurt. Add
  some whole-grain toast to keep you full longer.
• Exercise on the day before or morning of test day
• Exercise can help de-stress you, so find some
  time to fit it in on the day before the test. Go
  for a run or a swim, or do yoga. You could also
  start test day with a brisk walk just to get your
  blood flowing.

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