SAT Prep Black Book by Mike Barrett - Técnicas generales para el SAT
Guessing on test day
Guessing on the SAT:
● SHOULD NEVER BE A FIRST INSTINCT.
○ Main always a discipline approach
○ Guessing is a last ditch option.
● Always read the whole question
● Do not go off on an initial feeling, if you haven´t, read the whole question }
● There is always only one answer that is bulletproof.
Important things to know:
1. If you find yourself wanting to guess on a question, its because theres something about this
question that you just aren´t seeing.
2. There no need to beat yourself up about being unable to figure out a question. Just make sure you
don´t lose faith in your training.
3. Do not forget that the sat is designed to lead you to wrong answers if you don understand a
question.
Questions to ask oneself.
Types of guessing:
1. Hunch guessing
a. For experienced test takers
2. Constant guessing
a. Don´t do it
How to train for the SAT
Goals:
1. So your first goal is to get a general grasp of the mechanics of each part of the test.
2. Understand the mistakes you make when you look at questions on your own.
a. Why
b. What you should have noticed
3. Next step is to eliminate those mistakes.
a. Avoiding them in the first place or by noticing them after they happen and the
correcting them.
4. Identify the patterns and rules
5. Eliminate care less mistakes
6. Identify the time issues in your progression
Order to Attack
1. Start with the reading section
a. It's the foundation for the rest of SAT
2. Then the math section
a. Page 169
3. Next the language and writing sections
a. Page 435
4. Work first on your strongest areas
5. Focus on understanding the test
a. Learn how to decode each question
Strategies:
1. The semi-structured Stare and ponder
a. Learn the general idea of the patter and look at a good number of the sample
solutions and then apply or identify them in a real SAT question.
i. Understand the motivation
2. Practice and a Post it
a. Practice with the books and then do a practice test
i. Only practice with tests, onces you have mastered the techniques of
analysis.
1. Questions to answer after the fact:
a. Why the college board wrote each question the way it did
b. What you could have done to answer the question
correctly as quickly and directly as possible.
c. What lessons you can learn from that question that might
be applicable to future questions.
i. Most important
3. WWMIR?
a. Identify the purpose behind the question being asked and then figure out which
answer fulfills it the best.
Scheduling:
● The bigger the score increase you need, the earlier you'll want to start preparing.
● Take breaks when it gets boring and counterproductive
● Start as early as possible.
● Be careful with diagnostic tests.
○ They do not tell the whole story
Técnicas
Part 6: Key techniques for the Whole Sat
Always consider every answer choice:
1. Look at every single answer choice before making a decision
a. Assess every single detail of the situation.
2. Do not mark the very first answer i see without reading the others even if I think it might be
correct. READ Everything.
Catching your mistakes:
1. Evaluate every answer choice:
a. It can help be sure of your answer.
b. It can help locate your mistake
Finding the easiest approach to any question:
1. Try to use the relationships and patterns among a set of answer voice to infer what the answe
might be and what structure should it follow.
a. Focus on what concepts are actually being tested in a question, so as to eliminate wrong
answer quicker.
2. Be more methodical than practical.
Every SAT Question is a System of Ideas:
1. Find the answer in the most efficient way.
2. Check every answer choice, even if you think you have found the right answer.
a. Better chance to catch mistakes.
The vertical scan: A key tactic for trained Test takers:
1. Helps you notice the similarities, differences and other relationships within a set of answer
choice.
2. This is not the only way to do it, you can also mix vertical with horizontal scan.
How to execute the vertical scan: From Upwards to downwards
1. We divide a set of answers choices into a few columns based on the similarities and differences.
2. Then we proceed to read down each columns.
When to use the Vertical scan:
1. It can be used whenever we notice that the answer choices in a question are highly similAR TO
EACH OTHER.
2. WHENEVER WE WANT TO RECONSIDER THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE
ANSWER CHOICE IN.
3. Best to use in the Math and Writing sections, it might also work in the reading section.
Benefits:
1. Notice and keep track of the differences among a set of answer choices:
2. Help you notice the mistakes the college board wants you to make.
3. Help you locate patterns more easily.
4. Help you identify which type of question they are asking.
a. Identify topics of study easily.
Science on the SAT/Reading graph, charts, tables and other figures
How science appears on the SAT:
1. You will need to understand a couple of basic ideas related to surveys and sampling to answer a
small percentage of SAT Math questions.
2. Sometimes reading or writing passages might mention an experiment but you wont actually need
to understand what those words mean in order to answer those questions, instead youll just need
to be able to tell which answer choice is demonstrated, contracted or not supported by ideas from
the passage.
Reading figure rule 1: No judgement calls or outside knowledge.
1. The data in the figure will always clearly and directly support one correct answer choice, with no
interpretation on our part.
a. No subjective decision
2. Youlll never need any outside knowledge about a topic in the data.
Reading figure rule 2: All text and labels are important:
1. Always read the tille, the axis, everything that is labeled.
a. Key words, guide map, anything that is there.
2. Make connections between labels and answer choices if possible.
Reading figures rule 3: Be sure to use the right data.
1. Identify the data you need and ignore the data that's not relevant.
2. Avoid making easy mistakes
3. Important to read carefully at all times.
Reading figures rule 4: Sometimes you'll need info from the passage, too.
1. The passage can provide necessary pieces of information to link the prompt, the figure, and the
correct answer.
2. There will be a clear logical connection between the passage, the graph, and the correct answer
choice.
Reading figures rule 5: Wrong answers frequently mention ideas that aren't on the page at all.
1. They tend to create wring answers for data question questions that mention ideas that appear
neither in the figure, nor in the passage itself.
2. Do not interpret the data subjectively.
3. Irrelevant choices are always wrong on the SAT.
a. If they appear, do not get flustered and do not start thinking that you must have misread
something.
Reading figures rule 6: Get comfortable with figures on the SAT before TEST Day.
1. Remember that figures will appear in the reading, writing and math sections on the SAT.
2. If you have trouble with any SAT questions that involves figures, review those questions carefully
to understand why you got them wrong and what you coild do to answe a similar question
correctly in the future.
Common types of figures:
1. Tables
a. Row
b. Cell
c. Column
2. Sub-groupings
a. Focus on the length of the row or column to determine the subgrouping
b. Double lines:
i. Used sometimes to separate the data more clearly.
ii. It doesnt represent anything special
iii. You would still understand the graph without these.
3. Bar graphs:
a. Vertical axis - Up and down
b. Horizontal axis - Side to side.
c. With the horizontal axis, which shows the person or item being stayed, locate in which
number of the vertical axis does it stop, in order to identify its value.
d. Title
e. Answer key at the bottom, which shows the units, the answer is in.
f. Multiple bars in a cluster:
i. Shows more than one type of data.
ii. The different bars in a cluster will often be color coded according to a key or
legend.
iii. Can also be a combination of data from two previous graph.
4. Horizontal or vertical orientation:
a. A bar that is oriented either horizontally or vertically.
b. It doesn't change anything important about the data itself, or the way we should read it,
except that the x and y axes are switched.
c. It has all the same elements as the bar graph.
5. Histograms:
a. Shows the distribution of frequency for a particular type of data.
b. It has a title, x and y axis, and the bars are next to each other.
c. It is important to know the length of the bars and whether they have opened or closed
sides.
6. Line graphs
a. Usually used to show the change in a data set over time.
b. Typically, the horizontal axis shows different points in time - days, months, years, etc. -
and the vertical axis shows the range of numerical values.
c. The data is plotted as coordinate points on the graph, and the points are connected to form
a line that shows how the data changes between the increments on the horizontal axis.
d. It has a title, x and y axis, a line connecting the dots, dots in exact positions.
i. Multiple lines:
1. On this ones, it tracks the changes in more than one variable.
a. It will most often involve different patterns of dots and dashes.
b. It will be explained in a key, which is fundamental to understand,
so that it is easier to see which lines represent which data.
c. The lines are drawn exactly as stated in the key.
7. Scatterplots:
a. Used to demonstrate the general relationship between two variables as that relationship is
revealed in a population.
b. We don't connect the points in the scatterplot.
c. It is acceptable to have multiple points with the same x and/or y - values.
d. It has a title, x and y axis, and points inside that do not connect.
i. Line of best fit:
1. Is a line that can be drawn through a scatterplot to represent the overall
trend of the data in the scatterplot.
2. You wont need the formula to determine the best fit for a given dataset in
the SAT:
3. We need to be able to identify a proper line of best fit in a set of answer
choices, or imagine what a line of best fit might look like if a question
requires that.
4. It does not represent actual data, only represents a trend in data.
ii. Association within data:
1. Three posible answers:
a. Positive association
b. Negative association
c. Lack of association.
8. Maps:
a. Can be used to indicate a geographic breakdown of data:
i. It will show data over certain geographic place in a map.
b. Read all the relevant labels on a map.
c. It tends to lack a bit of clarity and organisation, so try to fully understand it.
9. Pie charts and percentages:
a. Used to demonstrate portions of a whole.
b. It doesnt always indicate absolute numbers, because in most cases, they may only
indicate relative percentages and relationships among quantities.
i. Comparing percentages across multiple pie charts.
1. You cant compare wedges/portions across different pie charts,unless the
labeling especially indicates that such a comparison is valid and that they
represent percentages of the same original number.
10. There may be other figures that haven't appeared in this book.
a. They like to add a new figure on test day. Any figure will follow the rules discussed in
this section and will have enough in common with the figures we've talked about that
we'll always be able to read them and figure out the answers to any relevant questions if
we understand the above examples.
Time management on Test Day - Read this before every practice test.
Tips
● Every question within a section that has the same potential on your score.
● We should read the question and decide quickly if we will be able to find the correct
answe with total confidence in a fairly short time.
● Rule of thumb
○ 10 seconds to analyze the question and identify the way to approach answering.
○ 30 second to try to solve it
● The questions are designed to be answered usually in less than 30 seconds.
● Don't spend too much time on a question because if you dont get it, it is because you are
idiot but rather becuase you have found the right approach to answer it.
Approach each section in Multiple passes - Probably more than two
● First pass:
○ Look at the questions and see if you can easily answer them. If not, move on and
come back later.
■ 10 seconds to analyze the question.
● See if you can answer the question in the next 30 seconds.
■ 30 seconds to find the answer to the question.
● You must be pretty sure of the answer.
○ Get an idea of the hard questions.
○ Glance at every question
● Second pass:
○ Analyze again the question that I passed on.
■ Not for too long. If I cant get, move on onto the next questions, which I
havent answered yet.
■ Should take less than 45 seconds, more or less.
○ Make sure you dont make careless errors
○ Answer the questions that seem the easiest and quickest to answer.
● Third Pass: Remain Upbeat and remember your training.
○ Focus on the wording and the pattern used, don´t feel discouraged because the
answer doesnt require and advanced level of knowledge.
○ Make sure you answer every easy question right, so that you dont feel flustered
by the ones you didnt.
○ Stay calm and analyze.
○ Tackle the questions in the order you want.
○ By this point it is very likely that you have spent three quarters of your time.
○ Start with the easiest ones and move up onto the harder ones.
Review and clean up pass.
● Should be done, when all the question, that you are certain are correct, are answered or
when there is 10 minutes left.
● Make sure you have not committed any mistakes.
○ Especially those that the college board expects you to commit.
● Pay close attention to the details in each question.
Guessing pass.
● Should be the last resort.
What about Passages on the reading section and the writing and language section.
● Treat each question as its own issue, rather than lumping them together with other
questions about the same passage.
Final tips:
1. Dont miss bubble the answer sheet.
2. Dont lose track of time
a. Do not pause after a pass.
b. Keep re checking your work.
c. Avoid making silly mistakes
3. Mistakes will undo your hard work. Dont make them.
a. Remain thorough and diligent on the questions that you have answered.
b. Take every review seriously.
4. DO not panic, remember your training.
Time management abilities to work on:
1. Reading speed:
a. Remain constant
b. Not too fast but not too slow either
2. Nerves
a. Breath, remember your training.
b. Can help you identify the small details.
3. You may need to work on deciding to skip questions faster.
a. Ten seconds maximum to identify how you are going to solve the question.
4. Don't think about the average time per question
a. Some question will take more time than others. Find the perfect balance between
wasting your time and being productive.
b. You should try to handle every question as quickly as you can without sacrificing
accuracy - whether that means solving it for later, or deciding to skip it altogether.
5. Analyze and adjust your performance.
a. Make a mark next to questions that take you a klot of time, and then go back to
them after your practice session and try to identify the elements they have in
common that made them take so long.
i. Why am I taking more time, than I have to.
b. Pinpoint the exact things that puzzle me.
c. Apply what you have learned, on the next practice test.
6. On the reading and writing sections, remember that we never need to memorize every
detail in a passage.
7. On math sections, remember that they will only grade
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