How to Study for the SAT Your One Month Study Plan

573057304309 This is the SAT bible–questions created by the writers of the test (the College Board). You’ll have plenty of practice tests and content to give you a sense of the actual difficulty and complexity of the test (it’s more difficult than the content found in the other books). Find the 2020 version on Amazon or check out the Kindle version. Important note: You may use other editions of the Official Guide, just make sure the title of the chapter matches the instructions given. We also have Official SAT Study Guide video explanations to the College Board questions. Check them out! Magoosh SAT eBook: Complete Guide to the SAT (free download) An overview of the SAT with many helpful examples, the free Complete Guide to the SAT eBook is a great resource for understanding how the test is designed, and the fundamentals you’ll need to know to answer questions. Official SAT Practice by College Board + Khan Academy This is a free resource offered in conjunction with the College Board, which is the company that designs the SAT. Perhaps the best part of the College Board/Khan Academy partnership is that it brings us practice materials that are completely free. These free materials include the same practice tests offered in The Official SAT Study Guide. The Official Guide does have lots of practice material offered in the first half of the book, which will be used in the study schedule. So make sure you get that book, too. Here is a direct link to the free practice tests. You can either download pdf’s or take them online through Khan Academy. Both options are contained in the link. Supplemental Reading As mentioned, doing well on the SAT isn’t just about cracking open an SAT prep book and practicing. You’ll also want to do extra reading. As part of your SAT study plan, you should expose yourself to the types of ideas and syntax that might appear in an SAT article. The following articles come from The New Yorker and The New York Times. The articles below give you a taste for the length and tone of the pieces you should be reading. It is best to stick with the Science Tech and Business sections of The New Yorker since they best mirror the kinds of passages that you’ll see on the test. For the first few weeks, we’ve provided you with enough reading. After that, you’ll have to hunt the passages down yourself. (Just google â€Å"new york times business†, for instance, to get you to that section.) The New Yorker Science Tech: Stone’s Throw Business: Is China Moving Fast Enough to Save the African Elephant? The New York Times Science: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors Science: Crows May Learn Lessons from Death Science: Testing Neurons With Ultrasound Business: College Rankings Fail to Measure the Influence of the Institution One other resource is The Electric Typewriter. This website has pooled excellent writing from many sources (including the two above) and broken them down into easy to navigate categories. If you are struggling to find reading from The New Yorker or The New York Times, I highly recommend this website. Here are some articles that might be interesting: Bad Education Creation Myth A History of Violence: Edge Master Class 2011 When you read these articles, you should be in a quiet place. You shouldn’t just be skimming to finish the articles because you won’t improve that way. Instead, force yourself (yes, it won’t be easy at first) to come up with a quick mental summary of each piece. Your summary might say something like: The article talks about the power of ancient tsunamis to dramatically alter the landscape and that scientists can’t determine if these big waves have global implications the way volcanos or global warming does. If you struggle to come up with a mental summary, write or type a quick one the way I just did. Your reading list is not complete yet! The pre-20th century passages, those typically taken from British novelists and essayists long dead, will be an unavoidable fixture of the SAT reading section. At least one of the passages will force you to grapple with English as it was written over 100 years ago. Like most things, you need exposure and practice to improve. Since it is difficult to read this stuff even when it is assigned reading at school, I’ve chosen entertaining novels, or at least as entertaining as pre-20th literature could be. I recommend spending the next month reading one of these works. Frankenstein is relatively short, so it might make for the best reading if you don’t mind Gothic horror. Mary Shelley Frankenstein Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House of Usher The Masque of the Red Death Murders in the Rue Morgue The Gold-Bug Additional Works Dracula, by Bram Stoker The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen The SAT One Month Study Schedule A quick note: to make this plan as easy as possible to navigate, we have hidden the content of each day, so that you can see it when youre ready for it. Just click on a given day to see the corresponding tasks and click the heading again to hide them when youre done! Week 1 Day 1 Math Magoosh SAT eBook: Read Intro Magoosh SAT Test Prep Lessons: Watch Arithmetic and Fractions (any five videos*) Magoosh SAT Test Prep Questions: In Magoosh, select the box for â€Å"Algebra† and complete five questions. Reach out to our help team if you get stumped. The help button is displayed on all pages in your course. *The videos should be of your own choosing. All of us have different skill sets, areas where we thrive and areas where we are not quite as good. You know yourself best. These are all fundamental videos, so if you find you already know all the information, use that time to finish the writing and reading components of the study schedule. Writing Magoosh SAT eBook: Read Intro Official SAT Study Guide (OG): Immediately after reading the eBook, go to Chapter 13 of the Official SAT Study Guide (Sample Writing and Language Test Questions) and turn to the first sample passage and complete the 11 associated prompts. Cover up the answers that come right after each question, otherwise you are wasting your time. Day 2 Math eBook: Read Ratio, Proportion, Units, and Percentage Lessons: Go to the â€Å"Percents and Ratios†* section of Math lessons and watch the first five videos. Listen at 1.25 speed when necessary, or even skip parts. You don’t get extra points for slogging through the whole video.) OG: After watching the lessons, see if you can answer questions 1-5 in Chapter 17 (Problem Solving and Data Analysis). *When watching the videos, remember that you wont learn just by watching the instructor. Always pause the video and attempt any question that comes up. Reading Lessons: Watch first three videos OG: Turn to the first sample passage in Chapter 9 (Sample Reading Test Questions). Answer the associated questions. Article reading: Stone’s Throw Day 3 Math Day off, BUT review anything from the first two days that you weren’t confident in. Writing eBook: Read Standard English Conventions and start Sentence Structure (up to the end of Parallel Structure) OG: Turn to Sample Passage 2 of Chapter 13 (Sample Writing and Language Test Questions) and answer the associated questions. Reading Questions: In Magoosh, do one complete passage (one â€Å"task† will give you 10 or 11 questions). Day 4 Math eBook: Read Heart of Algebra Lessons: Watch Algebra, Equations, and Inequalities (first eight videos). Again, you do not have to watch all the videos, or even all of any one video. If something is familiar to you and it is boring to listen to, then don’t listen to it. Find those videos in which you are shaky on the concepts. That’s where you’ll get the best use of your time. OG: Turn to Chapter 16 (Heart of Algebra) and answer the first 10 example questions. Try to solve the problem before skipping ahead. Writing eBook: Finish Sentence Structure Questions: In Magoosh, complete two whole passages (two tasks will give you 20-22 questions total). Make sure to watch the explanation videos. This will help you learn from your mistakes and understand the test at a deeper level. Reading Article: Read Is China Moving Fast Enough to Save the African Elephant? Day 5 Math eBook: Re-read Ratio, Proportion, Units, and Percentage. Throughout the study schedule, you’ll revisit concepts from earlier in the week or in the previous weeks. That way you allow time for the principle to sink in, and the more you review these concepts throughout the weeks, the better you’ll become at them. Writing Day off Reading eBook: Read Intro (all the way up to â€Å"Pacing†) Weekend Use this first weekend to to catch up. If you have extra time, do practice from the Magoosh product for any of the sections you want to work on. Though there are many concepts you haven’t learned, doing random mixed practice sets will help get you prepared for the test. Still, make sure to watch the video explanations, since you’ll be able to learn a lot this way, too. That way, when you do encounter the concept later, you will already have some familiarity with it. Also, begin one of the classics. This can even be one of the short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Curl up next to a fireplace with a latte, or whatever your beverage of choice is, and enjoy. You should be patient with yourself since the writing style will be a bit unfamiliar at first. Keep a dictionary app handy. Week 2 Day 1 Math Lessons: Watch Word Problems (first 6 videos) eBook: Read Graphs, Tables, and Scatterplots up to end of Histograms Questions: In Magoosh, complete 10 Word Problems practice questions. (Set to â€Å"easy† or â€Å"medium† by clicking â€Å"Practice† and adjusting the difficulty level.) Writing eBook: Read Conventions of Usage up to Logical Comparison Questions: Do two Magoosh practice passages (22 questions total). Reading eBook: Read Pacing section and Passage Types Day 2 Math OG: Answer examples 6-12 in Chapter 17 (Problem Solving and Data Analysis). Remember, attempt to solve each question before looking at the answer. For the advanced among you, give yourself a two-minute limit per question. For the rest of us, relax, take a deep breath, and do your best. Lessons: Statistics (all four videos. Do these only after answering the questions above.) Writing Lessons: Watch Sentence Structure (all videos) Questions: Do two Magoosh practice passages (two tasks = about 22 questions total) Reading eBook: The Paired Passage up to Words in Context Questions: Complete one Magoosh passage (1 task) Day 3 Math eBook: Read Additional Topics in Math OG: Do examples 1-10 in Chapter 19 (Additional Topics in Math) Writing eBook: Finish Conventions of Usage Lessons: Watch Usage (all five videos) Questions: Do one Magoosh practice passage Reading Day off Additional reading: Bad Education Day 4 Math Lessons: Based on your performance on examples 1–10 from Day 3, watch five to seven Geometry and/or Coordinate Geometry videos, depending on where you struggle the most. Writing Day off Reading Questions: Do one Magoosh passage eBook: Read â€Å"Words in Context† to the end of â€Å"Inference Questions† Additional reading: A History of Violence: Edge Master Class 2011 Day 5 Math Day off. Review areas from week 1 and 2 where you are struggling the most. If you have time, do 10 practice questions on Magoosh. Writing eBook: Read Conventions of Punctuation to â€Å"Nonrestrictive and Parenthetical Elements† section Questions: Do one practice passage in Magoosh (11 questions) Reading Day off Additional reading: Spend an hour reading a novel (this can spill into the weekend). Weekend OG: Take Practice Test #1, found in Part 4 of the Official Guide. This is a major milestone. You’ve yet to see all the concepts you’ll be dealing with, but by now you should have a decent understanding of about half of the concepts you’ll see on the test. The practice test is really about getting ready for the ordeal that is a three-hour practice test. Find a quiet place where you’ll be uninterrupted. I know it’ll require Herculean effort on your part to detach from your cell phone. But when you take the actual test that’s exactly what you’ll have to do, and it’s better to go through withdrawal symptoms now. Also make sure to spend at least an hour or two reviewing your mistakes. When marking your test, do not write the correct answer next to the question, just mark it as wrong. That way you can take a second stab at it before reading the explanation. Do some additional reading: Make sure to keep up on your 19th century novel in your spare time. Week 3 Day 1 Writing eBook: Read from â€Å"Nonrestrictive and Parenthetical Elements† section to Expression of Ideas Questions: Do one Magoosh practice passage (11 questions) Reading eBook: Read How to Improve on SAT Reading to the end of â€Å"Stop subvocalization† Questions: Do one Magoosh practice passage (10-11 questions) Math Lessons: Watch Passport to Advanced Math: Trigonometry (first three lessons) Day 2 Writing eBook: Read up to Practice Passage Lessons: Watch Punctuation (all four videos) Questions: Do one Magoosh practice passage Reading eBook: Read up to Practice Passage Questions: Do one Magoosh practice passage Additional reading: Creation Myth Math Lessons: Watch Passport to Advanced Math: Trigonometry (next three lessons, up to â€Å"More on the Unit Circle†) Day 3 Writing eBook: Do â€Å"Sequoyah† practice passage Reading eBook: Do â€Å"Ethan Frome† practice passage Math eBook: Passport to Advanced Math Lessons: Quadratic Formula video (it’s under Passport to Advanced Math: Extra Topics) Questions: Complete 25 Magoosh questions Up until now, we’ve been mainly using Magoosh material for practice. For the rest of the test we will shift to mainly using official material. This material is closest to what you’ll see test day, so it will provide the best practice. The remaining study sessions will be formed from sections from the third and fourth test in the OG (The Official SAT Study Guide). After doing these sets, always mark the questions you got wrong. Then spend a few minutes going through them. I should warn you that the explanations in the OG are often pretty terrible so try not to get too frustrated. Day 4 Reading OG: Set an alarm for 26 minutes and answer the first two passages of the Reading portion of Practice Test #2 Writing OG: Set an alarm for 17 minutes and answer the first two passages of the Writing portion of Practice Test #2 Review Magoosh Reading and Writing lessons for any of the three sections based on where you feel you need practice. Watch at least two lessons total. Day 5 Math OG: Set an alarm for 55 minutes and complete that Math Test Calculator portion of Practice Test #2. Review Magoosh Math lessons for any of the three sections based on where you feel you need practice. Watch at least two lessons total. Weekend Take Practice Test #3 (this is your final one before the big test!). Follow the same instructions as you did for the first practice test. Additional reading: Finish reading the 19th century novel. Week 4 Day 1 Reading OG: Set an alarm for 26 minutes and answer the first two passages of the Reading portion of Practice Test #4. Writing OG: Set an alarm for 17 minutes and answer the first two passages of the Writing portion of Practice Test #4. Day 2 Math OG: Set an alarm for 25 minutes and complete that Math Test No Calculator portion of Practice Test #4. Change your sleep schedule. Indeed, you should figure out what time you need to go to bed so that you get at least eight hours of sleep before the actual exam (I recommend 10 p.m.). Starting Wednesday, go to bed at this time. That way your body will get used to falling asleep then. Otherwise, you are likely to toss and turn the night before the test. Trust me: it is only for a few days. Day 3 Math OG: Complete Test #4, page 712, all 38 questions in one sitting! Writing Questions: Answer 3 Magoosh passages (3 tasks) Reading Questions: Answer 3 Magoosh passages (3 tasks) Day 4 Math Questions: Answer 20 Magoosh questions (with calculator) Day 5 It’s up to you. You can take a break, review Magoosh lessons, or take another practice test. Do keep in mind that this is the day before the test and you might want to rest and relax as much as possible! Weekend Make sure to get a good night’s rest. The night before the test, start winding down early and pack everything you need (remember your registration ticket and photo ID!) so you aren’t scrambling in the morning. Test Day Stay hydrated! Double check our SAT Test Day Checklist to make sure you have everything. If doing a quick review in the morning helps wake up your brain, then go for it. But don’t feel you have to prep. If you followed this plan on how to study for the SAT in a month, you should be ready to go! Stay positive! Questions? Comments? Leave them below and we’ll respond as soon as possible. 🙂