5 Effective Tips for Preparing the SAT (Part II)

Familiarization

One of the ways to optimize the time that is occupied on test day is for young adults to prevent time from being wasted by familiarizing themselves with the sequence of each section and the instructions for each section. This is important because each instruction section is detailed. If one understands those instructions well, then they won’t need to take a few minutes to read them on test day. There are certain unwritten rules as well concerning how the questions are being raised. If a question is formatted in a specific tone or with particular words or phrases, an experienced examinee would be able to jot down the answer without even a thought.

Study Outside of the Box

Good general skills practice outside of the section study is another way to prepare second-year or senior students in high school to ace the SAT. A good example of this is when those who are preparing for the SAT read and summarize long articles and science-based studies and also pay attention to how writers construct their arguments; this is good practice for the optional essay as part of the reading section because it (1) increases world knowledge and cultural awareness, and (2) exercises the brain so that it picks up on fine details and also makes extrapolations based on context.

Stress-Free the Day/Night Before

The day before the test, it is important for young adults to be stress-free; not only does this free the mind of pressure and gives it the mental rest that is needed to prevent burnout on the big day. It also keeps one from getting nervous. The day before the test, it is recommended to not study at all but to relax and enjoy the day. What this looks like for each individual is different, but the point is that one shouldn’t stress out and think too much about the next day. Another extremely important thing for all testers to remember is that they should get at least 8.5-9 hours of sleep – no less. That is the perfect amount of sleep to prevent fatigue on test day and to also ensure that the mind is ready for the test and its accompanying challenges.

Avoid Careless Errors

Do you feel tedious of wondering how high your score would be what if you read the questions carefully and avoid careless mistakes in calculations on questions you were sure you got correct? High scorers are aware of the fact that for sake of maximizing their scores, they have to get simple questions correct. If they were uncertain about the final answers that came up to their mind, they would probably force themselves to sacrifice a few extra minutes to conduct the calculation one more time. In order to keep from misunderstanding the questions, some might even get used to circling or underlining the key phrases or words to compel themselves to stay focus. In addition, some may choose mental maths rather than write down every step of their calculations. It's definitely the common habits that the author won't recommend.