There’s no way around it. To do well on the SAT Reading section, you need to have a fairly large vocabulary. Vocabulary is crucial for the Sentence Completion questions and for understanding the long and short passages. Reading is Essential Like it or not, the best way to build a big vocabulary is to read […]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Vocabulary
If you’re preparing for the ACT or SAT, you may want to consider reading the Harry Potter series. What about the wizarding world will help you prepare for these tests? J.K. Rowling, author of this iconic magical world, uses a plethora of vocabulary words throughout the series. In the later books, when Harry is nearing […]
8 Last Minute Study Tips for the SAT
If your SAT is swiftly approaching, you’re likely feeling the time crunch. If you’re in this boat, here are some of our top last-minute study tips. #1 – Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute Unfortunately, if you’re reading this, you’re probably already a little late. We’ll do our best to help you prepare for your […]
Top 10 SAT Mistakes
As a test prep teacher, and admittedly an SAT geek, I have worked with over a thousand students in my career. Ninety-nine percent of them come to me with misconceptions about the test which ultimately leads to errors in their execution. These errors make a test guru cringe because they are easily preventable! You just […]
ACT English and SAT Writing Tips: Diction Errors
Mark Twain once quipped, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” I doubt that he was thinking about standardized English and Writing tests when he uttered those words, but they are conveniently applicable to ACT and SAT diction errors. Failing to catch diction […]
ACT and SAT Reading Tips: Questions About the Author’s Attitude
“Don’t give me that attitude, young lady!” my mom used to yell when I rolled my eyes at something she said. The something she said was usually a jab aimed at my hair. She hated my bangs even though they added a full five inches to my height. It was the late 80s, and big bangs […]
ACT and SAT Tips: Ten Minute Test Prep
If you’re like most high school students, there isn’t a lot of downtime in your day, let alone time to study for something other than your normal homework. Yet the ACT and SAT loom in your future, and you keep hearing about how you need to start studying for them months—maybe even years—in advance. How […]
Sophomore Study Tips for the ACT and SAT
It’s never too early to start studying for the SAT and ACT! Just ask my 7 year old twins about their daily SAT routine. Just kidding. Sort of. There may or may not be a five question quiz about the author’s attitude and main idea after every bedtime story in my house. But anyway, sophomores […]
How to Create an ACT or SAT Study Bible
Countless studies have been dedicated to the practice of note-taking, and experts agree: taking notes and reviewing them frequently helps students transfer new information from their short-term memories to their long-term memories. And while students instinctively take notes in biology class and during their history lectures, they often show up to our ACT classes without […]
ACT and SAT Reading Tips: The Author’s Attitude
As a teenager, you’ve probably been told you have a bad attitude at least once. It’s a rite of passage in these years of immense physiological change and social and parental pressure. But do you know how to recognize a negative attitude on the ACT or SAT?