The SAT Writing section consists of an essay question and 49 multiple-choice questions. The Essay portion has been covered in another article, so this article will cover the non-essay aspects of the Writing section.
 
As an overview, the 49 multiple-choice questions include 25 questions related to sentence improvement, 18 questions related to sentence error identification, and 6 questions related to paragraph improvement.  This is largely a measure of your understanding of grammar and how much you read on a weekly basis.
 
From the developers of the current SAT:
 
The multiple-choice questions assess students’ ability to:
 
• Communicate ideas clearly and effectively
 
• Improve a piece of writing through revision and editing
 
• Recognize and identify sentence-level errors
 
• Understand grammatical elements and structures and how they relate to each other in a sentence
 
• Recognize correctly formed grammatical structures
 
• Clearly express ideas through sentence-combining and use of transitional words and phrases
 
• Improve coherence of ideas within and among paragraphs
 
As with many aspects of the SAT, reading regularly has great benefits. Many of the incorrect multiple-choice answers just ‘sound wrong’; you don’t necessarily need to know the grammatical rule that’s being violated. Being exposed to the right way makes the wrong way more obvious. By reading every day, you are exposed to the right way. A particular Secret Service agent likes to test people to see if they are able to find a counterfeit bill from several authentic bills. The average person is unable to differentiate between the two. However, the agent can easily spot the fake instantly when presented with the same test. When asked how, he states, “I’ve seen the real thing so many times; it’s easy to spot a fake.” You can accomplish the same thing by reading every day.
 
This is one section of the SAT where you can prepare quite well through the taking of numerous practice tests. Find as many tests as you can and take them all. After completing each one, evaluate which questions you answered incorrectly. Ensure that you understand why your answer is incorrect, and why the correct answer is right choice. If you can’t figure it out, go see your English teacher. That’s why he’s there; he likes to teach and he likes English. As with all things in life, your success will be greater and easier if you wisely utilize the resources that are available to you.
 
If you find that you are consistently making the same errors, it’s a symptom of insufficient knowledge and understanding. It’s time to educate yourself. Having a difficult time with dangling participles? Find an appropriate source and learn what you need to know. Again, avail yourself of the teachers in your school if you can’t figure it out with the help of a book or instructional website. A good, concise, grammatical review book can be very valuable to add to your personal library.
 
Don’t waste any time; start now. Make sure you are reading daily and taking practice tests regularly. Review your incorrect practice test answers and ensure that you are learning from your mistakes. Get a good grammar review book and fully utilize your English teachers. You’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised when you receive your SAT scores.
 
This was a guest post submitted to us by Teach-nology.com
 
Teach-nology.com is The Online Teacher Resource and has been producing high quality English language resources for teacher and homeschoolers since 1998. They feature a huge online math curriculum for all to enjoy.

Writing the SAT essays can be the most intimidating aspect of the test for many students. While some students seem to have an easier time writing than others, there are several things you can do ensure you do well on test day. Let’s take a look at a few.
 
First, make sure you know the territory. Here are several essay prompts from the December, 2010 administration of the SAT. Also, here are several essays and their scores, with explanations. In reviewing those scored essays, where do you think you fall now? That answer will give you an idea of how much work you need to put into preparing for this portion of the SAT.
 
Nothing will help your writing more than actually writing and having someone knowledgeable and experienced critique your writing.  Here is where your English teacher can potentially help you.  Take the above scored essays to your teacher as examples of good and poor SAT essays.  Then, take all the essay prompts from above and write your own essays and have your teacher critique them.  A piece of advice, initially work with several teachers and decide which one is providing the best help.  Focus your time with that teacher.  At first, do not worry about the time issue; that doesn’t mean spend 4 hours on an essay.  However, it would be wise to learn to write a great essay and then introduce the time constraint.
 
You only have 25 minutes so adapt a standard format that you follow with each essay. Here is a suggested format (it is not the only acceptable format).

1. Answer the initial ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Starting from a premise of ‘sometimes’ or ‘it depends’ will require an essay that is too long to complete in the allotted time.

2. The classic 5 paragraph essay works as well as anything else.
- Give your answer, support your answer, and then reiterate your answer.

3. Support your answer with 1 or 2 complete, solid examples from history, literature, current events, etc.,. More examples are fine, but the makers of the SAT have made it a point to state that 1 or 2 well-developed examples are preferable to 3 or more undeveloped examples.

Don’t worry about making your essay perfect. The graders realize there is insufficient time to create an ideal essay. What they’re really looking for is a well-crafted first draft.

Don’t ignore the value of reading examples of well written essays. You can learn a lot from the writing of others. Compare the style to your own. What are they doing differently? What is the same? What can you do to improve? There are a lot of resources online and in the bookstore to find great examples of well-written SAT essays. Don’t ignore your English teacher as a resource as well. Another possibility, most colleges have writing labs which help students with their writing. If you went in there and explained that you needed help with your SAT essays, not many will turn you down. If you have a local college or university, it would be worthwhile to check out.

It’s never too early to start preparing. Evaluate where you are currently. Educate yourself. Practice and get some help. Some committed practice will really pay-off when the actual test date arrives.

 
This was a guest post submitted to us by Teach-nology.com
 
Teach-nology.com is The Online Teacher Resource and has been producing high quality resources for teacher and homeschoolers since 1998. They offer too many printables and worksheets to list.

One of the keys to any journey is to know your starting point.  With regards to the math section of the SAT, the best way to measure your starting point is your performance on the PSAT/NMSQT.  You can get a full analysis of your PSAT/NMSQT score and a suggested study plan here at My College Quickstart, and it’s free.  If that’s not possible, a free full-length practice test is available here.  This practice test provides detailed answer explanations and results based on each question type and category.  Look at the questions you answered incorrectly; in which topics are you consistently making mistakes?  Write them down.

The next step of evaluating your present situation is to review all the mathematical topics covered by the SAT.  A list of all the topics covered is available here. Looking at the topics, are there any that you obviously don’t know as well as you should? Write those topics down. You now have a list compiled from 2 sources to direct your study time, as well as a proposed study plan (if you took the PSAT).

The remainder of your time between now and the actual SAT test date should consist of alternating periods of directed learning and re-evaluation. Consider how much time you have until the test and what information you need to learn. It is highly suggested that you get a calendar and plan out specifically what you’re going to cover and when you’re going to cover it. Leave yourself enough time to cover everything adequately. Periodically, take another practice test (they are everywhere online and in the bookstores) and re-evaluate where you are. Continue to re-adjust your study plan based on your practice test results. It is suggested that you take a minimum of 3 practice tests, minimum.

Practice tests are invaluable, because they perform multiple functions. You are not only able to evaluate your current understanding; you also get to practice taking the test. Do not underestimate the value of answering similar questions to the real SAT under timed conditions. All your practice tests should be taken under conditions as realistic as possible. You learn proper pacing and will become more comfortable with the test in general.

Don’t forget about your math teachers. They became math teachers because they like to teach and because they like math. Do not struggle too long trying to learn something; go to the math teachers in your school and ask for help. Teachers are thrilled to help someone that genuinely wants to learn. So don’t ignore this spectacular resource.

The SAT is an important piece of the college admissions puzzle; do not fail to take it seriously. If you ask nearly any middle-age person where his life initially took a wrong turn, he will invariably point back to something in his high school and college years. Every dissatisfied adult life seems have its origin at some point during this period of time. You have the opportunity to avoid a lot of grief by getting busy now. Don’t wait. The math portion of the SAT is probably more amenable to improvement than the other sections, so go earn a great score.

This was a guest post submitted to us by Teach-nology.com

Teach-nology.com is The Online Teacher Resource and has been producing high quality math resources for teacher and homeschoolers since 1998. They feature a huge online math curriculum for all to enjoy.