SAT Tips for Test Day

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The next scheduled SAT is now approaching – it will be taken this coming Saturday, October 3rd. Many or most registered students should have invested sufficient time in practicing and preparing for the test by now, so that they are not under heavy stress during the last days before its administration.

As a helpful refresher, below are some test taking tips that will be of use to students during test administration.

Questions

  • Determine what a question is asking and the possible ways to find the solution; what sources of information will be used, such as graphs or writing samples
  • Attempt to solve questions before looking at answer choices, and then compare if the answer is close to one of the choices
  • Try solving questions in more than one way to help narrow down answer choices
  • Work backwards to test each answer choice to see if it appears to be a possible answer to the question, for example in math questions that allow answers to be plugged into equations
  • If a question remains difficult, try breaking it down into parts and understanding each of them one by one
  • Take into account how many answer choices have been eliminated and your confidence in answer choice when choosing to skip or guess on a difficult question

Time Management (Pacing)

  • Remember what worked for you in practice sessions
  • Modify your pacing on different sections of the test, by considering question number, difficulty, and time allotted
  • Guess effectively and consider saving time-consuming questions for the end, especially if you become stuck on them
  • Do not become distracted by the clock or worry about your performance

Essay

  • Have studied practice essays beforehand and remember what made them successful
  • Write a brief outline before beginning your essay
  • Support a position in your writing and show how its opposite is false
  • Construct a detailed, evidence-based, and logical argument
  • Use advanced vocabulary and sentence structure, but only when necessary and used correctly

Before Test Begins

  • Get sufficient sleep
  • Eat a meal and drink water to avoid distraction
  • Review study material as necessary but save sufficient energy for the test
  • Remember your practice and do your best

 

Socrato is a website for scoring and performance reports for standardized admissions test preparation. Socrato reports are available for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, SSAT, HSPT, and many more tests. You can learn more or try for free at socrato.com. Featured image credit: Ryan McGilchrist

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