Tips and Tricks - What to remember during the test

by: Aabha Muley

1. Read the passage introductions!

We often overlook the short intro that is given before the passage due to the test pressure. I can’t tell you how much it can help you though! Reading this section before starting the passage itself provides context that can be really helpful (especially when you feel like you have no idea what’s going on in the passage). It also gives you an idea of what you’re going into. The introduction below helps the reader by stating who the speaker is and what their views on a topic are.

2. Annotate, annotate, and annotate!

I can personally tell you that my score improved after I started annotating. You can either print out the passages and annotate with a pencil, or use an online PDF editor.

Here’s the link to the free online PDF editor I use: https://smallpdf.com/edit-pdf

I would recommend you to find the “sweet spot” for annotating by practicing. I started off by over-annotating which messed up my timing. Now, I’ve learned to simply underline what I find important. Also, you can try writing a small summary of what each passage talked about and see if that helps you. Again, I would recommend practicing so you figure out what works best for you!

3. Answer the first few questions after reading the 1st passage for the paired passages.

Most people tend to read both passages right after each other and then go on to tackle the questions. One tip I have for these passages is to read only the first passage, answer the questions that are regarding passage one, and then move on to passage two. Personally, I found it really difficult to remember what I read in passage one while answering the questions that dealt with that. This is why answering those questions right after you’re done reading the particular passage is helpful. When a question asks you to compare the two, you can quickly skim over passage one again!

4. Always choose the more concise answer choice for the grammar section.

You will see many questions like the one shown below. When I started taking practice tests, I would’ve chosen answer choices like B) or C) in the picture below. I felt the need to choose the answer choice that was longer and sounded “more sophisticated.” For the SAT grammar section, it is the exact opposite: shorter = better. Answer choices B), C), and D) are redundant and unnecessary as words like “famous” and “well-known” mean the exact same thing. If you are stuck between two grammatically correct answer choices, go for the shorter one!

5. Use the evidence questions in the reading section to your advantage!

When we are in autopilot mode during the SAT, it is easy to do the questions in order for the reading section. I have found myself getting frustrated trying to find the specific piece of evidence in the passage for answering a question, and then later finding out that the next question is an evidence-based one. I would recommend doing the evidence-based questions that give you line references first and then answer your question with the best evidence.

6. Plugging in answers is always a choice for the multiple-choice questions in the math section.

If you feel as if you don’t have enough time or you skipped a question because of its difficulty, feel free to plug in numbers for the multiple-choice. You can always plug numbers into whatever equation is given to find the correct answer. I would not recommend doing this for every problem, but it is a surefire way to get the correct answer!