I know I have hammered these things to death, but I wanna give you all a compact list of complete test-taking tips. Print this out, put it somewhere, in a folder for test day.

Test taking can seem like a huge ordeal, and I know many students that are against the entire idea of standardized testing. But, if this has such a huge hold on your future, why not do the best you can. So many talented smart individuals lose out on the SAT and ACT simply because they do not know how to take the test. So here is a summary of little tips.

CHOP AWAY
This is a multiple choice test. You won’t always be able to immediately pick out the correct answer. However, you should be able to chop away at the wrong answers and whittle it down to the best choice.

ELIMINATE AND GUESS
If you can eliminate two or more answers, take a chance and guess. Probability is in your favor at this point.

CLEAR YOUR MIND
Don’t fall apart on the test. If you think you’ve “bombed” a section, clear your mind, refocus, and move on to the next section with confidence. Remember, there is an experimental section on the SAT that does not count. You may have bombed this section! On the ACT, everything is averaged – so if you bombed one section, all you have to do is score well on another to mask this!

BREATHE DEEPLY
If you feel yourself getting anxious, take five deep breaths. This will slow your heart rate and allow you to focus on the questions in front of you. It helps to close your eyes during the deep breathing to truly block out the test for a moment and relax.

LEAVING BLANKS
Know when to leave blanks on these tests! SAT: In the 400-range: leave questions blank that you do not know the answer to. In the 500-range: leave six or fewer blanks. In the 600-range or higher: Absolutely no blanks! ACT: There should be no blanks left on any section of the ACT!

MOVE ON
This is a standardized, timed test. Do not waste “get stuck” and waste time on one question that you may get wrong anyway when you could move on and get the next three questions correct.

SUCK ON CANDY
Studies have shown that students who suck on candy during an exam score higher than those who do not. Bring some sucking candy to the test to help keep you awake and engaged.

NO MECHANICAL PENCILS
Although you can find #2 mechanical pencils, don’t bring them to the test. They break, and you have to sit there clicking away waiting for the next piece of graphite. You don’t need the added stress of mechanical pencils, so leave them at home. Plus, scantrons may not pick up the indentations of a mechanical pencil – don’t take that chance!

BRING EXTRAS
You never know what to expect on the day of the test – so expect the worst! Bring extra batteries for your calculator, extra pencils, extra erasers, and extra sweatshirt in case the room is cold, etc. Be prepared!

Have these tips helped you? Any additional advice on what keeps you CCC – cool, calm, and collected?

Always guess in the Grid-In Math section of the SAT. In this section, you don’t lose any points for wrong answers. Therefore, grid in something. If you don’t know the answer, pick you favorite number!

Limit the Main Idea to 3 – 4 Words! Always, always, always, generate a main idea before attacking the reading questions! Limit the main idea to 3 -4 words. This is difficult, but essential. It is easy to come up with the “gist” of the piece, but very difficult to limit yourself to a few words. The main idea is the point that the author is making. Once you get the point, you can get the questions!

It is important that children keep these goals and ambitions throughout their academic careers. The goals may change from day to day, but being in school and working towards something is an important component in the long journey toward college.

Below are 5 tips to keeping students motivated and making their goals and ambitions a reality.

1. Go on College Tours! Starting as early as seventh grade, I recommend that you plan on visiting a college on all family vacations. Going to California? Pick the nearest campus, drive through, and point out the exciting features. Who cares that your son is only 12 years old – he’ll gain an appreciation for higher education at an early age. Driving up to Grandmas? Take the scenic route and show your middle-schooler a suburban college setting. See how he likes the atmosphere. Emphasizing college at an early age and exposing your child to different campuses, settings, and options will make the process that much easier come junior year. Plus, you can buy your twelve-year-old a school banner for his room, or a cool sweatshirt to wear to class. These school memorabilia will be ongoing motivators.At a young age, students often do not know what to look for in a school. We tell our children to “do well” in school, but college seems a long ways away and our children do not really recognize what they are striving for. The key is for your child to set his or her sights on something and then work to make this a reality. Without a long-distance goal, students often do not achieve to their potential. Every year I drive my eight-year-old around Dartmouth University. He tells all of his friends that this is where he will be attending college one day. Why? Because he loves the iceskating pond, sledding hill, and ski mountain. Obviously he does not have his priorities straight, but he told me that he will work extra hard this year to get a good math grade on his 4th grade report car, because he knows he must do well in math to get in to this top school!

2. Start creating a “game-plan” in 9th grade! Not only should you weave college tours into yearly vacations as a means of motivating your child, you should also sit down with your child yearly and discuss the “game-plan”. I recommend creating a game plan as early as 9th grade. Starting early reduces the scrambling that occurs second semester of junior year. Map out and discuss a timeline for each year of high school. Beginning in 9th grade, students should participate in at least ONE community service – even if it is just planting a tree on Arbor Day. Students should also be in a school club and be pursuing a hobby or interest. If your child does not have a hobby, find one! This does not mean that students should participate in a plethora of clubs, though. It is much better to participate in just one or two activities and to take on a leadership role within this organization/activity.

3. Keep a running resume from 8th grade on! It is easy to forget those accomplishments, awards, honors, Girl Scout badges, etc. that we’ve received years ago. Therefore, write everything down. If your child is staring at a blank piece of paper at the end of 9th grade, this is a clear indication that your child is not doing enough.

4. Take on a challenging curriculum! Grades and course load are the most important things in 10th and 11th grade. Students need to take challenging courses, even if this means a slightly lower GPA. Having a 4.0 but no A.P. classes is not nearly as impressive as having a 3.7 and four A.P. courses.

5. Map out the standardized test process! Of course standardized tests play a key role in the college section and admission process. But, standardized testing should not begin until the end of 10th grade. Once again, create a game plan. Have your child take a practice ACT and a practice SAT. Which is the better test (higher starting score)? Then, creating a testing calendar and studying timeframe. Remember, both course grades and test scores are important! Keep in mind when midterms and finals fall so that your child is not overwhelmed.

Do the Second Blank First

In double blank sentence completions, the second blank is usually easier. It is often best to do the second blank first.

Take a Chance!

Do not be afraid to pick a word you do not know in the Sentence Completion sections. If you decide you are looking for a positive word and you have eliminated all the known negative words, do not be afraid to pick a word that sounds positive even if you do not know the definition. Never pick a familiar word that “kinda” works over an unfamiliar word that might work!

Comedy is probably the last word you expect to hear with regards to SAT test prep, but a good laugh can add precious points to your SAT score. How, you might ask?

1. BY INCREASING RECALL

Official test questions are boring.  Boring isn’t memorable — it goes in one ear and out the other.  So while it’s true that you need to answer the boring official questions on test day, that doesn’t mean your entire test prep should consist of ONLY boring questions.  A smarter approach would be to include some comedic, offbeat, pop culture, and outrageous questions that are more memorable so that you can learn the overall concepts more effectively and remember them better on test day.  Boring test questions are a key element of any SAT prep, but if you really want to increase your recall on test day, add some comedy to the mix as well.

2. BY REDUCING STRESS

With the huge importance placed on the SAT, stress is definitely a factor.  We avoid things that are stressful.  We push them off.  Even when we try to study, we’re not 100% there.  By reducing stress through laughter, we make it much easier to absorb the material and not be constantly freaking out over it.

3. BY NOT PUTTING YOU TO SLEEP

When you try to study with one of the standard massive test prep books out there, do you often find yourself procrastinating, re-reading sections over and over again, or even falling asleep?  Let’s face it, the material is mostly stuff that you can’t relate to, and stuff that is outright snooze-inducing.  It’s pretty much designed that way.  By adding in some humor, silliness, outrageousness, and pop culture, you can get a lot more out of your test prep simply by BEING AWAKE during the process.

For all of these reasons and more I wrote The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! It doesn’t completely replace your boring test prep, but rather it enhances whatever standard prep you choose to use.  That way, you can get the most out of your test prep, increase your test score, and get that final laugh on the SAT.

Good luck!

Laugh Out Loud

Learning Is Funny

Here are a few sample questions from The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!

1. After a _______ investigation, the inspector _______ that faulty wiring was foshizzle the cause of the fire that burned down Snoop Dogg’s hizzouse.

(A) lengthy, realized

(B) complete, prognosticated

(C) cursory, ruled

(D) thorough, determined

(E) copious, charged

2. At a Saks Fifth Avenue store, Winona Ryder examines four distinct blouses, five distinct dresses, and two distinct handbags.  How many different combinations of items can she shoplift if she takes exactly one blouse, two dresses, and a handbag?

3.

In the figure, if x = 5 – y, what is the value of y² + 25?

(A) 7

(B) 32

(C) 39

(D) 56

(E) 64

I define  myself first and foremost as an educator.   So, writing a book that teaches, guides, and motivates students seemed only natural (of course, I doubted myself through the arduous editing process!)

Those first words didn’t hit the page until two years ago, but this book has been a career in the making.   I remember sitting by a lake with my children and instead of paying attention to them, I was thinking about how to create a formula, a “brainless” essay, so a specific student could get past his test day fears.   Since I cared about the safety of my children, I turned them over to my husband, went up into the lake house and started to brainstorm.  Two years later…Write the SAT Essay Right.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to teach in classrooms around the country, in both urban and suburban settings.  Also, I have tutored hundreds of students in my private practice, and coached thousands online.   These divers and dynamic experiences have shaped me as an educator, and it is through this process of molding, assessing, and remolding that I was able to finally put my lessons on paper:  to empower, to instruct, and to teach through words alone.

Write the SAT Essay Right captures my voice and makes available all the tips, all the strategies, and all the “secrets” to scoring above average on the SAT essay.   And, my students do score above average after reading this book!  More than this, though, the book promotes foundational writing skills that are the cornerstone of expression and education.   Writing and grammar lessons can be especially boring and extremely convoluted – I know, I have a degree in English! I’ve broken down the mechanics into concrete formulas.   These formulas provide students with a simple but effective base – a cohesive, persuasive essay.   It is only once this base is firmly established that students can begin to build, alter, and stylize, and can eventually “find their voice” as writers.

I was careful to present the book in a casual tone that students can respond to, rather than the standard textbook style that so often drenches writing guides.   I also included models, examples, and worksheets, so that students can truly interact and assess their skills and improvement.

More importantly, I have made elite tutoring strategies, oftentimes limited to the upper-class crests, available to all.   I believe that all students should be given the same opportunities to excel.  Write the SAT Essay Right transcends the economic barriers of tutoring and makes premier SAT tips available to all.   Nothing fills me with more joy (other than my children!) than when a student tells me that this book has changed their writing and that they have taken the book to college because I have taught them to write an essay right!

So do I need to study vocabulary for the SAT?

By Jennifer Cohen

This simple question has actually become the subject of a great deal of debate in the world of SAT preparation.  When analogies and antonyms were dropped from the test format, vocabulary became directly relevant to only sentence completion questions.  And because sentence completions comprise only one-third of the Critical Reading portion, the prevailing wisdom turned against vocabulary study.  “Big Test Prep” (you know who they are) declared that vocabulary preparation was a waste of valuable student time.  This opinion has since trickled its way down to classrooms, guidance counselors and college admissions gurus.  This makes sense, if a student starts thinking about the SAT only a week before test day.  But if you’re reading this post, you’re not that person!  You’re planning ahead and you’re motivated to score high.  There are some very good reasons you should add vocabulary to your arsenal for the SAT.

#1  One-third of the Critical Reading section is based on vocabulary. That means approximately 300 points is directly related to vocabulary, with about 200 of those coming from moderate to hard sentence completions.  You may encounter some seriously tough words like “xanthous.”  Do you know what xanthous means?  If you haven’t done your vocabulary prep, you almost certainly won’t.  It’s that simple.  Don’t leave those 200 points on the table!

#2  Your English teacher would rather teach “War and Peace” than vocabulary. That means you may not be picking up enough vocabulary in school.  Many schools have bought into the idea that vocabulary preparation isn’t important, and you may not be doing much to learn new words.  Now, of course, if you come across a word you don’t know, you should look it up, but for most of you, that’s not going to be enough.

#3  The person next to you on test day probably hasn’t been studying vocabulary. That means that person is going to get those tough sentence completion questions wrong.  And for you, that’s an opportunity to get a leg up on the competition.  Most students will get the easy ones right, but most will miss the hard ones.  When you answer a difficult question correctly, you’re scoring points that most people won’t.  And when it comes down to it, deducing which words go in the blanks is usually pretty easy, IF you know the vocabulary.  Studying vocabulary gives you an edge.  That alone gives you the opportunity to score in the higher ranges.

#4  Love is a battlefield, and so is college admissions. So what can those extra points do for you?  It should go without saying, but it can mean the difference between getting into the college of your choice, or not.  It can mean the difference between earning a great scholarship, or not.  And to take it even a few steps farther, admission to a better school can mean a better job down the line.  That should be enough to convince you!

So now that you’re on board, and I know you are, what’s next?  Don’t waste your time on mind-numbing activities like reading the dictionary or looking for long lists of words on the internet.  Your brain learns best when it’s able to associate words to words it already knows.  That’s where Word-Nerd.com’s SAT vocabulary prep comes in.  The site groups words into meaningful categories so they’re easy to remember, and gives you unlimited quizzes and tests to reinforce what you’ve learned.  Learn more in less time with a lot less effort.  By the way, xanthous means “yellow hued,” but if you were studying with Word-Nerd, you’d know that!

Jennifer Cohen is the President and Chief Word-Nerd at Word-Nerd.com, a site devoted to SAT and PSAT  vocabulary prep.

The key to memorization is repetition. The more you see a word, the more likely you’ll remember it. Therefore, play the VocabPrep game online for three minutes a day to increase you familiarity and memorization of 1000 top-ranked SAT words.