The original purpose of the standardized test was to level the playing field for applicants to degree programs. As we all know, the magnitude of expensive training programs and materials has tipped the scales in favor of those who can afford them. However, there is still a way to crack these tests without spending such a large sum. The best thing about preparing for standardized tests is that many of the things you learn while studying can also help you in all your other academic work.

Test preparation at home requires some effort, especially motivation to get it right in the first place. For many test prep classes, this is the instructor’s job. The instructor monitors performance and supports improvement. However, if you are self-disciplined enough, you can be your own teacher.

The first step to preparing at home is to develop a realistic study schedule. If you plan to study for the SAT during the school year, you should assign a day and/or time that you will adhere to until the test date. Ask yourself: how much time will be given before the registered exam date to study? 6 months? One year? Will you be willing to study daily in small increments or study weekly in larger increments? Planning is another thing you pay test prep companies to do for you and if this seems overwhelming already, check out my time management section. I must warn you that I’m still working on this section (I only have 2 articles so far), but if you want some personalized advice, feel free to email me.

The first thing you can do to improve your English punctuation is to memorize vocabulary. My favorite tool for this task is visual education flashcard sets. Instead of buying the SAT vocabulary, I highly recommend the English I and II flashcards. The great thing about VisEd is that they include a sentence using the word on the card, which made it easy for me to learn the definitions and incorporate these better used words into my own writing. So, in many ways, this method kills two birds with one stone: You’re improving your verbal score as well as improving your ability to write concisely. Also, you do not need to buy these vocabulary sets. You can always make your own vocabulary flashcards cheaply by searching online for test-specific vocabulary lists.

Although it may seem like a mundane task, vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of any standardized test and you can never learn too many words. If you choose the VisEd flashcard sets, there are a total of 2,000 words to memorize. Regardless of what you choose to prepare for the vocabulary test, recognize that vocabulary is important in both the critical reading and grammar sections of the test. It improves understanding of passages, clarifies the grammatical usage of words, and reveals redundancy.

Learning 2,000 words may seem impossible, but this is where time management comes into play. For example, if you’re spending your entire 10-week summer on the test and you want to learn all the words by then, you’ll need to memorize 200 words per week. This means 40 words/day if you want to rest on weekends. It took me about an hour to really get the words out.

You will also need test preparation books from any major test preparation company. These can be found in the library for free and the sample tests, the most important part, are copied quite cheaply. Otherwise, you can always buy them used or new. I’ve also found that these books typically don’t vary much from year to year, but it’s more helpful to use books that are geared toward a newer version of the test, like the new 2400 SAT rather than the old 1600.

Getting as many sample tests and their answer keys with explanations as possible is key to doing well on standardized tests. Finding a resource that provides actual pretesting is even better. But in the end, once you have a method for building your vocabulary and your practice tests, you’re ready to go.

Increasing your vocabulary will surely affect your performance, but there is still that dreaded reading comprehension section. Is there a solution for this. For me, I always did well in reading comprehension because I outlined each passage as I read. By describing, I mean quickly writing a summary of each award. For example, the following passage is the current Sparknotes example:

Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 in a Europe devastated by cultural ferment and religious strife. The popes of the Roman Catholic Church, powerful in their roles as both religious and secular leaders, had proven vulnerable to the worldly and decadent spirit of the age, and their personal immorality brought the reputation of the papacy to historic lows. In 1517, Martin Luther, a former monk, attacked Catholicism for having become too worldly and politically corrupt and for obscuring the foundations of Christianity with pagan elements. His reforming zeal, which appealed to a notion of original, “purified”
Christianity, launched the Protestant Reformation and divided European Christianity in two.

My schematic would be something like this:
-Galileo was born in Europe when there was cultural boom and religious upheaval.
-Even the popes succumbed to the pressures and gave in to their immorality
-Martin Luther later appeared to denounce Catholicism and its corruption and proposed a more “purified” form of Christianity.
-This led to the division of Christianity into Catholicism and Protestantism.

Now the question:
Which of the following was not a reason for Martin Luther’s attack on the church?

has. pagan elements in their practices

b. the amorality of his leadership

against his excessive attention to piety

d. their corruption and worldliness

me. the political involvement of the popes

As you can see, the answer can’t necessarily be found in the outline (i.e. I didn’t include that Luther had a problem with pagan elements in it), but by outlining you have increased your understanding by having to reflect on the content. Also, you can see that knowing the definition of words like ferment and conflict could have significantly improved your understanding of the purpose of the passage. The answer to this question is C.

This generally works best with non-narrative passages, where you’ll most likely be asked a question speculating on the author’s opinion or argument. The outline format could also work with narratives, but the trick is also to identify points of ambiguity in the passage, such as vocabulary words, that are most likely to be challenged in multiple choice.

There are many other methods you can find in exam preparation books, but I think this one is the most effective. The secret is to find the method you are best at, which can only be discovered by practicing as much as you can. Realistically, your schematic won’t look like the one I’ve written above due to time constraints. My outlines were usually misspelled words or phrases, but it was worth the effort. This plan can be a disadvantage at first, as it will take longer to finish a section. However, it’s enough practice, I’m sure you’ll be able to pick up the pace.

With the math part, I suggest that you review all the rules of algebra and geometry that are summarized in the test preparation books. Usually, any test prep book that has an overview of the topics can do the trick, and if you find there’s a topic, like right triangle rules, that you don’t know about, make sure you have it figured out by now. of the exam. For any difficulty in the math section, the best way to overcome it is with PRACTICE. Practicing increases your speed and familiarity with common math problems, as well as identifying tricky questions.

When taking practice tests, I think the best way to start is to time how long it takes you to complete each section rather than trying to beat the clock. In this way, you will know how much you will need to speed up. I can almost guarantee that your speed will increase with enough practice and the time limitation should not be emphasized unless you are experiencing circumstances where your speed is not increasing as much as you hoped.

As you do these tests, it is important to write down your response and how you feel about this response. Are you sure? Unsafe? Be sure to do this because this is the best way to be able to gauge your correctness during the actual test. When you go back and correct the test, don’t just mark the wrong answers and give yourself a score. Review the detailed answers for each question, if available, and if you got the question wrong, write down why you got it wrong. Was it a misconception? Attention to details? Time limitations? If this is a misconception, be sure to note that you will need to relearn this concept. If it was more logistically, be sure to read the passage more carefully next time and take your time with those kinds of questions.

There are stories of people who have been out of school for years and managed to score in the 98th percentile for the math and English parts of the GRE. I don’t think it’s impossible to get good results on any standardized test without shelling out a lot of money to test preparation companies. It is very possible and the secret ingredient is practical. If you want more tips and help let me know at http://www.meeraonthewall.com.