Sites for Practice:

Get Ready:

  • Get a good two nights’ sleep.  A rested brain is a sharper brain. Use the nights before the SAT for sleeping, not all-night studying. Get a good 8 hours.
  • Set out everything the night before. Include three #2 pencils with good erasers, a calculator with fresh batteries, your photo ID, and a snack for break time. 
  • Bring a snack to refuel during the break. Your brain burns calories. Choose a granola bar, banana, or energy bar.
  • Set your alarm early –to give yourself a little extra time just in case. Late arrivals cannot be admitted in to the testing room.
  • Exercise. The morning is when most of us are a bit groggy, so wake your brain with exercise. 20 minutes of cardio will keep you alert.
  • Have a good breakfast. Your brain can’t work well without fuel. Include fruit, complex carbohydrates, and protein. You’ll be glad you did when you‘re entering hour 3 of the test!
  • Dress in light layers so you can adapt to the temperature in the room. An uncomfortable body makes for a distracted brain.

Tips for Answering Questions:

  • Write in the test book. Use it to:
    • Take notes while reading.
    • Work out math problems.
    • Cross out wrong answers.
    • Circle hard questions you guessed on to come back to them if you have time.
  • Mark-It-Up: For the reading and writing sections, mark up the test booklet as you read...
    • Underline the main idea of each paragraph and draw an arrow to it in the margin.
    • Underline important nouns, verbs, and key terms.
    • Circle clues that hint to the author’s points of view, arguments, or attitude.
    • Circle any examples given.
    • Number items, like supporting points, that are listed.
  • Many questions will ask for the “best” answer, so don’t respond as soon as you identify a correct answer. More than one might seem correct. Consider ALL the answer choices and choose the best one.
  • Be aware of trick answers: these are answer choices intended to catch careless readers. They include words that remind you of the passage or they make true statements, but they don’t actually answer the question. To avoid these trick answers, think of your own answer first, then read the choices second. Find the choice that best matches your own answer.
  • Eliminate wrong answers.  None of the answers will be glaringly wrong. In fact, they're worded in such a way that they'll often all seem feasible. Generally, wrong answers are too specific, too broad, describe a relationship in reverse order, or just present a totally unrelated concept.
  • Additional hints to help recognize an answer choice that is usually wrong:
    • Extreme Words: Choices with descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs) that sound too extreme, such as despicable, spotless, brilliant, or thrilling.
    • Absolute (Never Ever) Words: Choices with words like always, never, everyone and all.
    • Bait and Switch: Choices that use the exact same wording as the passage –correct answers will paraphrase the words used in the passage.
    • Never Mentioned: These are “distractors” –they are statements that are true about life, but are never mentioned in the passage.
  • When in doubt, guess. There’s no penalty for guessing. Your scores are based on the number of questions you answer correctly, so answer every question. Questions on the reading and writing sections don’t get progressively harder (math does). So if you’re on a difficult question, make a guess and move on; the next one might be easier.
  • Don’t look at “answer patterns.” For instance, some test takers won’t mark (C), even if it’s clearly the best answer, if they already have three (C)s in a row. Don’t do that – choose what you think is the best answer regardless of the answers before it.
  • As you answer questions, it can be distracting to go back and forth between the test booklet and the bubble sheet. It might save time to circle answers in your booklet for an entire reading passage, then transfer all those answers to the bubble sheet at one time.

During the Test: Your Timing

  • Work briskly, but not carelessly. Work quickly enough to attack all the questions you can, but not so quickly that you make careless errors.
  • Check the clock occasionally to make sure you’re on pace, but don't look at it too much.
  • Have a plan for what you will do when the proctor announces there is 5 minutes remaining – what if you still have 10 problems left? Don’t leave any unanswered, even if you have to guess.
  • Shut out everyone else around you during the test. Don’t speed up just because the person next to you is racing through the test. They may rushing through it because they're nervous.
  • If you notice yourself getting tense, try to relax:
    • Focus on the rhythm of your breathing. Inhale slowly and deeply, hold your breath for a count of two, then exhale slowly.
    • Clench your muscles tightly, hold for a few seconds, then slowly let them go limp.
    • Combine both: inhale slowly and deeply while clenching muscles, hold your breath for a count of two, then exhale slowly while relaxing your muscles.