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Increase your score with paraphrasing on the SAT

Reading Comprehension on the SAT is not really an exercise in reading, it’s an exercise in paraphrasing. You know how to read; but doing well on the reading comp section is not a matter of reading. Other than my online SAT class, the only true reading genius has to be Erica. Her book, The Critical Reader, is my de facto recommendation when it comes to learning how to systematically paraphrase text. She is fantastic. Now get into this lesson! It’s a matter of understanding what you are reading. The do that, you must paraphrase. Paraphrasing Strategy The core of paraphrasing is not acting like a thesaurus, but proving that you understand the sentence that is put in front of you. There are two main steps that you will need to paraphrase a sentence successfully. The first is to analyze what you read. The second is to re-write the sentence in your own words. Analyze What You’ve Read As previously mentioned, in order to start analyzing what you’ve read, you need to break down a sentence into the sum of its parts. What are the parts? Subjects/Clauses that act as subjects Verbs Objects/Clauses being acted upon by verbs Identifying any “SAT words” that are used Using your pencil, you can easily use brackets to separate and label the subjects and objects of the sentence. You can then underline the verbs once you identify them.   If you know with certainty what all of the individual words in the sentence mean, then you ask yourself a few questions. Ask yourself, what is the verb doing to the subjects and objects? Is it...

Vocabulary Strategy with Direct Hits

In this interview with Claire from Direct Hits Publishing, I explore the best way to build a strong SAT vocabulary. As I have mentioned, building a strong vocabulary is essential for every section of the SAT. Even though you may not be taking the SAT for several months or years, it is never to early to begin studying. Throughout this blog it will be essential for you to take the information, study it, and practice it. If you are not practicing on real SAT exams, you won’t be able to see improvement. What’s the point of learning, either by yourself or with a tutor, if you are not practicing what you are learning? Direct Hits Vocabulary Claire Griffith manages and administrates all the Direct Hits PSAT, SAT, and ACT courses. As part of the process, Claire counsels students and their parents on the best approaches to the tests and ensures that classes meet student and parent expectations. Based on her experience with how students best learn, Claire guides the Direct Hits team in revising and improving the Direct Hits Core and Toughest Vocabulary books. Today, Claire shares the best way to use her books, Direct Hits, to increase your vocabulary. She also discusses some excellent pieces of advice all students & parents should follow to do well on the test. More specifically, in this interview we discuss: Why you should attempt to learn vocabulary. The single best way to learn vocabulary. How to use the Direct Hits series of books. The best way to improve your SAT score. Items mentioned in this interview: Direct Hits twitter account Direct Hits...
Quickly Build a Strong Vocabulary

Quickly Build a Strong Vocabulary

A strong vocabulary on your SAT is pretty much a requirement. Even though the SAT will get rid of sentence completion questions in 2016, a strong vocabulary is essential for math, logic, and reading comprehension. Today, I am including a 30-minute vocabulary lesson from the online SAT class. Vocabulary Overview Over the last few years I have met with dozens of tutors and hundreds of teachers. It is well established that SAT reading is the hardest section of the test to teach. Reading comprehension requires background skills that are not as easily taught as math or grammar. While I will develop excellent posts to teach reading, and while my online SAT class is fantastic for vocabulary, reading, math, and writing strategy, if you require more reading help, you should consider buying a book or hiring a tutor. The reading best book (and possible tutor) is by Erica Meltzer. It’s called The Critical Reader. Eventually, I’ll put together a review, but know that Erica and I talk in the podcast and I could not be more impressed. If you cannot get past the reading on your own or after watching my free videos, you should consider getting her book. If you can study on your own, it’s way better than a private tutor. The purpose of this lesson is to give you a vocabulary strategy that you can implement to truly link word meaning with word use. I constantly receive emails or comments from students complaining that it is “impossible” to learn 1000 words. Other students ask how many words they should learn to do well. The problem that I...