SAT Prep Lesson # 1 EQ: What do I need know about time management to be successful on the SAT?

What is the Two Passes Strategy? The Two Passes Strategy is a method you can use to structure your time strategically while working through a group of questions. It can help ensure that you don’t run out of time before you have had the chance to work on all of the questions that are easiest for you. Two Passes Strategy

Pick the easiest questions for you: Go through the questions once fairly quickly, answering the questions that are easiest for you. Attempt only those questions that you immediately know how to approach and solve. It helps to know your POOD. Pass ONE

POOD = Personal Order of Difficulty The more you do practice tests and questions, the easier it becomes to identify your POOD. POOD= Personal Order of Difficulty You will learn to recognize the types of questions that are easier for you and those that are harder. You want to be sure to answer ALL the questions that are easy for you. POOD = Personal Order of Difficulty

If you are finding the first paragraph of a passage difficult to understand, consider skipping the entire passage and coming back to it later if time allows. This is called “prioritizing the passages.” Within a set of questions about a passage, skip the hardest questions until you have had a chance to grasp as much of the passage as possible. By the time you circle back to a difficult question after having done the other questions in the set, you may find it easier. Pass ONE: Reading Test

Pass ONE: Writing and Language Test If you know from experience that time is tight for you on this part of the SAT, then plan to skip a handful of the questions you are having the most trouble with in each passage and come back to them later if you have time. Always keep in mind that there are easier questions waiting for you towards the end! Pass ONE: Writing and Language Test

During the first pass, don't spend more than a minute or so on any question. If it's going to take longer, put a big fat circle around it in your test booklet and skip it. Work steadily in this way until you reach the end of the group of questions. TOP TIP: When skipping questions, some students like to make a tiny little mark to the left of the number of the question on the answer sheet, which reduces the chances of accidentally mis-gridding the next answers. If you make a mark—erase it before time is up! Pass ONE: Math Test

Pass Two: Pick you battles! During the second pass, choose which problems to tackle with your remaining time. DO bubble in an answer for ALL questions! But, if you have no clue, DO NOT waste your time. Pick a random bubble and move on! Pass Two: Pick you battles!

If you have managed to narrow down a few questions down to two choices, it might be a good idea to deal with those now. The right answer will always have evidence that supports it in the passage. If you find the evidence, you’ve found your answer. Pass TWO: Reading

POE = Process of Elimination Eliminating a few answers you know are wrong is called Process of Elimination, or POE. POE = Process of Elimination

Pass TWO: Writing and Language Test Many students find the questions about logical sentence order (eg: “to make this paragraph most logical, sentence 3 should be placed...”) to be more time consuming than basic grammar or punctuation questions. Questions that seem like they have two or three parts are also pretty tough (eg: “Which choice most effectively sets up a contrast in the paragraph and is most consistent with the info in the rest of the passage”). These are the questions that it may make sense to tackle last of all in a group. Pass TWO: Writing and Language Test

Prioritize remaining questions in ascending order of difficulty Prioritize remaining questions in ascending order of difficulty. That is, leave the most difficult questions for last. On the Math Test, go back to the beginning of the sections because that is where the easier questions are likely be found. The math section starts with the easiest and goes to the hardest, generally, BUT keep your POOD in mind, too. Pass TWO: Math Test

Every question – from the most basic arithmetic to the most advanced quadratic function, from the simplest grammar fix to the most challenging inference question on the most complicated reading passage – is worth the same. Some questions are straightforward, and might take 10 seconds to solve, and some are very difficult, and could take more than five minutes - but every question is worth one raw point. Collect Raw Points

Collect Raw Points continued The most important thing you can do to collect raw points and maximize your score is first to focus your time and energy on answering the questions that are easiest and quickest for you, and then try to tackle the more difficult and time- consuming questions – if you have time. Collect Raw Points continued

Order of Difficulty: Math Test It's pretty easy to figure out the difficulty level of questions on the Math Test - sections here generally increase in difficulty as they go on. The first few questions are the easiest, and the last few are the hardest. TOP TIP: Know where the easier questions live and do them first! Both math sections on the Math Test begin with multiple choice questions (MCs), and then move on to a handful of student-produced response questions (these are sometimes called Grid-Ins). The first few Grid-Ins are always easier than the last few multiple choice, so don't spend too much time on those hard MCs before you give the first few Grid- Ins a try. Order of Difficulty: Math Test

Order of Difficulty: Reading Test The passages on the Reading Test are of differing levels of complexity. Within each passage, the questions are asked as they emerge logically in the order the relevant information is presented in the passage. This means that the difficulty is a mixed bag. It's ok to skip the questions that are hardest for you! The last thing you want to do is get hung up on a hard question in one of the first passages and run out of time. There are easier questions throughout the test - even in the last passage! By skipping hard ones as you go, you can help ensure that you will have time to give the last passages a good look – they might be easier for you! Order of Difficulty: Reading Test

Order of Difficulty: Reading Test continued WARNING LABEL: If you don’t have trouble completing all the questions in the time allowed, then try to complete all of the questions in each passage before moving to the next passage - these strategies are meant for students who sometimes feel crunched for time! TOP TIP: Trust yourself! Despite what some people say, the questions are not designed to trick you. If a question seems straightforward, it probably is. If an answer looks right to you, go ahead and trust yourself and select it (NOTE: this is assuming you're using other critical strategies like "answer the question that is being asked" and "choose the answer that has the best evidence to support it"). Order of Difficulty: Reading Test continued

Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test As in the Reading Test, the difficulty of the passages and the questions in the Writing and Language Test is a mixed bag. Many students find the so-called “stemless questions” that require you to choose the best version of a part of a sentence to be quick (but beware - they are not necessarily easy!) Many students also find the “sentence addition” questions time-consuming (eg: “At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence…”). Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test

Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test If you find yourself running out of time on the Writing and Language Test, use the Two Passes Strategy to skip the hardest questions and return to them later if you have time. NOTE: Try not to jump around from passage to passage any more than is absolutely necessary – too much jumping around is likely to slow you down and confuse you. Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test

Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test continued TOP TIP: Keep Moving! The main takeaway here is that there are some easier questions at the end! Don't get hung up on hard questions in the first couple of passages. Do your best to avoid running out of time and leaving easier points on the table from the passages at the end of the section. WARNING LABEL: If you don’t have trouble completing all the questions in the time allowed, then try to complete all of the questions in each passage before moving to the next one - these strategies are meant for students who sometimes feel crunched for time! Order of Difficulty: Writing and Language Test continued

Finally, there is no penalty for guessing, so don't leave any questions blank. That's right - there is no penalty for wrong answers. You will get time warnings on how much time is left. USE these to your advantage. When you are almost out of time: BUBBLE! Leave NOTHING Blank!

Respond to the following question to better process your learning and needs: Copy the questions. What do understand about time management on the SAT? And what do you think you need to feel prepared for the PSAT/SAT Quick Write