Tutoring by John - Serving Berkeley, San Francisco, Alameda & San Jose.
Tutoring by John - Serving Berkeley, San Francisco, Alameda & San Jose.
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  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions and More!
  • Testimonials
  • Pricing
  • John's YouTube Tutoring
  • Need a Resume, CV, and/or Cover Letter?

Tutoring blog! :-D

30 - Day Study Plan for the SAT

4/30/2019

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Worried about the upcoming June 1, 2019 SAT? Haven't studied much (or at all)? No worries- here's an effective SAT study plan that will get you ready by the time the test date rolls around!

Note (3.7.2021) - This plan can be used with the 30th edition.

​SPECIAL NEW CUSTOMER OFFER: Free 30-minute diagnostic session. Limited spots. 415-623-4251.
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New Video - How to Study for the SAT and ACT Math Section - Systems of Equations / Simultaneous Equations.

4/21/2019

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Here it is - please "like" and subscribe to my channel! https://youtu.be/2pgv0LuHzXo
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New Video - How to Study for the ACT and SAT - Diction

4/14/2019

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Here's my latest video on diction - this should help for the ACT Essay and SAT Essay, as well as the writing and reading multiple choice. Because of a copyright claim by the company that owns the rights to Alanis Morrissette's "Ironic" song, I had to edit the 15-second clip out and replace it with a notice and the URL to the song's YouTube video.
Much like all the occurrences Alanis sings about in her song, this event isn't "ironic," just unfortunate. However, that itself may be "ironic" in that this copyright claim and the inconvenience it caused supports my point about the difference between "irony" and "unfortunate events" or "coincidence." In a way, the record company helped me by hurting me, which is ironic. 

See my latest video! https://youtu.be/DXKjPx8oeJY How to Study for the SAT and ACT Diction #SAT #ACT #essay #diction #english #collegeadmissions #CollegePrep 
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New YouTube Video - ACT Science Test Done in Real Time!

4/12/2019

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Click here!
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From Quora: Answer to "Does the ACT or SAT penalize you additional points for getting an answer wrong? Is there a benefit for guessing on questions you don't know on either test?"

4/9/2019

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https://www.quora.com/Does-the-ACT-or-SAT-penalize-you-additional-points-for-getting-an-answer-wrong-Is-there-a-benefit-for-guessing-on-questions-you-dont-know-on-either-test/answer/John-Linneball

No. Neither one has a “guessing penalty.” The SAT used to, but doesn’t now. So guessing at questions that you don’t know or don’t have time to solve gives you a 1 in 4 chance of getting the right answer just by chance.

NOTE: The SAT subject tests (not the regular SAT) STILL DO have a guessing penalty, where you lose 1/4 of a point for every wrong answer - i.e., not only do you not get the point for that question, but you lose 1/4 of a point you already earned. So DO NOT guess on the SAT subject tests (e.g., Spanish, physics) unless you can eliminate one answer as obviously wrong. Why? Because if you guessed the whole test at random, you’d lose 1/4 of a point 4 times, then get one point the 5th time, which would add up to a net gain of zero. If you can eliminate one answer as wrong, then you’d lose 3/4 of a point (3 * 1/4) for every one you guessed correctly, and end up 1/4 of a point ahead. Hope this helps.
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From Quora: Answer to "If I have a 1270/1600 SAT, would paying for a prep course help me get up to a 1400/1600?"

4/9/2019

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https://www.quora.com/If-I-have-a-1270-1600-SAT-would-paying-for-a-prep-course-help-me-get-up-to-a-1400-1600/answer/John-Linneball

A prep course could work, but you could also get a private tutor (like me) for about the same money, which would give you individualized attention. Also, as JJ Bhutto posted, you can prepare essentially for free using Khan Academy videos (and lots of others, including the ones on my YouTube channel- search on “John Linneball Tutoring”) and the downloadable/online practice SATs available at the College Board site : SAT Practice Tests
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From Quora: Answer to "What is a good substitute for taking the SAT?"

4/9/2019

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Find out if the college you’d like to attend requires the SAT; if it does, it probably will accept the ACT. More and more colleges don’t actually requires the SAT or ACT these days - you might want to see if a college you like is one of them.
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From Quora: Answer to "How much harder is the GMAT than the SAT and ACT?"

4/9/2019

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https://www.quora.com/How-much-harder-is-the-GMAT-than-the-SAT-and-ACT/answer/John-Linneball

It’s basically a more advanced version of the SAT or ACT - reading, analytical writing, and high school-level math. The reading is more advanced, the essay in and the analytical writing is also more advanced, which makes sense since the GMAT is meant for college graduates who intended to attend business school. The math is about the same difficulty as the SAT or ACT, since many GMAT takers haven’t taken much college-level math.
​

If you worked reasonably hard in college, and you review GMAT math (any review book will do, and hiring a tutor is better), you’ll do fine.
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From Quora: "What are my odds of getting 1400 in the SAT, without preparing for the test but taking AP Language and Honors pre-calculus for the whole year?"

4/9/2019

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https://www.quora.com/What-are-my-odds-of-getting-1400-in-the-SAT-without-preparing-for-the-test-but-taking-AP-Language-and-Honors-pre-calculus-for-the-whole-year/answer/John-Linneball​

I can’t know that without knowing you, your courses, how you performed, etc. If you’re a high-performing student (either near the top of your class, or even in the middle at a really rigorous high school), you could score a 1400 without prep, but why risk it?


A decent SAT prep book is at most a $30 investment, or you can probably get a used one from someone for free or a few dollars. You can even borrow them for free. Spend about 30 hours (maybe 2 to 6 hours a week) just practicing so you’ll know the format of the test, the kinds of tricks they use in the math questions, how they justify which are the “best” answers for reading questions, and basic grammar, punctuation and writing style.


The math section has questions with tricks that don’t measure your math ability so much as your ability to read directions carefully, avoid being tricked by inaccurate diagrams not drawn to scale, or use shortcuts for certain problems.


The reading has questions with two correct answers, but one is “better” than the other, and it’s not always obvious why one is “better” unless you’ve practiced and know how the SAT people think.


Most of the grammar is easy, but some official Standard American English isn’t really how people in the U.S. speak or write in everyday life, and SAT-land writing style may be different from yours - the SAT people have different ideas about redundancy than you might have (they don’t seem to understand writing style, humor, etc.). They expect you to know parallelism, the passive voice and why to avoid it, and other things your schools may not have taught you.


Finally, the SAT essay is different from most essays you’ve had to write in high school, where you analyze a piece of writing without arguing for or against the point expressed in the writing. You have to just explain HOW the author makes the main point, not whether or not the point itself is valid.

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From Quora: My Answer to "Is it possible to do worse on an standardized test (take, for example, the SAT) by being sick (varying from the common cold to a stomach sickness) on that day?"

4/9/2019

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https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-do-worse-on-an-standardized-test-take-for-example-the-SAT-by-being-sick-varying-from-the-common-cold-to-a-stomach-sickness-on-that-day/answer/John-Linneball


Yes. Anything that distracts you from the test will cause problems. A cold probably won’t affect you much, but a stomach virus that’s making you have to get up and go to the bathroom every few minutes will seriously reduce your time, and thus your score.

No standardized test will give you extra time for any reason, including illness, a car accident on the way, and in one story I’ve heard about the California Bar Exam, a test-taker actually reviving another test taker who had a heart attack during the test!

If you’re really sick on test day, I would suggest you just not show up, and contact the College Board BEFORE test time to let them know why. I believe the SAT and ACT people will let you reschedule tests if you let them know before test time, but I’m not 100% certain how far in advance you have to reschedule to avoid losing your whole test fee and having to re-pay for the test. See this link to get the official College Board information on this topic. Changing Your Registration Information

In any event, the fee is NOT the main consideration here. If you are sick with a contagious illness on test day, please don’t go and infect others just because you “need” to take the test. That’s one reason to schedule the test BEFORE the last possible date you can take it and meet admissions deadlines. Also, if you know you’re really sick after the test starts, you can “cancel” your scores. See here - Canceling Scores

Hope this helps!

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    Author: John Linneball Who did you think? ;-) 

    I'm the proprietor and only tutor for this business; that's why I named it after me.

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