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Taking the December 3 SAT ? Try Kung-fu test taking!

11/29/2016

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“What the heck is kung-fu test taking?,” you ask? It’s my new way of describing how you can use the test’s limitations and design against it.

Math questions:

Factoring – If you have to multiply or divide fractions, simplify fractions, and you know your “times tables,” you can simplify problems by factoring the numbers on the top and the numbers on the bottom., then cancelling out factors that are on both the top and bottom of the fractions. If you see a quadratic equation where each term has a coefficient that is divisible by the same number (for example, 8x2 + 4x +4), divide through by the common factor (here, 4), and you will have a much simpler problem to solve, especially if you have to use the quadratic formula.

Limits on questions: If an algebra/polynomial question says something like “where x is not equal to 2 or negative 2,” and x is on the bottom of a fraction, then you know that 2 and negative 2 will make the expression on the bottom equal to zero (perhaps they’re the roots of an equation like “x2 – 4”). Use that to your advantage when guessing how to factor such expressions.

Re-read the question: If a problem seems impossible, re-read it. You may have missed information that helps you solve it. This is especially true for geometry problems where the drawing does not contain enough information to solve the problem – read the text to see if it includes information not mentioned in the graph. For example, a drawing may simply show a triangle with one side marked “5,” and ask for the height of an altitude drawn from one vertex (corner) to the middle of one of the sides, so that it forms a right angle with the side. Draw that on a piece of paper. Would that information, by itself, lead to an answer? No. However the text may mention the triangle is equilateral, in which case the altitude splits the triangle into two 30-60-90 triangles, and the altitude’s length is (2.5)(√3).

This is true for any and all math problems – it’s amazing what your eye can skip when you’re reading in a hurry – make sure you know what units the answer needs to be in, what variable they want you to solve for, and so on.

Grid-ins – You can’t grid in a negative, square root symbol, etc. – so the answer can only be an estimate of the irrational number (e.g., Pi, the square root of 5, etc.) If your answer’s negative, it’s wrong.

Reading questions:

If one answer means the same as another, or two others, none of them can be correct. That’s because there can only be one correct answer, and the test isn’t likely to make you figure out really subtle shades of meaning (for example, the difference between “may” and “might.”). Often, in such cases, it’s a vocabulary question where the word is used to mean something other than its most common meaning.
Watch out for sucker punch answers such as:

Answers that use words you recognize from the passage, but are the opposite of what it stated in the passage (e.g., the passage says “X,” but the answer says “not X”);

Answers where an answer seems too specific when it’s not a detail question (e.g., “living in a red house” is probably not a good answer to a question about someone’s general personality, unless the question specifically asks for a detail about the person’s living arrangements that indicates his or her personality);

Answers to a question that say something true about the topic of the passage that is NOT mentioned or implied in the passage (here’s where your outside knowledge can work against you);

Answers that are partially true, but also contain something that isn’t stated in, or is contradicted by, the passage. Remember, a half-truth is a whole lie.

Any answer that appears to be possibly demeaning to any racial, ethnic, national, religious group, sex, sexual orientation, etc., is WRONG. The SAT people will NOT present you with an offensive answer. For example, “The author’s tone implies that the author finds the achievements of immigrants to be (a) laudable; (b) threatening; (c) unimpressive; (d) shocking,” the answer is almost certainly (a) – laudable means “praiseworthy.” The SAT isn’t going to print writing by people who find immigrants, or their achievements, to be threatening, shocking, or unimpressive. [Thanks to the Barron’s SAT guides, for making this point in all its various editions].

Essay Question:
Read the directions – they’re the roadmap to a successful essay. You can use the instructions to write serviceable and decent, if not exciting, introductions and conclusions.

Here’s what I mean:

The instructions will always read roughly as follows before the essay you have to read and analyze:
“As you read the passage below, consider how [the writer] uses
evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims. reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence. stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.”

After the essay, you will receive instructions that read as follows:

Write an essay in which you explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade [his or her] audience that [his or her point is correct]. In your essay, analyze how [the author] uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the passage (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of [his or her] argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage.

Your essay should not explain whether you agree with [the author’s] claims, but rather explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade his audience.

The things in brackets will be the author’s name, the appropriate pronoun to describe the author, and the author’s point. Standardized tests aren’t going to change without a HUGE amount of advance notice; that’s the point of their being “standardized” – everyone takes essentially the same test.

“Yes, but how does that help me?” That’s a good question. A wise man once said, “The more you sweat in peace; the less you bleed in war.” No one would try to learn martial arts while in a fight with a kung-fu master. Why would anyone think that’s a good way to approach the SAT? If you prepare for the SAT essay using the directions that can’t and won’t change - the form or “boilerplate” aspects - and you can concentrate on the parts that can and will change when you actually take the exam - namely, the actual essay. It’s much easier to execute a routine you’ve already practiced and account for the variables on the fly than it is to have to make the whole response on the spot.

You can easily work on an introductory paragraph such as:

“In [her] essay [‘Why Trapezoids are the Best Polygons,’ I. Emma Hugedork] makes a persuasive case for [why trapezoids are the most impressive and important polygons] using evidence such as [geometric proofs, examples, study results from engineering colleges]; deductive [or inductive] reasoning based upon the evidence she cites; and stylistic elements such as [appeals to emotion, humor, and powerful word choice]. The essay powerfully combines ethos, pathos, and logos [ethics/morality, feelings, and logic] to make the author’s case.

The same paragraph can be re-worked at the end to make a nice conclusion. Your best bet is to leave space at the beginning for your introduction, write the body paragraphs where you describe the elements and how they are used, and then write the introduction and conclusion at the end of your time. You’ve most likely done introductions and conclusions in a hurry in English class, so for most of you reading this, it won’t be anything new.

Finally, I suggest you listen to “Kung-Fu Fighting” – either the original or the “Kung Fu Panda” cover, for inspiration while studying.
https://youtu.be/BwBKjK7Xik0 (original)
https://youtu.be/-OpPwcM_NJw (Kung Fu Panda)

SPECIAL NEW CUSTOMER OFFER: Free 30-minute diagnostic session. Limited spots. 415-623-4251.

Are You Taking the SAT Tomorrow?

11/4/2016

Don't cram-study and don't panic! Cram-studying doesn't work (see my blog entries from 2014), and panicking never helps anyone. I strongly suggest you spend an hour or two working on practice problems, and spend another hour doing an SAT practice essay under timed conditions (so spend 50 minutes doing the essay and 10 minutes reviewing it).

Then stop. Make sure you have your ID and test admission ticket handy (you can't take the test without them), and that you have plenty of time to get to the test site. Make sure you can get there using transit or walking, in case a car is not available to you (Uber or Lyft may also be an option for you). See my YouTube channel for more test-taking tips.

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