Master the Tricks of the S.A.T.

Introduction

No high school student wants to do it, but just about all of them will find themselves staring directly into the beast. If there are three letters high school juniors hate most, they are S, A, and T. While this three-letter word is loathed by many and dreaded by most, it is a necessary component for anyone who wishes to attend an undergraduate college in the United States.

By now you are likely already aware that the SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that lets students show colleges what they know in certain subject areas, and how well they can apply that knowledge. It tests one’s knowledge of reading, writing and math — subjects that are taught every day in high school classrooms.

Still, even though people are aware of the subjects, before preparing for the SAT, it is important to know exactly what the SAT tests. Specifically, the SAT covers the following areas:

Critical Reading: Reading passages and sentence completions.

Writing: A short essay and multiple-choice questions on identifying errors and improving grammar and usage.

Mathematics: Arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability.

And that’s it! The SAT does not test anyone’s knowledge in history or the sciences, nor does it test logic or abstract reasoning.

The total amount of test time is 3 hours and 45 minutes, with the SAT being broken up into 10 sections: a 25-minute essay, six 25-miute sections (mathematics, critical reading, and writing), two 20-minute sections (mathematics, critical reading, and writing), and a 10-minute multiple choice writing section. Each SAT exam includes an extra 25-minute critical reading, mathematics or writing multiple-choice section that doesn’t count toward one’s score. In this section, the test tries out new questions to make sure that future exams are fair