{"id":1086,"date":"2017-11-09t00:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-09t08:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2020-01-20t07:29:34","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20t15:29:34","slug":"how-to-study-for-the-sat-in-one-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/how-to-study-for-the-sat-in-one-month\/","title":{"rendered":"how to study for the sat: your one month study plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n if you\u2019re taking the sat, you obviously want the highest score you can get<\/a> in the time you have available. you\u2019re going to wow all those colleges with scores that represent your very best effort. but what if the sat is in a month and you haven\u2019t really started studying? don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve got you covered!<\/p>\n unless it\u2019s summer right now, you will have to balance sat prep with schoolwork, and that\u2019s not easy to do. but look at it this way: in four weeks, you\u2019re going to make a significant difference in the strength of your college application. are there many other ways you can spend four weeks that will make such a positive impact on your admissions chances? probably not.<\/p>\n the sat is about taking practice tests to hone your performance as well as learning stress strategies and lots of fundamentals, from math to reading. with that in mind, we\u2019ve devised an sat study schedule that will help you not only become a better test taker, but also develop strong skills in reading, english (termed \u201cwriting\u201d on the sat) and math.<\/p>\n this schedule is broken up in sections, guiding you through sat prep on a near-daily basis.<\/strong> the intention is not for you to knock everything out in one sitting. rather, you should spread the prep out over the week, studying in 20- to 90-minute chunks (practice test days will take longer).<\/p>\n you should not feel that you always have to study math and verbal separately.<\/strong> while the study schedule breaks up math and verbal into separate sections, this is for convenience\u2019s sake so that it is easier for you to navigate. in fact, you should make sure that some study sessions contain a mixture of the two. it\u2019s good to get in the habit of having your brain switch back and forth between math and verbal, the way it will have to operate on the real test.<\/p>\n the plan is also broken up between \u201creview\u201d and \u201cpractice\u201d.<\/strong> again, you\u2019ll want to do a little of both. that practice doesn\u2019t always have to relate directly to what you\u2019ve just reviewed (that\u2019s why we\u2019ve assigned you magoosh prep questions without many filters by subtopic). this way, you\u2019ll be ready for the random assortment of questions the test throws at you. for example, you might spend one day reviewing geometry lessons, but your practice questions will pull from multiple areas of math.<\/p>\n one last thing: if you can\u2019t finish everything in the first week, don\u2019t despair.<\/strong> you can move on to the following week without having completed all the work. do as much as you can for a given day. if you have limited time, don\u2019t try to finish all of one task. move on to another assignment for the day.<\/p>\n for instance, if the day calls for 25 math questions and 20 reading questions, do half of both. basically, we\u2019re providing you materials for the maximum amount of practice that can be helpful in a one-week period \u2013 but doing less will still help you! falling a bit short won\u2019t hurt you. in fact, you can always revisit previous weeks later on \u2014 that\u2019s a good way of reviewing.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n that\u2019s us! our sat prep<\/a><\/strong> includes lessons and questions that you will work through, thereby increasing your sat efficiency.<\/p>\n you can also study with us on your phone. our sat test prep app<\/a> makes studying on the go easy for both iphone and android users.<\/p>\n an invaluable (and free!) resource. if you want extra help on a section or general advice, you can search for posts relating to the sat. this section of the blog<\/a> is completely dedicated to up-to-date information on the sat.<\/p>\n isbn-13: 978-1457304309 important note: you may use other editions of the official guide, just make sure the title of the chapter matches the instructions given.<\/p>\n we also have official sat study guide<\/em> video explanations<\/a> to the college board questions. check them out!<\/p>\n an overview of the sat with many helpful examples, the free complete guide to the sat<\/a> ebook is a great resource for understanding how the test is designed, and the fundamentals you\u2019ll need to know to answer questions.<\/p>\n this is a free resource offered in conjunction with the college board, which is the company that designs the sat. perhaps the best part of the college board\/khan academy partnership<\/a> is that it brings us practice materials that are completely free. these free materials include the same practice tests offered in the official sat study guide<\/em>. the official guide does have lots of practice material offered in the first half of the book, which will be used in the study schedule. so make sure you get that book, too.<\/p>\n here is a direct link to the free practice tests<\/a>. you can either download pdf\u2019s or take them online through khan academy. both options are contained in the link.<\/p>\n as mentioned, doing well on the sat isn\u2019t just about cracking open an sat prep book and practicing. you\u2019ll also want to do extra reading. as part of your sat study plan, you should expose yourself to the types of ideas and syntax that might appear in an sat article.<\/p>\n the following articles come from the new yorker<\/a><\/em> and the new york times<\/a><\/em>. the articles below give you a taste for the length and tone of the pieces you should be reading. it is best to stick with the science & tech and business sections of the new yorker<\/em> since they best mirror the kinds of passages that you\u2019ll see on the test.<\/p>\n for the first few weeks, we\u2019ve provided you with enough reading. after that, you\u2019ll have to hunt the passages down yourself. (just google \u201cnew york times business\u201d, for instance, to get you to that section.)<\/p>\n the new yorker<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n the new york times<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n one other resource is the electric typewriter<\/a><\/strong>. this website has pooled excellent writing from many sources (including the two above) and broken them down into easy to navigate categories. if you are struggling to find reading from the new yorker<\/em> or the new york times<\/em>, i highly recommend this website. here are some articles that might be interesting:<\/p>\n when you read these articles, you should be in a quiet place. you shouldn\u2019t just be skimming to finish the articles because you won\u2019t improve that way. instead, force yourself (yes, it won\u2019t be easy at first) to come up with a quick mental summary of each piece.<\/p>\n your summary might say something like: if you struggle to come up with a mental summary, write or type a quick one the way i just did.<\/p>\n your reading list is not complete yet! the pre-20th<\/sup> century passages, those typically taken from british novelists and essayists long dead, will be an unavoidable fixture of the sat reading section. at least one of the passages will force you to grapple with english as it was written over 100 years ago. like most things, you need exposure and practice to improve.<\/p>\n since it is difficult to read this stuff even when it is assigned reading at school, i\u2019ve chosen entertaining novels, or at least as entertaining as pre-20th<\/sup> literature could be. i recommend spending the next month reading one<\/strong> of these works. frankenstein is relatively short, so it might make for the best reading if you don\u2019t mind gothic horror.<\/p>\n mary shelley<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n edgar allan poe<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n additional works<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n a quick note:<\/strong> to make this plan as easy as possible to navigate, we have hidden the content of each day, so that you can see it when you’re ready for it. just click on a given day to see the corresponding tasks and click the heading again to hide them when you’re done!<\/p>\n *the videos should be of your own choosing. all of us have different skill sets, areas where we thrive and areas where we are not quite as good. you know yourself best. these are all fundamental videos, so if you find you already know all the information, use that time to finish the writing and reading components of the study schedule.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/details>\n *when watching the videos, remember that you won’t learn just by watching the instructor. always pause the video and attempt any question that comes up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/details>\n <\/p>\n<\/details>\n <\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/a>table of contents<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>how this study schedule is organized<\/h2>\n
<\/a>materials & resources<\/h2>\n
magoosh sat prep<\/h4>\n
magoosh high school blog<\/h4>\n
*the official sat study guide (2020 edition) \u2013 og<\/u>, or official guide, will be the shorthand used in this schedule<\/em><\/h4>\n
\nisbn-10: 1457304309
\nthis is the sat bible\u2013questions created by the writers of the test (the college board). you\u2019ll have plenty of practice tests and content to give you a sense of the actual difficulty and complexity of the test (it\u2019s more difficult than the content found in the other books). find the 2020 version on amazon<\/a> or check out the kindle<\/a> version.<\/p>\nmagoosh sat ebook: complete guide to the sat (free download)<\/h4>\n
official sat practice by college board + khan academy<\/h4>\n
supplemental reading<\/h2>\n
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\nthe article talks about the power of ancient tsunamis to dramatically alter the landscape and that scientists can\u2019t determine if these big waves have global implications the way volcanos or global warming does.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>the sat one month study schedule<\/h2>\n
<\/a>week 1<\/h3>\n
day 1<\/summary>\n
math<\/h4>\n
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writing<\/h4>\n
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day 2<\/summary>\n
math<\/h4>\n
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reading<\/h4>\n
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day 3<\/summary>\n
math<\/h4>\n
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writing<\/h4>\n
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reading<\/h4>\n
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day 4<\/summary>\n
math<\/h4>\n
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writing<\/h4>\n
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reading<\/h4>\n
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day 5<\/summary>\n
math<\/h4>\n
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writing<\/h4>\n