One of the places on the SAT where a lot of students lose points (and/or time) is on "sentence completion" vocab questions. There's a very common mistake that most test-takers make on such problems. Today’s blog post teaches you how to avoid it…and the very effective strategy you should use instead!
The Best Strategy for Double Passages on the ACT
“Paired passages” are a type of question in the ACT Reading section that asks you about two rather than just one passage. And paired passages can take up WAY more of your precious test-day time than they should!…Unless you go in with the right strategy, that is. Click through for a breakdown of the wrong AND the right way to approach this common question type.
Sick or Out of it during the SAT or ACT?
No matter how much you've studied for the SAT or ACT, sometimes unlucky things happen when you sit down to take the test. Whether you wake up sick or distracted on test day, here's how you can best prepare yourself for the unexpected when it happens to you.
Superscoring on the Digital SAT and ACT
What’s a “Superscore”? If you’re applying to colleges—or if you’re a parent of someone who is—you need to know how this scoring system works and how it affects your college applications. I’m breaking down the details of super scoring on the Digital SAT and ACT in this week’s post!
How to Use Digital SAT Practice Tests
Real SAT practice tests are a finite resource. Let me explain why that matters…and how to make the most of the valuable practice tests you have!
The Best Guessing Strategy for the Digital SAT and ACT
If you’ve taken a few SAT or ACT practice tests (or even a round or two of the actual test), you may have found yourself running out of time on a section or two. What should you do when you don’t have time to actually think through those last few questions? Will it help or harm your score to guess—and if you should guess, what are the smartest strategies for doing so? This week’s post has got you covered.
The Easiest Digital SAT Tricks
Short on study time…but hoping for a point boost on the Digital SAT? Here are my top 12 recs for low-effort, high-reward hacks on this particular test.
Five Tips for a High Digital SAT Reading + Writing Score
Strategy goes a long way on the Reading and Writing section of the Digital SAT. Here are my top five.
Avoid These Two ACT English Grammar Mistakes
Save Time on the ACT Science Section with this Trick
If you want to answer all the questions in the ACT Science Section, you’ve got to move really fast: you’ve got about 52 seconds per question, to be exact. But fret not: this week I’m bringing you my special “Castle Method”—a strategy tailored to this particular section that will help you answer its questions quickly AND accurately.
Checklist: What to Bring to the Digital SAT
What helpful items should you bring with you to the DSAT to ensure you get the score you’ve worked so hard for? I’ve listed out the 9 must-brings, as well as 2 bonus items to consider too.
SAT and ACT: Ten Day-of Tips
It’s totally normal to feel nervous on the day that you wake up to finally take the SAT or ACT. But it’s also totally possible to then calm yourself down so you can actually attain the score you’ve been studying so hard for. Here are my ten expert pointers for a Test Day morning that sets you up for success.
ACT Add/Delete a Sentence Questions
If the ACT is your test of choice, you’ll have to navigate quite a few questions about language, grammar, and writing. In this post, I spotlight one type of question that always appears on the test—the “add/delete a sentence” question—and spell out my failsafe tactic for figuring out the right answer. If you’re hunting for a quick and easy way to rack up points, read on!
5 Quick Brain Tricks to Improve Your SAT or ACT Score
Not sure how to prepare mentally before your next exam? Check out these 5 strategies that will boost your brainpower.
Answering the ACT "Fork" Question
The "fork question" is my term for a particular question form on the ACT that can waste your time and induce unnecessary errors...unless you see it coming. Read on for the lowdown on how to conquer this tricky question type.
Best SAT and ACT Study Strategy: "Things to Remember" List
My students who make the most astounding improvements on the SAT or ACT have one thing in common. It's a simple study technique I call the "things to remember list," and I can teach it to you, too.
Didn't Do Well on the SAT or ACT?
Did you just get back a not-so-hot test score on your ACT or SAT? Never fear. Kristina Semos is here…with a guide on how to recover and do better on your next one.
What Should You Bring to the Digital SAT, SAT, or ACT?
You’ve studied for months, and now the big day is finally here: you’re about to take the Digital SAT, SAT or the ACT. But all of that hard prep work will be wasted effort if you show up to the testing room without the supplies you need to rock the test! Never fear: I’ve made you a checklist of the 7-9 essential items you should bring with you when you take the ACT or SAT, now with updated info on what you should bring to the Digital SAT, too.
SAT and ACT: Strategy vs. Content Sections
Knowing which sections of the ACT and SAT are content sections and which are strategy sections will help you target your test prep, hit your score goals, and open the door to that dream school!
The Best Strategy for SAT and ACT “Big Picture” Reading Questions
Both the SAT and ACT ask “big picture” reading questions, so lots of tutors and test prep companies try to prepare you to answer them. In this post, I’m reviewing the strategies that you’ve probably heard before…and sharing the simple and effective one that works for my students, which I bet you haven’t!
