Studying For The PSAT

[Michael Ryan]

Well as a sophomore i will be taking the PSAT on October 13th... Its optional whether i take it or not but the PSAT is a good indicator for how well you will do on the SAT itself. Not to mention when i take it again as a Junior, a high enough score could mean some scholarship money! I am really strong in math (algebra, geometry, algebra 2) so i know i will do very well on that section . I do really need to study for the Writing/ Critical reading sections. Anyone remember taking their PSAT or SAT and got some tips? Anything would be helpful!

Michael Ryan

 

[morpheon]

I wish i could help you Michael, but i don't even know what PSAT and SAT are!

However, i wish you the best of luck!

 

[JaxyGirl]

All I can say is Thank God I'm not still in high school!!!! But, I do wish you the best of luck

 

[WinstonChrchll]

If you are good in math you are home free. To be honest the critical reading section is not that bad, more "herp ican readz" than anything. The questions are more geared towards plot and literal meaning rather than interpretation. The writing sections is where you will have the most trouble if you aren't good at that sort of thing. Brush up on your grammar....a lot. They will throw in some really BS questions that any normal person wouldn't consider. And they will throw in questions involving very very uncommon grammar. You don't take the essay portion with the PSAT, but for the real test its a no biggie. The biggest issue is the 25 minute time period. The prompts are very simple.
Does your school offer a AP Language and Composition Class? If you are able to take it in 11th grade, I would highly recommend you do so. I did, and it helped me a ton. The AP test is also pretty easy.

Reference: upper 10% in PSAT, 1310 on my first go on the SAT and taking it again in a few weeks.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

I took the sats last year,
the questions are super super super easy, seriously if you pay attention in your classes then you'll be fine

 

[Seeco]

In my opinion it is too late now to change your verbal ability before the test. For the future (college, SAT, LSAT, GRE, etc) here is my advice: get some GOOD books and read for fun. This way you trick yourself into becoming better at verbal. Almost everything I read in highschool was boring.

At your age I recommend Jim Dodge's Stone Junction, anything by Alan Garner especially Thursbich, Mark Haddon's Curious Incident, and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. When your teachers require you to read outside of class, ask if you can read one of these. Stone Junction and Owen Meany may be the best.

Make your parents buy you a good pocket sized electronic dictionary that includes word origins. I have one from Sharp. Then, you need some good books that are actually fun to read. You keep the electronic dictionary with you when you read and look up the definition of any word you do not understand. Knowing the word origins and Latin roots will help you define other words without even using the dictionary.

When the SAT's come you will read faster and have much better comprehension.

 

[Michael Ryan]

In my opinion it is too late now to change your verbal ability before the test. For the future (college, SAT, LSAT, GRE, etc) here is my advice: get some GOOD books and read for fun. This way you trick yourself into becoming better at verbal. Almost everything I read in highschool was boring.

At your age I recommend Jim Dodge's Stone Junction, anything by Alan Garner especially Thursbich, Mark Haddon's Curious Incident, and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. When your teachers require you to read outside of class, ask if you can read one of these. Stone Junction and Owen Meany may be the best.

Make your parents buy you a good pocket sized electronic dictionary that includes word origins. I have one from Sharp. Then, you need some good books that are actually fun to read. You keep the electronic dictionary with you when you read and look up the definition of any word you do not understand. Knowing the word origins and Latin roots will help you define other words without even using the dictionary.

When the SAT's come you will read faster and have much better comprehension.

I definitely agree that reading is a very great way of tricking yourself into being better at verbal. Also it really helps by increasing your vocab. Right now i am reading a college-level book titled A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens. A bit drawn out but overall it has a good story line so far... I will look in the books you recommended thanks.

I also think it is more effective to memorize the prefixes, latin words, and suffixes rather than to look up random words in the dictionary. If you have these memorized you can essentially figure out the meaning of every word you come across. I will get a electronic dictionary, however, just to improve my vocabulary. Thanks for the advice seeco.

 

[Michael Ryan]

If you are good in math you are home free. To be honest the critical reading section is not that bad, more "herp ican readz" than anything. The questions are more geared towards plot and literal meaning rather than interpretation. The writing sections is where you will have the most trouble if you aren't good at that sort of thing. Brush up on your grammar....a lot. They will throw in some really BS questions that any normal person wouldn't consider. And they will throw in questions involving very very uncommon grammar. You don't take the essay portion with the PSAT, but for the real test its a no biggie. The biggest issue is the 25 minute time period. The prompts are very simple.
Does your school offer a AP Language and Composition Class? If you are able to take it in 11th grade, I would highly recommend you do so. I did, and it helped me a ton. The AP test is also pretty easy.

Reference: upper 10% in PSAT, 1310 on my first go on the SAT and taking it again in a few weeks.

Yes my school offers AP language classes for Juniors. Right now i am in Pre- AP English 10. Next year am going to be put in my Schools IB program.

 

[Michael Ryan]

I wish i could help you Michael, but i don't even know what PSAT and SAT are!

However, i wish you the best of luck!

Oh yes that's right your in Canada... Well the SAT stands for Scholastic Assessment Test and it is pretty important college entrance exam we have here in the United States. There is 2 sections; math and writing/critical reading. A perfect score for one section is 800, making a perfect score on the entire SAT 1600. The "P" in PSAT just stands for practice.

 

[WinstonChrchll]

I definitely agree that reading is a very great way of tricking yourself into being better at verbal. Also it really helps by increasing your vocab. Right now i am reading a college-level book titled A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens. A bit drawn out but overall it has a good story line so far... I will look in the books you recommended thanks.

I also think it is more effective to memorize the prefixes, latin words, and suffixes rather than to look up random words in the dictionary. If you have these memorized you can essentially figure out the meaning of every word you come across. I will get a electronic dictionary, however, just to improve my vocabulary. Thanks for the advice seeco.

Dear lord, I cannot stomach another work by Dickens. You are going to do GREAT. Also, when you put your e-mail down on the test put one that you don't use primarily because you will be flooded with lots of college spam that is pretty much useless.

 

[shanksfaml]

There are some great prep classes out there (try Kaplan), as well as some great study guides which are sold at all book stores. I liked using a study guide with CD ROM when I prepped for my nursing boards. My daughter did the prep course when she was in High school. They are goods tools for boosting your confidence. Good luck, you sound like a smart guy to me, you will do great.

 

[Michael Ryan]

Dear lord, I cannot stomach another work by Dickens. You are going to do GREAT. Also, when you put your e-mail down on the test put one that you don't use primarily because you will be flooded with lots of college spam that is pretty much useless.

I know what you mean about books written by Charles Dickens. Sometimes i kind of have to decipher a paragraph because it uses so much vocabulary i have not seen before or i don't know the meaning of. I also have to be quick at the same time and not spend to much time on each page because it would take forever to finish. Will do on your email advice.

 

[Michael Ryan]

There are some great prep classes out there (try Kaplan), as well as some great study guides which are sold at all book stores. I liked using a study guide with CD ROM when I prepped for my nursing boards. My daughter did the prep course when she was in High school. They are goods tools for boosting your confidence. Good luck, you sound like a smart guy to me, you will do great.

Next semester i was looking into taking some classes at a community college actually. I will take a look for study guides and what not at Barnes and Noble

 

[WinstonChrchll]

I know what you mean about books written by Charles Dickens. Sometimes i kind of have to decipher a paragraph because it uses so much vocabulary i have not seen before or i don't know the meaning of. I also have to be quick at the same time and not spend to much time on each page because it would take forever to finish. Will do on your email advice.

Eh Its more of how it drags on forever. He got paid by the word lol

 

[Michael Ryan]

Eh Its more of how it drags on forever. He got paid by the word lol

Well yes that too lol

 

[AESara]

Being strong in math will get you far. That helped me A LOT.

For the English portion, remember to look over the questions before you read the selection. If you are running low on time, you can skim to find the answers and avoid spending too much time reading. Just remember to read enough to get the full context, because they might try to trick you on the questions occasionally.

Unless I've already forgotten (I'm a college junior now ) I only had to take either the SAT or the ACT. I took the ACT and got full score on math and English sections. I didn't have to take any English or math courses in college because of that, and I also got the highest academic scholarship my university offers.

Have confidence, maybe study some grammar (there are many good books out there) if you're worried about the English section (grammar questions tend to be the ones they trick you with), and you will be fine.

 

[Michael Ryan]

Being strong in math will get you far. That helped me A LOT.

For the English portion, remember to look over the questions before you read the selection. If you are running low on time, you can skim to find the answers and avoid spending too much time reading. Just remember to read enough to get the full context, because they might try to trick you on the questions occasionally.

Unless I've already forgotten (I'm a college junior now ) I only had to take either the SAT or the ACT. I took the ACT and got full score on math and English sections. I didn't have to take any English or math courses in college because of that, and I also got the highest academic scholarship my university offers.

Have confidence, maybe study some grammar (there are many good books out there) if you're worried about the English section (grammar questions tend to be the ones they trick you with), and you will be fine.

Thanks for the advice, i will keep what you said in mind. I believe some schools require both the SAT scores and ACT scores for admittance, at least where i want to go anyway.