Written by: Helen Donohoe

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***Helen Donohoe, M.S.Ed., is a teacher of English and French in the Hamilton/Burlington area. She holds practice SAT sessions on Saturdays on an informal, drop-in basis at Cedar Springs Racquet Club where she is a member, long-time tennis hacker and aficionado.

In this section of the website we will be publishing short paragraphs on various aspects of SAT. Please leave your questions/comments here, and Helen will be happy to respond to any specific concerns from students/parents***

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SAT Strategies: Answering the Questions in Order or Choosing Those You Can Do Best

The strategies vary according to the section:

MATH – Look first for the questions you can do quickly. Then do the rest.

CRITICAL READING –

1. Sentence Completion – The questions are usually in order of difficulty, so start at the beginning.

2. Short Reading Passages – There are usually only four questions to answer based on two passages. If the passages are not related, deal with the questions on each passage separately. If the two passages are related, read both before answering the questions.

3. Long Reading Passages – Skim the questions. If they deal with specific line references in the passage, do them as you reach those lines. Otherwise, read the entire passage before answering the questions.

WRITING –

1. Improving Sentences – It is best to do these in order, as the level of difficulty does not vary greatly.

2. Identifying Sentence Errors – as for Improving Sentences.

3. Improving Paragraphs – As you read the paragraph, you will likely spot errors. Check to see if some of the questions focus on these errors and do them right away.

Remember too that if you do the questions out of order, it is very important to make sure that you do not inadvertently omit some questions. Always check this.