College Test Prep
Entering the 1500s: SAT Reading & Writing
March 18, 2019
Entering the 1500s
If you are scoring in the 1450-1490 range, the following probably describes you:
You are highly familiar with test content and format.
- At this point, you probably feel as if you could make an SAT test.
You only miss a few questions per section.
- These questions do not resemble any type of pattern.
- Your wrong answers generally reflect an error in your thought process about a specific problem or passage rather than a consistent weakness.
- When taking the test, you can usually narrow down difficult questions to the top two answer choices but sometimes pick the wrong answer out of those two.
- Sometimes you miss questions because of careless or silly mistakes.
You are sometimes overconfident in your ability to improve your score.
How to Escape:
Key Questions:
- There are none! At this level, you are not consistently missing any one type of question.
- Why: You MUST focus on WHY you missed a question. Missing only a few questions can make you overconfident in your ability to not make the same mistake on the next test. Instead, you must address the broken strategies or approaches that led you to the wrong answer.
- Careless Mistakes: Silly mistakes do happen. But contrary to popular opinion, you cannot fix this by telling yourself, “I won’t make any careless or silly errors.” Discipline is a result of strategy. Don’t just dismiss an error as careless. Really consider why you made that mistake in the first place.
Mindset:
- Fix your mindset: Students often mistakenly believe that they only have to “get a few more correct” on the next test. This type of thinking breeds a false sense of security. You have to approach the test EVERY TIME with the knowledge that you must get 52 questions right for the Reading and 44 questions right for the Writing – not “a few more.”
- You CANNOT just practice more: Students at this level often feel that they are “almost there,” and if they just practice more – especially if they just practice more with the questions they find difficult – they will improve their score. NOT SO. Practice must be comprehensive – not targeted – at this level. You must practice with a specific mindset and reflect on the practice meaningfully to see any improvement.
- Strategy: Learn the best way to approach a question when stuck between two compelling answer choices. Recognize the “traps” that test makers are creating for you in order to get you to select the wrong answer.
The 50 Point Project:
By following these guidelines, you can move into the 1500-1600 score range within 6 MEK sessions. MEK will provide you with the comprehensive practice and instruction you need to develop the right mindset and reach the top!
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