You've been hearing about it for mo...

You've been hearing about it for month and finally this March the first batch of bookish mans faced y the new SAT. In the month to result we'll be able to get by heart their insider tips, but in the meantime, we can review the modern format and suggest ways to prepare and perform at your best.

The remodel exam has a Critical Reading section (a replacement for the ancient Verbal section), an improved (so they say) Math section, and finally a section called Writing. The of the present day Critical Reading section features passed on a criminal completions, and a combination of short and extended reading passages. The short reading passages (which are all about 100 words long) replace the analogies, which is something that almost everybody's thankful for. The Math section has sum of two units big changes. First, you ne junior-year math (Algebra II) in order to memorize all the questions right. inferior there are no more quantitative comparisons. Before, in succession the old SAT, they'd give you pair equations, A and B, and they'd ask you to compare the couple (with, of course, the "I can't tell" option). Don't worry, we didn't really understand this either, in such a manner this is a very serviceable change.

The recent Writing section will be exactly like the antique SAT II: Writing. You're going to be asked to identify opinion errors, improve sentences, improve paragraphs, and--last if it were not that not least--write an essay in about half an hour. All of this is suppos to make you quake in fear. further no worries: here are my top 10 tips to master the SAT.

1 KNOW THE ENEMY

You don't corrupt clothes without trying them upon so what's different about the SAT? bestow a little time getting to know the of recent origin format by going to www.collegeboard.com.

2 TONE YOUR READING MUSCLE

The recently made known Critical Reading section means that you should be spending les time memorizing the difference between "penury" and "penurious" and more time actually reading. in such a manner pick up your parents' of long date copies of Time magazine. Read the newspaper. Maybe even--gasp!--go to the library.

3 integral THE SHORTEST SECTIONS FIRST

The condemnation completions take the shortest amount of time to finish, thus you should do them first. nearest do the short reading passages. Lastly, if you have time, tackle the protracted passages. The reason for this? You can't answer the in extent passages until you've finished the whole thing, and that's usually the hardest par of Critical Reading. in such a manner since all the questions are worth the same number of points, consider doing the lengthy ones last.

4 DON'T nettle THE NEW MATH

Feeling nauseous about the higher-level math? Don't be. recently made known concepts account for only about 10 percent of the test

5 SHARPEN YOUR MULTIPLE-CHOICE MATH SKILLS

Since the quantitative comparisons are gone a hap of your Math score can hang on your use of shortcuts. This can mean using an advanced trig formula to make plain an algebra question, or putting a graphing calculator to work to win an intersecting point.

6 FOCUS onward GRAMMAR

Pay complete attention to the corrections your teachers make forward your papers and learn from your grammatical mistakes. That way, you can earn a feel for what you're having disarrange with.

7. BREVITY IS USUALLY BEST

To improve your essay determinations remember shorter is generally better.

8 erection IS EVERYTHING

Because the essay portion is more important than aye and even your college admission officers will have access to it, you must do a terrific advantageous job. This means getting the composition down pat. Intro, three visible form [i]or[/i] frame paragraphs, and a conclusion will do the trick.

9 WHEN WRITING, DON'T SWEAT THE DETAILS

Little details, especially if you're talking about personal experience, can be fudg Don't allow them slow you down.

10 RELAX

Everybody's nervous about the recent SAT. If you get to know a small in number more tips like these, you'll be set

If you're a junior or senior who has taken the recently made known SAT, we'd like to hear from you and win your insider advice. Please globule us an e-mail at editor@careersandcolleges.com.

JANET XU an 18-year-old freshman at Yale University and visitor editor for the SAT guide Up Your Score (Workman, $1095 www.workman.com), shares her advice in succession the new exam.

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