Improving on your first SAT score

I sat my SATs for the first time last month and I got my results back in with 740 reading, 610 maths, 580 writing. I did little to no studying for my SATs because it was a very last minute thing, but I'd like to change that around for my next sitting in October because I'm thinking of applying to the Ivy League and while my scores are a good start, they don't currently cut it.

I'm not too worried about Maths, because I didn't revise for it at all and I'm completely confident that if I get used to the questions I can bring it up to 700 because I'm pretty naturally adept at maths. But my writing score really threw me. I got the official guide a couple of days before the exam, and I knew the grammar questions would be tricky because it's not something that I've ever really been taught (is this a British thing by the way? Because in the curriculum as a whole we are not really taught about the nuances of grammar?) Anyway, like I anticipated I got an okay 9 in the essay, and then got screwed by the grammar questions.

Other than making sweet study love to the study guides, does anybody have any tips for improving your writing score. I'm not an idiot, and I know the average jump is only 40 points, so getting from 580 to my aim of 700 is pretty much impossible. But it's got to be worth the try, right? So anyone got any suggestions to make my 120 miracle jump happen or been in a similar situation?

Reply 1

SaintSaens

I got the official guide a couple of days before the exam, and I knew the grammar questions would be tricky because it's not something that I've ever really been taught (is this a British thing by the way? Because in the curriculum as a whole we are not really taught about the nuances of grammar?)

I have a feeling this isn't just a British thing. Most students are taught grammar rules in school, but my school definitely didn't teach us the level of specificity of grammar tested in the SAT. Also, many of the rules that are used in the SAT often aren't followed in normal conversation. You have to study this a lot, and over time you will start to recognize patterns and most common rules. Using Grockit (grockit.com) helped me study for the writing section.

Make sure when you study that you find out your strengths and weaknesses.

Reply 2

Mangaartist

What I did was go through about 5 study guides (yes, I wanted a good score very badly) and it definitely helped. As the previous poster mentioned after a while you will recognize the pattern as there are not too many types of questions that can come up.

Reply 3

p+i+n+k

Mangaartist

How much did you get the first and second time?

Reply 4

Mangaartist

p+i+n+k

How much did you get the first and second time?

I only did the test once. Around the time i started practicing I was in the 600s on most practice tests. On the actual test I got 740/720/690 in M/CR/W. I wasn't happy with my writing but there was nothing I could do (no more test dates)
This is why I always advise people to schedule their tests so that they will have at least one opportunity to resit if something goes wrong.

Reply 5

Harris

My friends worked really hard and I think the worst submitted SAT score at my school was 2050. They ranged mainly from 2100 to 2300, and the trick is just practice practice practice.