Here’s a little-known fact that might make you spit up some of your Spindrift: though sections of the SAT and ACT might contribute equally to your ultimate score, they are NOT all created equal.
Whoa now!
Over the course of thirteen years of helping my clients dramatically raise their SAT and ACT scores, I’ve noticed quite a few patterns. I’ve worked with countless high schoolers, seen their strengths and weaknesses, and seen what it takes to perfect each section of both tests.
The most important thread I’ve seen is this:
On BOTH the SAT and ACT, there are certain sections that can be raised by learning CONTENT…WHILE others can only be raised by learning STRATEGY.
Since you’re a sharp cookie, you might already know what I’m going to say next: you must prep for these two different section types in different ways. Prepping appropriately gives you the most “bang” (improvement in your score) for your “buck” (your precious time and effort!).
Which sections of the ACT and SAT should you memorize content for?
The sections that require you to learn CONTENT are Grammar (“English” on the ACT and “Writing” on the SAT) and Math.
Any surprise there?
With ACT English/SAT Writing, if you learn a few more grammar rules, you’ll get a few more questions correct, and earn a few more points. It’s more or less linear. If you didn’t remember how to fix a comma splice in question 13 and answer that one wrong, that won’t affect your answer to the transition word question in question 16. Furthermore, you don’t have to understand the passage as a whole to get the individual questions right. You can literally do them one at a time, and they take roughly the same amount of time (depending, of course, on how strong a grasp you’ve got on grammar rules and rhetorical devices).
It’s the same with the Math sections of either test: how you answer one problem doesn’t affect how you go about solving the next question. Didn’t simplify the complex fraction correctly in question 24? No worries, because question 25 is about coordinate geometry and so has literally nothing to do with the question before it. Even when there’s a diagram or table that pertains to 3 math questions in a row, your answer to one of those questions is not necessary for you to get the other two questions correct. They’re independent from each other, even if they share some common background information. Grab another question or two, go up another point or so.
This is why Grammar and Math are the sections that students can most reliably improve in: you have to learn a bunch of facts and rules and problem types, sure, but for every one you master, you can pick up a few more points. You don’t have to be perfect to improve.
That said, if you DO want a top score in the English/Writing or in Math, it can take a looooong time to learn everything you need to get there. There are YEARS of knowledge from math and English classes past that you’d need to review and relearn—or possibly learn for the very first time!
Because there’s SO much content to cover for the English/Writing and Math sections of the ACT and SAT, these are the sections that you’ll likely want to have personalized to your specific needs. (In fact, Math and Grammar ARE the subjects that end up taking the most tutoring time when I work one-on-one with my students.) After all, if you already know how to do rates and proportions, shouldn’t you spend your time beefing up on your weak points, like plane geometry, instead? If you’re not focused and targeted with your studying approach, you can spend a ton of time in review books or Khan Academy and not see your scores go up by much.
Best way to prep for content-heavy SAT and ACT sections
Likewise, these are the sections of the test that it’s easiest to gloss over when you’re doing one-size-fits-all test prep. What I mean is this: most online test prep courses and large group programs tend to spend their time equally between all the sections of the test. This means they can’t possibly cover ALL math and ALL grammar found on the SAT and ACT—they just have time to teach the “top” facts and concepts that contribute the most points…which means that you, the student, never get to connect the dots and learn ALL the Grammar and ALL the Math and really understand how it all works! You get cheated out of the big picture of these vast subjects, which means it’s MUCH harder to remember all of the little details and facts that your top scores depend on.
So, although test prep in a group setting can have benefits in other cases, it is NOT the way to go if you need to learn Grammar or Math content for the SAT or ACT. I’m of course biased, but in this case the truth really is that only private tutoring with a very experienced teacher can bring you the depth AND personalization you need for an efficient study plan that doesn’t waste tons of your time…OR leave your particular weaknesses understudied. If you work with me, we can cover any and ALL of the content on the Writing/English and Math sections of each test that you need to learn. The built-in testing timeline management and accountability that you’ll also get from the deal are added bonuses!
If private tutoring isn’t in your budget, don’t despair: you can still get many of the benefits of working with me by reading my Cram Plans! These PDFs are all-killer-no-filler guides that teach you the content you need to ace Math on the SAT, Grammar on the SAT, Math on the ACT, and Grammar on the ACT. With these DIY guides in your pocket, don’t be surprised to see your scores soar!
Now here’s the flip side.
The Reading and Science sections of the SAT and ACT are all about test-taking STRATEGY.
With these sections, it’s about HOW you approach the passages, question types and section as a whole…and then practicing those strategies until they become instinctual. The Reading and Science sections of the ACT and the Reading section of the SAT are NOT about internalizing specific information or formulae or facts the way Grammar and Math are. There’s nothing you can really “study” or facts you can learn to nail them.
Instead, you must learn a “choreography” of sorts that has NOTHING to do with the English or Bio classes you took in school: what to read when, HOW to read, which question to answer when, and how to approach many different specific question types: Big Picture reading questions, Vocab-in-Context questions, SAT Evidence questions, ACT Fork questions, and “Except” questions, for instance. Doing things in the wrong order or answering a question type in the wrong way can drain you of valuable time or even get in your way of understanding the passage as a whole…which VERY MUCH affects your ability to even HAVE TIME to answer all the questions and to accurately answer them!
How to master SAT and ACT test-taking STRATEGY
Strategy sections—SAT Reading, ACT Reading, and ACT Science—can be a little all-or-nothing. Sometimes, my students will have to experiment with a few different strategies before finding the method that works for them. However, once they understand how to approach the Reading or Science section, they get it. Then it’s just about keeping it up and staying in practice. To get started right away on figuring out some strategies that work for you, check out the free blog posts I linked above on the various question types—those are building blocks of strategic approach.
Then, if those posts have whetted your strategy appetite, check out my online courses on these “strategy sections”: SAT Reading, ACT Reading, and ACT Science. These recorded video courses are fully self-directed, meaning you can proceed at any pace you want, and rewatch as many times as you want. I’ll walk you through every single strategy that you need to triumph in each of these sections.
Knowing which sections of the SAT and ACT are “content sections” and which are “strategy sections” will help you hone your test prep and get the best possible scores.
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Even if you opt not to hire a private tutor, I hope the resources I’ve listed in this post will help you determine how to target your approach. This information, in turn, is crucial as you sit down with your calendar and your college list to make your testing timeline. And if you DO want individualized professional expertise and peer support to hit your target score and open the doors of that dream school…you can reach out to me here to learn about my availability. I’m excited to work with you—let’s smash your goals together!
