New SAT Math Workbook Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions

Chapter One: How to Prepare for the SAT If you're taking the new SAT for the first time, how the test has changed really should not concern you. But we'll show you the breakdown anyway, in case you're curious.Old Test, New TestThere are a few significant changes in the new SAT. First, the Verbal Exam has been renamed the Critical Reading Exam. The Analogies questions (newborn baby is to young as Madonna is to ---) have been eliminated and replaced with short reading passages.Second, a new component called the Writing Exam has been added. This section contains multiple-choice grammar questions and a 25-minute written essay.Third, the Math Exam has been expanded to cover three years of high school math. Instead of just covering concepts from geometry to algebra I, the new Math Exam will contain concepts from geometry, algebra I, and algebra II. In addition, those weird questions called QCs, where you had to compare two columns, have been eliminated.Finally, the scoring has changed. There are three sections now, so each section has to count. The 3 sections are each scored on a 200-800 point scale, boosting the top cumulative SAT score to 2400. So where on the old SAT you could get a perfect score of 1600, the new perfect score is a 2400.Format and TimeThe new SAT will be around 3 hours and 45 minutes long.The Math SectionThere are two kinds of questions on the Math section:Regular Mathquestions, which are straightforward multiple-choice questions, with five answer choices; andGrid-Ins,which require you to write your response in a little grid. Grid-ins test the same math concepts as Regular Math questions -- they're just a different kind of question.Math questions will be arranged in order of difficulty. The first few questions in a set will be fairly easy, the middle few questions a little harder, and the last few the most difficult. Keep this in mind as you work.The Critical Reading SectionThe Critical Reading section contains three types of questions:Sentence Completionquestions test your ability to see how the parts of a sentence relate to each other. They are basic fill-in-the-blank questions. About half the time you'll have to fill in one blank, and half the time you'll have to fill in two. Both types test vocabulary and reasoning skills.Sentence Completion questions will also be arranged in order of difficulty. The first few questions in a set will be fairly easy, the middle few questions a little harder, and the last few the most difficult. Keep this in mind as you work.Short Reading Comprehensionquestions test your ability to understand a short piece of writing. You are given a short passage of around 100 words, and are asked a couple of questions about the text.Long Reading Comprehensionquestions test your ability to understand a longer piece of writing. The passages here are a few paragraphs long,. You'll be asked about such things as the main idea, contextual references, and vocabulary. There will be several reading passages in total; of those, one will be a set of two related readings, which you'll be asked to compare and contrast.Reading Comprehension questions are not arranged in order of difficulty. The passages are all time-consuming to read, so you need to keep moving at a good pace. If you find yourself spending too much time on a Reading Comp question, skip it and come back to it later. The next question may be a lot easier.Most Reading Comprehension questions test how well you understand the passage, some make you draw conclusions, and some test your vocabulary.The Writing SectionThe new Writing section is broken into two parts: a written essay (that you write), and multiple-choice questions. Both sections are meant to test your grasp of grammar, usage, and vocabulary.The essay assignment will come first. In fact, it will likely be the very first sKaplan Educational Center Staff is the author of 'New SAT Math Workbook Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions', published 2004 under ISBN 9780743260343 and ISBN 0743260341.