SAT + ACT Dual Preparation (Reading + Verbal)

Language Skills Although the SAT is not a language test, its basic assumption is that all candidates have reached American students' language level in grades 10-11. SAT requires candidates to read articles of all genres and subjects, understand the text in the logic and rhetoric, interpret the implied information and emotions, and master the writing structure. Therefore, it takes time and effort for candidates to improve on reading for evidence rather than for meaning, and it’s a holistic skill set students should acquire.   Critical Thinking Skills SAT is challenging mainly because it requires two skills in thinking: depth and breadth. Depth means students should conduct in-depth analysis of each sentence, paragraph, and passage, as SAT questions are barely about the literal meaning in text, but about the analytical or inferential information. Meanwhile students should have experience of reading and writing in breadth, a variety of genres, to comprehend precisely.

Not necessarily. Practicing on tests will be helpful only when candidates have found their weakness and known the right method to improve, otherwise they simply repeat the same mistake even though the reading speed may be increased. Therefore, the key is to know how SAT questions are designed, learn the hidden language related rules, get instructed with the test-taking strategies, and then practice on tests.

It’s pivotal for students to learn grammar prior to SAT prep., as both native English speakers and international students do not have a solid foundation in grammar up to SAT requirement. To prepare for the SAT Language & Writing section, students need to be familiar with punctuation, word choice, conventional grammar, and writing structure. The specific grammar in the exam include:

• Noun, pronoun
• Preposition, phrase
• Adjective, adverb
• Tense
• Complex and compound sentence

PS: There are many other SAT grammar topics that students have never seen, even native speakers have never covered, so it is imperative to have good basic grammar. Kate has a remarkable book on SAT grammar. If you need it, please add "SAT Grammar Book" to Kate's application information.

Uses SAT: The test that American high school students must take to enter American universities. In recent years, many American universities set it test-optional. SSAT: American High School Entrance Examination for private high schools in the United States, Canada, and many other international top private schools. Content SAT: The SAT consists of three sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Language & Writing. SSAT: The test has four sections:  Verbal, Reading, Math, and Writing. The first three parts are scoring items. Although the writing part won't be scored, it will be sent with a copy of the official SSAT score to the school students apply for, so it is equally important. Score Settings SAT: Full score: 1600 SSAT: The full score for the middle level is 2130, upper level 2400 Vocabulary Question The SSAT has a separate Verbal section testing synonym and analogy, but the SAT doesn’t. In fact, many SAT candidates do not need to focus on vocabulary anymore if they have experience with SSAT, as the vocabulary required in SSAT is only 3000ish less than that in SAT. Also, there are vocabulary questions in the reading part of SAT and SSAT. This question often does not test the common meaning of the word itself, but examines the contextual meaning, which requires the examinee to know the strategy of doing the question very well. Reading Passage SSAT reading passages are usually short, but those on the SAT are about 3-5 times longer.  Both exams attach great importance to novels and historical and political essays. Exam Time SAT: The duration of the test is 3 hours 45 minutes (225 minutes). SSAT: 155 minutes