common Pitfalls to avoid and Basic Strategies that will help you get a higher SSAT score.
– All Questions are NOT equal
The questions on the SSAT generally get tougher towards the end of a section.(Only in the Math and Sentence Completion section)
Though all questions have equal marks, you can easily spend double the time or more on a tough question.
It is best to answer the easy questions first and come back to the tough ones later.
– The obvious answer is the Wrong Answer
There is a catch here. While the obvious answer is indeed the Correct one in the beginning of a section, towards the end, the obvious answer (the one you can guess without spending much time on), is likely to be the wrong one, so be careful.
– Guess if you can eliminate at least ONE answer
Do NOT become emotionally involved with any question. Even if you think the
questions is outrageously difficult or outright incorrect. Just try to eliminate at least one answer, guess and move on.
– Know that time can be your biggest enemy
Certain questions by their very nature take more time to answer. The first step to better time management is to recognize these questions.
While doing your practice tests, try to become more aware of how much time you have taken to answer a question. You will soon begin to develop an Internal Clock that will help you meet the pacing requirements of the SSAT and reduce test anxiety.
– Compare & Discard
This is immensely useful for the Critical Reading section of the SSAT Exam. While there may be a ‘Perfect’ answer to a question, it may not appear as one of the options.
What you need to do is compare the different answer choices and choose the best one available. In fact you can usually zero down on two choices and discard the ones that are distinctly different from these two.
– Use Short cuts Only when necessary
As I have explained in detail in my book ‘Ways of the SSAT Winners’, it is
extremely important to be aware of all the possible shortcuts that are available to you.
– Analyze your Strengths & Weaknesses and create a study plan unique to
these.
The important thing here is to stick to your study plan.
– PLAN YOUR ESSAY
Take three to five minutes to think before you write. Pick a direction and stick to it,Write for 20 to 25 minutes-and say something meaningful & coherent Use your last few minutes to proofread your work. Also, be sure to write neatly. If the essay scorers can’t read your essay, they can’t score it,
Graders have just a few minutes to score each essay. Make their job easy. Indent your paragraphs deeply and follow established essay-writing procedures. Set up your theme in an introductory paragraph. Include a couple of paragraphs withexamples that back up your position. Finally, wrap up with a conclusion. Also, Villanova suggests, “use plenty of college-appropriate ‘wow’ words-even when short,easy words will do.”
– Managing Test Anxiety
More than anything else, the SSAT is an test of your nerves. There are hundreds of brilliant students who score MUCH lower in the SSAT than they do in their practicetests. It is important to manage your test anxiety. You can try using techniques like’Thought Stopping’, ‘Self-Talk’ and ‘Visualization.
I have detailed out these and other advanced strategies for getting a score of 2200+ in the ebook Ways of the SSAT Winners.
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