If you’re anything like me, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed with essay application and deadlines.  

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What got me through the new SAT format the past year was really acing the careless errors that I kept repeating across the past few years. 

By adopting the recommendations in this article, you can adjust your approach to the SAT Math Test, force themselves to slow down and focus, make fewer careless mistakes, and raise your score like I did.

Slow down

You need to get the easier questions right in order to maximize your score. If you know you sometimes fall victim to carelessness, it is a good idea to force yourself to take a little extra time on the questions you know how to do.

The wrong answer choices on the SAT Math Test often represent common mistakes – the kind of mistakes that are frequently made by students who are rushing or trying to cut corners. That’s one of the reasons those wrong choices look so right, and why they can be so easy to choose by mistake. Your best defense is to stop rushing and stop cutting corners.

Get out of your head – do your work on paper

Write down every step of algebra problems. Label diagrams. Draw your own pictures if it helps. There are two big drawbacks of using mental math on the SAT:

1) If you come up with an answer that isn’t in the choices, you have to start at the very beginning of your calculations to figure out what went wrong. This wastes valuable time.

2) Many of the wrong choices represent common errors in mental calculation. So, if you make a mistake, you are still likely to see the answer you came up with – and it’s wrong. These are the classic questions that you thought you got right…

If you write your work down, you drastically reduce the possibility that you will make a careless error.

TOP CALCULATOR TIP: Think it through first – On the calculator section, it helps some students to write down what they’re going to enter into the calculator before they actually start using the calculator. In this way, they ensure they don’t miss a step.

Circle key words in the question

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Sometimes students assume they know what the question is asking, and accidentally answer the wrong question. Circling key words can help with this.

Example: If the radius of a circle is tripled, what is the effect on the circle’s circumference?

(A) It is increased by 3

(B) it is increased by 9

(C) it is increased by a factor of 3

(D) it is increased by a factor of 9

TOP TIP: If you make a habit of circling key words in math questions (in this case, radius, tripled and circumference), you are more likely to take the time you need to ensure success.

TOP TIP: Test Values – A clever approach here would be to try plugging in values – imagine a circle with a radius of 1 – what is its circumference? 2π. Then triple it – what is the circumference of the circle now? 6π. What happened? It was multiplied by 3, which is the same thing as increasing by a factor of 3.

Underline the question that is being asked

Sometimes a question will ask for something that is a bit unexpected…

Example: If 10x + 6 = 206, what is the value of 5x + 3?

(A) 20

(B) 53

(C) 103

(D) 203

This question asks for the value of an expression, not the value of the variable itself. Just to make sure you don’t accidentally answer the wrong question, it can be helpful to underline the question: what is the value of 5x + 3?

When you underline or circle the part of the question that is what is being asked, you force your brain to downshift and focus.

And lastly… believe in yourself. Doing well in the SAT requires a level of persistence and long-term planning.

Nuha Ghouse

Nuha Gouse is the Co-founder of Tutopiya and is equipped with a first class honours Math degree from Imperial College, London. Her mission is to provide personalized individual lessons online where students from around the world can learn at their own pace and convenience.

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