Transcript-Based Comprehensive Study Notes

Required Study Time by Score

• Start: 800 End: 1000 Total Time: 10-30 hours

  • Focus: Reading comprehension, vocab, general practice

• Start: 1000 End: 1150 Total Time: 10-30 hours

  • Focus: Reading comprehension, vocab, general practice

• Start: 1150 End: 1300 Total Time: 20-40 hours

  • Frequency: 1 every 2 weeks

  • Focus: Reading comprehension, vocab, focused practice on weak topics

• Start: 1300 End: 1400 Total Time: 25-50 hours

  • Frequency: 1/week

  • Focus: Reading comprehension, vocab, 2 topics

• Start: 1400 End: 1500 Total Time: 30-60 hours

  • Frequency: 1/week

  • Focus: Speed/timed drills, mistake log review (pattern-searching)

• Start: 1500 End: 1550 Total Time: 25-80 hours

  • Note: A lot, REVIEW THEM

  • Focus: Mistake log review (pattern-searching), self-explanation, precision under time

• Start: 1550+ End: (final) Total Time: (open-ended)

  • Question: "Is the fight for the final 20 pts worth it?" A lot, REVIEW THEM

  • Focus: Efficiency, optimization, introspection, self-explanation, teach your tutor

General Exam Tips

• Recommended approach for solving each problem (in order):

  • Read the question first

  • Read the passage next

• Passage reading strategies (to ease reading):

  • Do not skim excessively; do not reread deeply; aim for balance

  • Use one of these tricks to form a mental image of the passage:

  • Method 1: Paraphrase mentally; boil down to bare essentials and restate the passage as 1-2 short sentences

  • Method 2: Imagine a 30-second conversation with someone; summarize essentials only

  • Method 3: While reading, create a mental bullet list/roadmap of main ideas

  • Answer the question mentally before looking at answer choices:

  • Generate ideas of what might be right

  • Hypothesize the correct answer as if you were writing the question

  • Then look at answer choices and solve with your mental picture as reference

• Elimination technique (instead of finding the right answer, rule out incorrect ones):

  • Each wrong choice has at least 1 incorrect detail

  • Form a mental image of the correct answer before viewing options

  • Be wary of broad generalizations or statements; use precise language (e.g., avoid overstatements like "always" or "never"); cross-text connections often feature such overstatements

• EXPLICIT vs IMPLICIT information

  • Explicit: directly stated in the passage

  • Implicit: inferred; may not be certain

  • On exams, answer should rely on explicitly stated information from the passage

• Essential Details to track (in brief):

  • Your current score

  • Your goal score

  • Current study plan and resources used

  • Your weaknesses/strengths

  • How long you have to study each day

  • Score breakdown from the most recent practice exam

  • Date of next exam

  • Remaining bluebook exams

Essential Details

• 1) Your current score

• 2) Goal score

• 3) Current study approach and resources used; any plan in place

• 4) Self-identified weaknesses/strengths

• 5) Daily study time availability

• 6) Score breakdown from most recent practice exam

• 7) Date of next exam

• 8) Number of bluebook exams remaining/uncompleted

Study FAQs

• When to reach out for guidance:

  • Always available; aim to check in regularly, at least a couple times per week

  • You can send screenshots of tough problems or questions anytime; heavy message load may delay responses

  • If not improving on a topic after sufficient practice and recommended resources, contact for walkthroughs

• How many topics to practice per day:

  • Pick 2-4 topics per day

• How long to spend on each topic:

  • (Details provided in the full guide) (see sections on interleaving and breaks)

• Interleaving and practice flow:

  • Do not focus on a single subtopic/problem format for more than ~30 minutes straight

  • Mix up multiple types of questions; spend 20-25 minutes per topic, then switch to another until cycling back

  • Review mistakes immediately after making them; take short breaks during switches (Pomodoro technique)

• Order of learning/practice:

  • Problem-solving first, then watch related videos for help if stuck; or follow a preferred order

• Daily study duration:

  • Varies by current score, target score, and available time; higher current scores require more time for similar gains

  • If time is tight, aim for at least 1 hour of solid problem practice + daily vocabulary and reading practice

• When to review mistakes:

  • Review mistakes immediately during casual practice; after mock exams, wait at least one day

• Reading problem review process:

  • Revisit problem; recall feelings and thought process; identify where you went wrong

  • Explain the problem back to someone (or to the tutor) and justify why the correct answer is correct

  • Identify 1-2 additional reasons for the mistake beyond prior reasons (e.g., false assumptions, misreadings, subtle misunderstandings)

  • Consider why the correct answer is better than your choice; apply this to each missed problem

  • Use this process for each missed problem to inform future prep

SSR/Standard Study Routine (Assuming score < 1400)

1) Daily reading: 15-20 minutes; highlight/take notes on tough vocabulary; learn definitions; summarize 1-2 main ideas/points; recommended resources include:

• Brookings.edu, aeon.co, The New York Times, Scientific American, National Geographic
  2) Vocabulary practice: select 4-8 words from reading results (supplement with Crackd vocab bank if needed); vocab words of the day; review 3-4 times daily for 5-10 minutes; spaced repetition

• Use speaking/writing to embed memory; verify definitions in context afterward
  3) Math focus before reading:

• If math score < 650: start with Khan Academy; foundational units if <= 550; otherwise intermediate units

• If math score > 650: practice with Crackd resources; watch explanatory videos for struggled topics

• Preferred practice flow: start with problems; review concepts via videos if stuck after 50-60 seconds; skim remainder of the video for missed concepts
  4) Reading focus: similar process as math; if reading score < 550: Khan Academy; else Crackd; use Crackd videos even if solving problems on Khan/ Crackd
  5) End-of-day vocab review: generate questions, write sentences, use words in conversation
  6) Mock exam: take one mock exam two weeks after starting the plan to track progress

SSR Summarized

1) Read for 15-20 minutes; review vocabulary and main ideas; note 4-8 tough vocab words
2) If <4 vocab words, add from Crackd vocab bank
3) Throughout the day: memorize vocabulary in 5-minute sessions, 3-4x/day; incorporate spaced repetition
4) Do 60-120 minutes of math work, broken into 30-minute chunks if preferred
5) Use remaining time for reading practice; use Khan Academy problems and Crackd videos as needed
6) End-of-day: write sentences using vocab words to reinforce meaning; contact tutor with questions if needed

ASR I / Advanced Study Routine I (Score ≥ 1400; approaching 1500)

• As score approaches 1500, mock exams become more important. If you consistently miss certain question types or have few gaps in score breakdowns, proceed to ASR II; otherwise continue here

• 1) If vocabulary is an issue, begin the day with 25-30 minutes of difficult, vernacular reading; consider research papers (non-technical) on topics of interest; suggested sources include general reading materials

• 2) If vocabulary remains an issue, continue vocabulary review as in SSR

• 3) For both math and reading, focus on reducing time to solve each question via:

  • Timed drills: choose a topic; estimate time per question; create a 5-10 question set; set timer based on estimate; multiply the timer by ~0.8-0.9 to increase difficulty; start; aim to struggle to complete within this window

  • Speed drills: same topic; 5-10 questions; estimate time to complete the set on the exam; execute as fast as possible; avoid stopping

  • Metric: after practice, consider accuracy, total exam time, time to complete all problems; aim for a ratio metric around 1.2 (see below)

• 4) If you’re reviewing vocab, continue daily vocab end-of-day practice as in SSR

• 5) End-of-day: maintain a running log of progress and questions

• 6) Desmos integration: ensure you can use Desmos effectively for math problems; learn to work with pen and paper as well

• 7) Reading practice in ASR I: refined in live exam environment; continue speed/timed drills or full reading modules; seek help for tough reading problems

ASR II / Advanced Study Routine II

• Congratulations on reaching the ~1500 tier; this stage emphasizes optimization and self-reflection rather than new material learning

• 1) Tip #7 (critical for 1550+): enthusiasm and ownership; you should teach new things to demonstrate mastery; tie ego to excellence; push to master the test and prove you know your stuff

• 2) Accuracy is NOT the goal; efficiency is: pre-label questions as easy or hard; prioritize accordingly; ruthlessly manage time; determine within ~10 seconds whether a question is worth pursuing

• 3) Do speed/timed drills to speed up thought processes and reduce solving time; even light pressure helps

• 4) Create an actual system with checkpoints/check-ins to monitor progress

• 5) Identify internal processes slowing you down; narrate your thought process and record patterns to identify stumbling blocks

• 6) Ensure reading speed is efficient; avoid getting stuck on passages; focus on answering time

• 7) Achieving a 1600 requires deep self-reflection; math and reading require different strategies

• Math specifics:

  • Practice problem-heavy drills; ensure mastery of Desmos; ability to solve problems with and without Desmos; maintain a mistake log; articulate reasoning for mistakes when possible

• Reading specifics:

  • Refine in real exam environment; prefer timed drills or full reading modules; thorough review with tutor help

ASR I / ASR II Summarized

• This section is currently under construction; content blocks summarize the approach, focusing on efficiency, self-reflection, and advanced strategies

Tips & Tricks by Topic

Craft and Structure - Words in Context

• Use word roots to deduce meanings; word roots are provided in the Resources

• Use positive/negative cues in surrounding text to select contextual meaning

• If stuck between two options, choose the less certain word; most blanks fit perfectly with the available options

Craft and Structure - Cross-Text-Connections

• Look for general agreement or disagreement between authors

• Determine whether authors agree, disagree, or agree with caveats

• Identify common topics across texts and how topics are portrayed (positive/negative, neutral or biased tone)

Craft and Structure - Text Structure & Purpose

• (Content summarized from the page set; focus on how text structure informs purpose and meaning)

Information and Ideas - Command of Evidence

• (Content summarized from the page set; focus on evidence alignment and inference checks)

Information and Ideas - Inferences

• (Content summarized from the page set; focus on drawing reasonable inferences from passages)

Information and Ideas - Central Ideas and Details

• (Content summarized from the page set; focus on identifying central ideas and supporting details)

Standard English Conventions

Form, Structure, and Sense

• There are two kinds of problems in this section; each is treated separately

  • Topic questions: focus on modifiers/verbs linked to the blank; ensure the topic matches the blank (e.g., blank as a story should align with a literary form like movie/play/novel rather than a person or place)

  • Verb form questions: look for nouns and modifiers of the sentence containing the blank; ensure subject-verb agreement and plurality/collective noun usage according to the topic

Boundaries

• (Content summarized from the page set; focuses on boundaries and limits in usage and structure)

Expression of Ideas

Rhetorical Synthesis

• (Content summarized from the page set; synthesize multiple sources coherently)

Transitions

• (Content summarized from the page set; use of transitions to connect ideas smoothly)

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis

• Ratios, Rates, Proportions, and Units

• You MUST know dimensional analysis for this topic; review the related video if stuck

Resources

• Severin's Study Guide Blog Post

• Speed Drill Performance Metric Calculator

• Practice Problems / College Board SAT Suite Question Bank

• Purdue OWL Grammar Guide

• Desmos Guide

• Formula Sheet

• Word Roots

• Crackd Modules: English Rules, Vocab, Mock Exam, Study Plan

Question Generation Prompts

• Prompts that have helped generate SAT-accurate problems

• Topics include: Math - Reading - Reading - 24

Videos

• The only SAT Math DESMOS Guide you’ll ever need

• Digital SAT Tips and Tricks That ACTUALLY WORK in 2024

• Digital SAT Math - Desmos Lesson #1

• Solve any Equation!

Additional Notes on the Math/Reading Time Metric (from ASR II material)

• A suggested metric for pacing practice involves comparing accuracy with the total allotted time and the time to complete problems; target is a ratio approaching 1.2 for optimal efficiency (where 1.2 corresponds to fast, accurate performance). The exact calculation shown in the material is:

  • Find your accuracy: ext{accuracy} = \frac{ ext{number of correct problems}}{ ext{number of total problems}}

  • Find the total allotted time (in seconds): T_{ ext{total}}

  • Find your time to complete all problems: T_{ ext{solve}}

  • Compute the efficiency metric: \text{efficiency} = \frac{\text{accuracy} \times T{ ext{total}}}{T{ ext{solve}}}

  • A target value near 1.2 is ideal; 1.0+ is great; 0.8+ needs improvement

• A Desmos calculator link for this metric is mentioned in Resources

Summary of Key Practical Guidelines

• Start each study block with a reading or vocabulary focus, followed by targeted math or reading practice

• Use spaced repetition for vocabulary; incorporate speaking/writing to reinforce memory

• Practice problem sets under timed constraints; use the 0.8–0.9 multiplier to push pace during timed drills

• Maintain a mistake log for both math and reading; articulate reasons for mistakes and identify patterns

• Regularly review difficult reading questions in exam-like conditions; seek tutor support for tough problems

• Build an efficient, self-reflective routine that scales with score goals and progressively reduces time per problem while maintaining accuracy

• Leverage the recommended external resources for reading, vocabulary, grammar, and math practice, and combine them with in-guide strategies for maximum effect

End of notes