Award-Winning SAT Tutors serving Reading

We began with the no calculator section of a practice test, and then we worked through the problems together one-by-one. We reviewed the definition of the arc length of a circle, the meaning of a function having no real zeroes, and how to combine exponents. We then worked through two reading passages together, breaking the passages into chunks, and analyzing the passage before working on the questions.

We checked over the student's homework from last time, which was to write an essay, fixing errors and learning from the mistakes. We reviewed concepts from last time: percentages, fractions, and decimals before moving on to checking problems from the math section, one question at a time. We especially went over the harder problems, such as solving patterns. We ended by doing a couple of the reading questions.

We completed three practice passages for the reading section of the SAT. We went over a couple of time-saving techniques, as well as techniques for answering certain types of reading questions. We set up an appointment for next week.

We concentrated on Reading Comprehension, especially questions asking to find evidence in the passage. We reviewed strategies for answering that question type. We did two passages together, and the student did two on her own, which we analyzed.

We continued covering the math section of the SAT. We talked about how to factor polynomials and how to use the quadratic equation. We also discussed how to simplify algebraic equations to solve for a single variable. We reviewed systems of equations as well. The student did a set of questions as a drill and scored below what he wanted, but he was also working without a calculator and dealing with material he wasn't confident about. I discussed how to better allocate his time on the Math section to optimize his score. I had him continue practicing plugging in answer choices for difficult algebra problems as well as plugging in integers for variables. I asked him to do a section of math questions from a practice test. I did my best to bolster his confidence and encourage him to keep reviewing his math concepts.

We continued going over the rest of the practice/diagnostic test. We also went over imaginary numbers. We spent the most time with imaginary numbers, weighted averages, defining variables, and percentages to decimals/tax rates.