Diamond Bar High School - Taurus Yearbook (Diamond Bar, CA)

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■N DEPTH By Linda Bundy and Susan Healy The Taurus Guide tc a Higher SAT Scere §0 you ' re going to be a senior next year and are beginning to decide to which college you want to go? use? Stanford? Harvard? Mt. SAC? Well, one of the things you ' ll have to do is take (and score well on) the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Oh, you want a scholarship, too? Then you ' d better start preparing in order to get a score of 1 100 or better. Although many experts argue that you can ' t coach aptitude, one popular method of studying for SAT is Barron ' s How to Prepare for the SAT. The book gives helpful hints to test-taking and strategy, sample questions along with solutions, and a list of 3,000 vocabulary words that are commonly found on the SAT. For those who want extra instruction, Mt. SAC offers a class which helps stu- dents prepare for the SAT. Four hours are spent on each consecutive Saturday going through SAT questions and strategies ac- cording to the Barron ' s guide. The first two hours are spent on the English part of the exam as the instructor explains the types of questions that might come up and demon- strates the processes for solving the prob- lems. The second two hours are spent on math problems from basic math to geome- try. This class has been estimated to im- prove scores as much as 100 points. Also available is a computer program that gives answers and explains SAT ques- tions. Use of this program has been proven to improve scores from 30 to 70 points and more. Disks are available that feature vocabulary, reading comprehension, or mathematical problems. Math problems are given, answered and explained, and then the student is given the opportunity to repeat the same type of question or go on to another. There are some basic strategies of which the perspective college-bound student should be aware in order to score well on the test. Keep a quick pace, work briskly and go A AVAILABLE AT BOOKSTORES. Barron ' s How to Prepare forthe SAT helps students to study for the test. Also, classes were held at Mt. SAC based on the book. back to any difficult questions. If there is extra time, doing the harder problems at the end will allow you to think more clearly. Read the question carefully. The SAT not only tests verbal and mathematical skills but also the test taker ' s ability to fol- low directions. Don ' t read what you ex- pect to read into a question. The SAT is separated into two parts: verbal and mathematical. The verbal sec- tion of the examination is designed to test the student ' s ability to recognize word rela- tionships. This is done through a series of four different tests: antonym, analogy, sen- tence completion, and reading comprehen- sion. There are many special tactics that may be used when taking each of these test in order to score higher. Antonym Questions Remember: . . . your knowledge of etymologies can help you guess the meanings of unfamiliar words. . . . answers should be as abstract or ex- treme as the given word. ... if the given word sounds negative, choose and answer with apositive connota- tion. Analogy Questions Remember: . . . put the given words into a sentence that identifies their relationship. Your choice should fit into the same sentence. . . . know the common relationships such as synonyms, antonyms, worker and tool used, cause and effect, time sequence, fe- male and male, person and what he tries to avoid, and worker and product. Sentence Completion Questions Remember: . . . look for words of contrast, definition, or explanation in the sentence that will clue you in on the missing word. . . . read the sentence and put in your own words without looking at the choices. Then merely look for synonyms to your own words among the choices. Reading Comprehension Remember: . . . always look for the main idea of the passage. ... to identify the conclusion, look for words such as therefore, consequently, and hence . Important details will often be signalled by such words as for instance, for example, in particular, and espe- cially. The second part of the test consits of a variety of mathematical problems. Before taking the SAT, the student should review arithmetic, algebraic, and geometric con- cepts. Mathematical Questions Remember: . . . round off and estimate whenever possi- ble. . . . many problems have short cuts that require little effort and save a lot of time. . . . always check your answer by putting in the variable. . . . questions without an unknown are nev- er answered by cannot be determined from the information given. ,. .-. SAT Feature 59

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' ' c SKmI A STUDYING ENGLISH helps juniors Kari Simon and Krysteil Montgomerv accumulate knowledge for the SAT. Most teachers believed that reading was the best way to build up a good vocabulary. ► HAVING EXTRA TIME in class, junior Dana Stone starts her trigonometry homework. The Scholastic Apti- tude Test tested mathematical ability from basic math through geometry. IN DEPTH is an annual feature of the Tau- rus designed to provide students with useful information. I ' ? 58 Feature SAT

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60 Group Rates Division Page