How to get a Perfect Score on SAT Writing

Grammar is something that you need to know on a grammar test. You must know what rules are tested and how they work. The following grammar rules are tested on the SAT:

1. Subject-Verb Agreement
2. Pronouns
3. Modifiers
4. Possessives
5. Tenses
6. Parallelism
7. Punctuations
8. Idioms
9. Diction or Word choice

But, knowing the topics is one thing and knowing the test is another.

Here is the rearranged list according to the importance on the SAT:

1. Punctuations
2. Subject-Verb Agreement
3. Parallelism
4. Idioms
5. Modifiers
6. Possessives
7. Tenses
8. Pronouns
9. Diction or Word choice

Now, you know what rules to spend more time with. For example, Punctuations is tested 4 times more often than any other rule and uses only a few fixed rules. Whereas, Idioms are not as common but you have to learn many different phrases to excel at this concept. So, create a grammar study plan for yourself now.

Strategy 3:

Understand the effective ways of language

The SAT also tests you on creating logical and persuasive sentences. This is the other important set of questions, other than grammar. You will generally find that these sentences are not technically incorrect, but there is a better way to work around them. These questions ask you to do one of the following:

1. Can a new sentence be added at this point of the passage?
2. Which of the following is the best way to combine the two underlined sentences?
3. Which of the following is the best transition?
4. To make the paragraph more logical, what should be done?
5. How can you make the sentences precise?
6. Which of the following words works best with the tone of the passage?
7. How do you improve your skills at these questions? Practice! Practice!

Our portal has hundreds of questions to help you improve your skills on these questions.

Strategy 4:

Justify all your answers

When you work on any question, make sure that you can justify your answer choices. Do not pick an answer choice over the other because it “feels better” or “sounds better.”

For example: 

The sentence “The books at this store are better than the other stores.” sounds correct to most but the correct sentence is “The books at this store are better than the books at the other stores.”

So, when you pick an answer on the SAT, justify your answer. Check for all the grammar rules you have learnt and then decide which is the best answer.

Strategy 5:

Look for patterns in your errors

You worked on a full length writing test to identify the strengths and weaknesses. Now, is the time to start working on improving these. Each of the question types requires a different strategy to get to the correct answer. So, most probably, you are good at some of them and not as good at some others. And also, you are running against the time as, most probably, your test is in a few weeks. So, you need to find your best areas of improvement and have a plan to improve on them. Keep in mind, that you don’t need to cover your boat entirely with a new base but you just have to fill those holes to make it work. So, keep an eye for the pattern in your errors. This pattern will help you identify the skills that you need to work. 
 

Strategy 6:

The NO CHANGE trap

Be careful about the “NO CHANGE” answer. Most students feel that this must not be the correct answer as they feel that the SAT would not ask if it were to be kept the same. Typically, answer choice (A) NO CHANGE is correct around 25% of the time. 

Strategy 7:

Check your answers

Try to complete the writing section before time so that you have time to check your answers. If you notice yourself spending more than 30 seconds on a problem and aren't clear how you'll get to the answer, skip and go to the next question. Even though you need a perfect raw score for a perfect score, don't be afraid to skip. You can come back to it later, but for now it's more important to get as many points as possible.

Just as with the rest of the test, prepping for SAT Writing will take time and is the key to performing well. 

Happy Prepping!!