Blogs on ACT/SAT

To understand how to write a good and impressive college essay, you first need to understand what a college essay is. A college essay is a 650-word (or less) long essay that Admissions Officers need to evaluate if you are a good fit for their college. It is not an essay on a social problem or your opinion about the current crisis plaguing the world. It is an essay about yourself. But mind you that you don’t merely have to list down your achievements and your interests; you have to put your personality on the page.  Dr. Aimee Weinstein’s Writing Impressive College Essays: Includes Strategies and Essays That Really Work is an extremely useful and convenient guide to learning how to write good main essays and supplemental essays. The book’s conversational tone and step-by-step teaching process make it stand out from the plethora of guidebooks already available in the market. The tips included in this blog are part of this book. In this blog, we will only be discussing the main essay and the prompts that are provided on the Common App. Below is a list of prompts provided on the Common App for 2022-23. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. Notice that all these essays ask you to either share an interesting story, a topic that captivates you, an accomplishment or failure, or a realization that dawned upon you. They are always about you and your learnings and passions in life.    Expert tips to craft an impressive college essay Dig deeper to find your story Your college essay should provide a glimpse into your life for the Admissions officers. You can choose any prompt from the ones listed above but you first need to understand what the prompt is actually asking you to write. If you are choosing the second prompt, you need to ask yourself — “What is a major challenge that I faced and overcame?” “How did I overcome it?” “What did I learn from it?” Remember, it does not suffice to just write down the challenge because that is not what the Admissions officers want to read. They want to know how you overcame the obstacle and moved ahead.  You can find many such brainstorming questions in Writing Impressive College Essays which has a separate chapter entirely dedicated to it.   Always show, don’t tell : Example #1 : The tires of our bus blew winds of dry mud in the air. I distinctly remember two women walking barefoot in the scorching heat when we couldn’t even step down from our air-conditioned bus.  Example #2 : Our bus entered the rural village where we saw women and children roaming in the heat.  Which example is more effective? Which one paints a distinct picture of the scenario?  The first example is an ideal ‘show, don’t tell’ piece of writing where dry winds and walking barefoot in the scorching heat pop out and create a vivid picture.  Use adjectives and illustrate your story instead of stating things as a matter of fact like in Example #2.   Fill your page, then edit The 650-words limit is a cramped space to put forth your thoughts and story. Instead of writing the essay in the word limit, you can keep writing it until you’re done. Then, you can edit it and remove the unnecessary details and keep only the important ones.  Write your rough draft in a Word or Google doc and make the necessary edits there. After you have trimmed it to the specified word limit, copy and paste it into the box given on the website. You can also use tools like Grammarly to check and correct grammatical errors.    Read samples Sample essays are a great learning resource to compare your own essay with and learn the show-don’t-tell skill. Comparing your essay does not mean that someone else’s essay may be better than yours; everyone’s story is unique and therefore, cannot be compared. But sample essays will help you in comparing whether your essay is attention-grabbing and whether it conveys your true intentions. You can find eleven complete and original essays in Writing Impressive College Essays. These essays are written by Dr. Weinstein’s students who have got admission into prestigious colleges. Read a sample essay from the Writing Impressive College Essays book here. A Story About a Religious “Home” Effort, Gratification, Compassion As dawn breaks, I pull open a heavy, wooden door and walk down the stone floor of a dim hallway. The sound of steel and glass clinking together on a wobbling cart rolling through each hallway is one of the only sounds in a calm, quiet church. Another thick door swings open, and a bright light instantly illuminates a small kitchen. An assortment of bread is sorted onto a beautiful, shining silver dish and grape juice is squeezed into tiny clear glasses the size of one’s palm. I fill the stone goblets with more grape juice and I place a giant bread loaf onto another illustrious plate. These items crowd the cart as it wobbles into a massive, bright sanctuary filled with the angelic voices of the choir. I carefully assort this army of dishes and plates onto a table. I step back down the stoned floor and look up at the stained glass with Jesus looking down onto the table, feeling like I have accomplished something. Communion is ready for serving. Since first grade, I have done this bimonthly.  Preparing communion is not the only activity I have participated in at church. The congregation took notice of my effort, work and involvement. Two years ago they appointed me to be the youth elder on the Session, the church’s governing board. Serving as youth elder is an honor for me because I am serving the congregation. Adrenaline rushes into me every time I walk into the monthly meetings because I feel obligated to speak up for those in the congregation who are unable to be heard and strive to make the church a better place. For example, improving church safety and making plans to prevent mass shootings are things I consistently advocate for even when unease fills the room at the mention of the topics. As the only student present on Session, being around adults is something I learn from and enjoy. Persevering, working hard and being compassionate to others are things they taught me. Persistently advocating for issues during Session meetings, working hard to fix them and being positive have contributed to my maturity due to those interactions.  These experiences at church have prepared me for life outside of it as well. I am known for having a calm, kind and empathetic personality. Many people have come to me for help or advice, something that is a privilege because not everyone gains that level of trust. I remember sitting in a small group with a school counselor in a cozy, small room when someone shared a rough experience at home. I calmly spoke to her about it and tried to give her advice about what to do. For a while I remember the student consistently thanking me, because the advice I gave eased her situation. I am glad I impacted someone’s life in that way.  Church is where I feel at home. Few things are more relaxing than preparing communion, which taught me how to pay attention to detail and to be thorough. Being on the Session made me a self starter with a great work ethic. I plan to continue to employ this work ethic and I intend to bring the same positive attitude, sincerity and effort in the future and in whatever capacity I serve my community, so that I make a good impact.  Also read: ACT vs SAT: Which test should you take? Digital SAT - All You Need To Know About It All Questions Answered About The Digital SAT®

Want to score a perfect 800 on the SAT Reading & Writing section? The SAT Reading & Writing section can be one of the most challenging parts of the test, as it tests critical reading, grammar, and reasoning skills to determine if you're college-ready. But here’s the good news: scoring well—even a perfect 800—is absolutely achievable! If you find yourself struggling to infer information from a passage, feeling lost among the countless grammar rules, or having trouble identifying the main idea, you’re not alone. In this blog, we’ll guide you through some proven strategies and tips to help you boost your SAT Reading & Writing score and move closer to that perfect 800.. But first, let’s understand some basics of the Reading and Writing section.   Question Types on the Digital SAT Reading + Writing Section:     The passages in the SAT Reading & Writing section are concise compared to the predecessor paper-and-pencil test, thanks to the discrete format of questions. The skills on which the students are tested have also undergone changes as the Digital SAT is more concerned with evaluating the reasoning and analytical abilities of students. The Reading & Writing section tests students in four domains: Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions. But you don’t need to remember or focus on any of this information. What you do need to acquaint yourself with is the question types asked under each domain because you will be preparing to solve these questions. Information and Ideas: In this domain, the questions are based on the central idea of the passage given. This domain is further divided into three areas in which you will be tested.  Central Ideas and Details: This question type is divided into two types: Central Idea questions and Details questions. Central Idea questions will ask you to identify the main idea of a text, that is simply, what is the passage’s main topic. The main idea can be determined by choosing an option that summarizes the text most optimally. Details questions will ask you to identify a fact about a certain detail in the passage. Command of Evidence (Textual and Quantitative): Command of Evidence (Textual) questions will provide a (mostly) science-based passage and the question might ask you to choose an option that supports or refutes the claim or conclusion made in the passage. Quantitative questions will provide a graph/quantitative data in a table and a passage accompanying it. Here, you may have to choose an option to complete the last sentence of the passage or select a statement that supports or undermines the claim or conclusion made in the passage with the help of the given data. These questions test your ability to interpret data or textual evidence to answer questions. Inferences: Inference passages will present an experiment or facts about some phenomenon and the questions will ask you to choose the option that best concludes the passage. The conclusion should be the most plausible one supported by the facts from the passage. Craft and Structure: Craft and Structure questions test your ability to answer in-context questions, analyze the structure of a passage, and make reasonable connections between two texts. These questions are all about understanding the information in the passage and using your English language skills to answer questions. This domain asks questions from three areas: Words in Context: Words in Context questions are asked in two ways: one is where you will have to fill in a blank with the most appropriate choice and the second is where you will have to choose a word from the options that is most similar in meaning to an underlined word in the passage based on the context of the passage. Text Structure and Purpose: You will either be asked to select the main purpose of the text, select a choice that best describes the structure of the text, or state the function of an underlined text in a passage. Do not get confused between main idea questions and purpose questions. Purpose questions ask you the purpose or “why” a passage is written while main idea questions ask the main topic of the text. Recognizing the function of an underlined text means recognizing what role that sentence plays in the passage and structure questions need you to recognize how information in the passage is arranged. Cross-Text Connections: You will be given two texts – Text 1 and Text 2 – that discuss a similar topic. You will then be asked questions on the response of the author of Text 2 to the arguments/information provided in Text 1. Expression of Ideas: For questions in the domain, you will use your revision skills to improve the effectiveness of a written text or passage. This domain tests two skills: Rhetorical Synthesis: Rhetorical Synthesis questions test your synthesizing skills i.e. how well you pick and combine information to answer a specific question. You will be given some notes taken by a student on a particular topic and will need to answer a question synthesizing information from the notes. Transitions: Transitions questions require you to insert the most appropriate transition word that connects two sentences or phrases. Standard English Conventions: These questions will test your grammatical and editing skills. You will mainly play around with sentence structure, usage, and punctuation. The questions test the following areas: Boundaries: For Boundaries questions, you have to fill a blank with the most appropriate answer choice with the correct punctuation. Form, structure, and sense: Here, you will encounter several types of questions that test your sentence construction skills. Some areas that these questions test are plurals and possessives, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb forms, and subject-modifier placement. Now that you have a basic idea of what you are going to encounter in the questions, let’s dive into some tips that will help you solve the SAT Reading & Writing questions easily.   Digital SAT Reading + Writing Tips:   1. Learn to identify the context and the main theme in a passage: Almost all questions on the Digital SAT are based on context. Even questions that require you to choose the correct punctuation mark require context. Therefore, practice recognizing the context and the main theme in all texts that you read. The main theme is usually the subject that is being discussed and you can easily identify it. Look for the subject that is being described, criticized, or expanded upon. For example, read this passage picked from Jane Austen’s novel, Sense and Sensibility. Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught. This passage describes Elinor’s qualities of coolness of judgment, her affectionate nature from a young age, and her maturity which led her to advise her mother on household matters. Thus, it can be said that the main theme of the passage is to expand upon Elinor’s maturity at a young age. 2. Recognize the question stems to answer questions quickly: SAT Reading & Writing questions have a pattern of question stems that they follow. For example, for Central Ideas and Details questions, the question stem is usually “What is the main idea of the text?” or “Which choice best states the main idea of the text?” Studying and learning to recognize question stems can help you avoid confusion between similar types of questions. Questions for Text Structure and Purpose questions ask questions like “Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?” which can be confusing at times as you may think it is asking for the central idea of the passage. 3. Work on your vocabulary: Though SAT tests your analytical and reasoning abilities, it also requires you to have a working knowledge of the English language. You need to have a strong vocabulary to answer the Reading & Writing questions. You can improve your vocabulary by reading books on diverse topics, articles, science journals, blogs, etc. Though reading fictional novels is a good way to enhance your vocabulary, reading nonfiction pieces will also greatly help you crack the SAT. How and why you ask? Because the Digital SAT does not only focus on literature; it includes passages from a variety of domains like science, history, social studies, etc. So, cultivate a habit of reading informative blogs, statistical reports, historical pieces, etc, to exercise your reasoning and analytical abilities. 4. Brush up on your grammar rules: Apart from working on developing a good vocabulary, brush up on your basic grammar rules. This does not mean that you learn intricate grammatical rules that can even confuse a good writer. You just need to revisit and be thorough on your school lessons on different parts of speech, tenses, verb forms, punctuation, sentence structures, etc. Knowing basic grammar rules will help you to quickly answer questions related to grammar and structure as you will recognize the correct option at a glance. 5. Avoid choices that include extreme words: To trick the student, SAT uses extreme words in the options that might not be used in the passage. For example, a passage mentions that there is a traffic jam on the National Highway most of the time in a week while an option could say something like: The National Highway is always packed with traffic. The use of an extreme word like “always” suggests that the highway is filled with traffic all the time while the passage only mentions that there is a traffic jam on the highway “most of the time” but not “always”. Find tips like these in Vibrant’s newly launched book, Digital SAT Supreme Guide which is a complete guide for SAT test takers. It includes detailed concept explanations, strategies and tips to solve questions, drill questions to practice, and two full-length tests. 6. Beware of transition words: Many times, to confuse the reader, a passage may start with a particular view but in between, the author proposes an opposing view to the idea by using transition words like “on the contrary”, “however”, “on the other hand”. This change in the passage often goes unnoticed and the reader might confuse the main theme of the passage with the one expressing the initial view. To answer most of the SAT questions, you need to actively think and look for clues that indicate what the passage is pointing at. 7. Don’t assume: A common error that students commit while solving SAT Reading & Writing questions is that they forget that they won’t require any outside information to answer questions. An answer choice may seem possible but look closer to check if it includes facts given in the passage. If not, eliminate that choice. 8. Practice, practice, practice: All these tips are not useful if you don’t put them into practice. Getting a lot of practice trains your brain to spot the correct answer faster. Vibrant Publishers’ Digital SAT Resources are a whole package that will give you more than enough practice by exposing you to a variety of questions that are exactly like the actual SAT. Our resources have a bank of 2000+ questions on Reading & Writing and Math that will help you reach the perfect score and get into the college of your choice. Find a broad range of practice questions on the different domains and question types in the Digital SAT Reading and Writing Practice Questions book.  Practice using a pool of 300+ math questions from the Digital SAT Math Practice Questions book.  Attempt five full-length practice tests in the modular format from the Practice Tests For The Digital SAT book.   Join our WhatsApp group to get access to free practice questions daily        Also read - All Questions Answered About The Digital SAT® Check out the Digital SAT Crash Course.

This digital SAT blog answers all the questions about the digital SAT scores, format, registration details, test dates, time limit, question types and much more. If you’re reading this blog, it is likely that you have a ton of questions about the digital SAT® and are looking for accurate answers. Worry not; you have come to the right place. After reading this blog, all your doubts about the digital SAT will be cleared and you will have a better understanding of the new test. This blog answers about the following: Difference between the paper SAT and digital SAT Digital SAT new format Is the Digital SAT adaptive? Test Time limit Digital SAT scoring Types of questions asked in the Reading and Writing section Types of questions asked in the Math section Official practice resources available for the digital SAT Additional resources available for digital SAT practice Essay section: Included or not? Can Digital SAT be taken at home? Breaks in the digital exam Exam Dates How to register for the digital SAT Registration fee for the digital SAT   What are the major differences between the paper and digital SAT? Apart from the most important change of the test going digital, there are significant changes and differences in administering the test too. An on-screen calculator will be provided for the Math section. An on-screen timer will be provided so that you can keep track of your time. You will be able to flag your unattempted questions and can come back to them later. But note that you cannot go back to the previous module. You will receive your SAT scores faster. You can use your own device for the test or request one from the College Board. The test will be conducted 7 times a year.   What is the new format of the digital SAT? The new digital SAT will be divided into two sections: Reading and Writing and Math.  These sections will be further divided into two modules. The Reading and Writing section will have 54 questions out of which 4 will be pretest questions and the Math section will have 44 questions including 4 pretest questions. The new test will be Multi-stage Adaptive.   What is Multi-stage Adaptive Testing in SAT? In the paper-and-pencil SAT, questions were preset regardless of a student’s performance. The difficulty level of questions was also preset so students didn’t get a fair testing experience. That is why, in the digital test, the College Board has introduced the Multi-stage Adaptive Testing model. In this model, sections are divided into two modules, and questions in the second module are modified according to the performance of the student in the first module.   What is the time limit for the digital SAT? The new test is shorter compared to the paper test. The paper test is 3 hours and 45 minutes long which is difficult for most students to sit for. Thanks to the shift to the digital mode, the digital SAT will be only 2 hours and 14 minutes long. You will be given 64 minutes for the Reading and Writing section and 70 minutes to solve the Math section.   How will the new SAT be scored? The scoring parameters will be the same for the new test. You will be scored on a scale between 400-1600. The main difference in the scoring process is that now you will receive your scores faster. Previously it took months to get your SAT scores, but now, you will get them in a matter of weeks.     What kind of questions will be asked in the Reading and Writing section of the digital SAT? The passages have become much shorter in the new test with a word limit of 150 words. They will cover various topics like prose fiction, poetry, drama, literary nonfiction, history, social studies, humanities, science, etc. The questions in this section will be based on four content domains - Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions. This means that you will be tested on your ability to identify the key idea of the passage, choose the most suitable answer choice for a passage, interpret the purpose and main idea of a passage or poem, etc. What kind of questions will be asked in the digital SAT Math section? The Math section will now have more questions on geometry and trigonometry and will incorporate real-world problems. The questions will be shorter with the majority of them being fewer than 50 words. You will mainly be asked questions on four domains of math - Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry. In this section, you will be asked to solve algebraic equations, interpret the data in graphs and figures, analyze problems, etc.   Are there any official practice resources available for the digital SAT? How do I prepare for the digital SAT? The College Board has provided sample questions for the Reading and Writing and Math sections. Khan Academy provides detailed lessons on each type of question with interactive videos. To get hands-on experience with the test, the College Board also provides 4 practice tests in their Bluebook software. These tests are non-adaptive but will give you a gist of the digital testing experience.   Are there any additional resources for practicing for the digital SAT? The official resources may not be sufficient to prepare for the test. To appear for the test, you need to practice and practice some more. Vibrant has a collection of 1100 SAT practice questions through which you can get better at answering questions and score higher. The questions are compiled into 3 books that will be launched in March 2023.     Book 1: The book, Digital SAT Reading and Writing Practice Questions is a compilation of 300 practice questions with detailed answer explanations for each question. Book 2: Practice Tests For The Digital SAT is a set of 5 practice tests that are curated to give you a true experience of the test and make you well-versed with its format and question types. Book 3: Digital SAT Math Practice Questions comprises 300 math practice questions along with detailed answer explanations and distractor explanations. These practice questions, though not in the digital format, are a great way for you to practice and get well-versed with all types of questions that will be asked in the test.   Will the digital SAT have an essay? No, the digital SAT will not have an essay. The SAT essay was scrapped from the linear test in 2021 and will not be a part of the digital test.   Can you take the digital SAT at home? The digital SAT will not be allowed to be taken from home. The test will be administered in a testing center with a proctor only. You can find out SAT test centers in your country by clicking here.  If you can’t find an official SAT test center near you, the College Board also has a customer service number for assistance.   Will there be any breaks in the digital SAT? You will get a 10-minute break between the Reading and Writing and Math sections. You will only have one break in between the test as the duration of the test has become shorter significantly. In the paper SAT, students got 3 breaks between the test.    When can I take the digital SAT? International students can appear for the SAT from 2023. Below are the dates released by the College Board for students appearing for it in 2023.     How to register for the digital SAT? Go to www.collegeboard.org and sign in to your account. If you don’t have an account, create one. Click on the ‘Register Now’ option for the SAT and fill in your details. Choose your test center and test date. Upload your photograph. Pay the registration fee and you’re done!   What is the registration fee for the digital SAT? The registration fee for U.S. students is $60. For non-US residents, a regional fee of $49 is levied so they have to pay $109 in total. If you are taking the SAT in India, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, etc, you will have to pay the regional fee.   Conclusion Remember that SAT is not necessarily a test of your vocabulary or mathematical aptitude; it’s rather a test of your problem-solving and comprehension skills. So focus on getting a deeper and more thorough understanding of the question types. As with any change, preparing for the digital SAT will be a little chaotic in the beginning but  by solving the practice questions for the digital SAT, you will be well-prepared to ace the exam. Stay tuned to our blogs to get the most relevant and latest information and resources about the digital SAT. Join our WhatsApp group to get access to free practice questions daily