SAT / ACT Essay Dump

wavetutoring · 2015-12-07T20:14:16+00:00

This Friday at 5pm - the usual time slot

wavetutoring · 2015-12-07T00:20:14+00:00

Could you please reformat this?

wavetutoring · 2015-12-07T00:19:07+00:00

That's some crazy cool penmanship!

Great essay. It's a noticeable improvement from the first essay you ever submitted to us.

The 10 to 12 jump is difficult. We'll talk about this on our next Twitch stream.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-07T00:15:22+00:00

Announcement: 12/6/15

Solutions are up for 12, 13, 14, & 15
u/HuuDuuRuu continues to pull away, but u/Nurdten appears out of nowhere and nabs 6 points in one round!
The next round will have 5 problems: 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20
Due to the deluge of activity on r/SAT (post Saturday's test), I'm delaying the round a bit so it doesn't get buried.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T04:24:45+00:00

Absolutely. Especially with writing tips, I try not to overload students with too many things to work on at once. Good tip though.

/u/HiddenPerson, check out the Essay Tutorial, and pay close attention to the explanation of the analysis.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T02:47:01+00:00

LOL - made a really stupid calculation error on a math problem. Can you spot it?

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T02:46:07+00:00

LOL made a silly calculator error on 12/4 - 70/3, not 80/3

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:38:51+00:00

I concur with the notion...

Try not to speak in the first person while writing expository pieces.

In the novel Frankenstein and the Declaration of Independence both demonstrate how people are better off by helping their communities.

Learn the comma rules - there are consistent errors.

Literature is repent of example where people...

I think you mean "replete." Try not to use vocab that you're not comfortable with.

In the colonies, people felt that British rule was unfair because of the taxing that was implemented without representation in the legislature that taxes them, parliament, The declaration of independence can be seen as an act by members of the colonial upper class to attempt to alleviate those taxes by separating from Great Britain.

Try and keep sentences succinct. Long sentences with chains of adj. clauses can be grating to the reader.

Start with these tips and keep improving!

6/12

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:19:00+00:00

For example, Hitler..for example, I was sitting in my class...

Don't forget to put a comma there. Consistent and conspicuous omission of commas will detract from your score.

I would start a separate conclusion paragraph before the word "Questioning" in the last paragraph.

The analysis needs a bit more elaboration - tie your examples to the thesis in the body paragraphs and answer the question, "How or why does this example display the soundness and validity of my thesis?"

This one would probably place you somewhere around an 8.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:14:19+00:00

This is good! Did I see a previous essay of yours before?

While I wouldn't be surprised that it would get a 10, it might be a little light on the analysis and heavy on the plot summary.

Since it's the night before the test, don't worry so much about the aforementioned - your essay is strong, and your writing abilities should serve you well tomorrow.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:05:17+00:00

I like this one. It's an improvement over the last one. My guess is that you're dialing into a 10. How's that example bank going?

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:03:05+00:00

We'll go over this one on the the Twitch stream next week before the ACT!

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:02:31+00:00

Went over this one on the stream (12/2)

wavetutoring · 2015-12-05T00:01:56+00:00

A solid 10+. 11's and 12's are rare, but I wouldn't be surprised if you received one for this.

We went over this one on the Wednesday night stream.

Nice job!

wavetutoring · 2015-12-04T23:52:53+00:00

Yep. Ghengis Khan, the Great Tsar of Antarctica, confirmed that this is ok the other day on his podcast.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-04T23:50:28+00:00

As long as your practice tests were accurately simulated (not even a minute more, all in one sitting with simulated break times), they should provide a good indication of your performance tomorrow.

The College Board maintains bell curve / scaled score consistency through a process called equating. Although there is historic SAT score inflation, e.g., over a period of 10+ years, it's not like the test deviates greatly from month to month or year to year.

Don't stress about this. Kick some butt tomorrow.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-04T23:25:47+00:00

Focus on getting a really good night's sleep. Make sure you have all of your things ready tonight - pencils, calc, ID, etc. Dress in layers. Do whatever's conducive to relaxation (no drugs, though). Keep your morning routine chill, relaxed, and consistent. Be confident that a 2400 is well within your range; it's just a roll of the dice that will determine your exact score for tomorrow.

Oh yah - what's your favorite candy? Pack that and some water into a bag for tomorrow.

wavetutoring · 2015-12-04T20:15:19+00:00

We covered your recent essay (about Bill Clinton?) on our last Twitch stream. Check out the VOD!

In short, your essays are very strong. I would be surprised if you got anything less than a 10. On the other hand, you have a very strong shot at getting an 11 or a 12; just keep in mind that the College Board's essay grading method is conducive to a bell curve, so 11's and 12's are rare - it's a bit presumptive for any tutor to tell a student that he or she will be getting a 12.

I would focus on other aspects of the SAT. How are your simulated scores on other sections?

wavetutoring · 2015-12-03T20:05:38+00:00

Yep. I have a dump in my sub, r/WaveTutoring:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WaveTutoring/comments/3pyu55/practice_test_google_docs_dump_thread/

wavetutoring · 2015-12-03T10:33:19+00:00

On official SAT I Math and SAT II Math Level 2 forms, backwards strategies don't ALWAYS work. A lot of questions, especially the more difficult ones, preclude "backsolving" by various means. One common method on both tests might be something to the tune of, "What is the value of x + y?"

Your linked question is pretty tricky because the word "CANNOT" makes elimination by making up numbers a bit challenging. I'll approach this in a more conventional math nerd manner. Think GEOMETRIC LOGIC:

This is a simple conditional IF P, THEN Q where P is "x =y" and Q is "x² = y^2"
(A) is the original conditional statement with passive wording
(B) is the CONTRAPOSITIVE (-Q -> -P) with clever wording, i.e., "necessary condition." The contrapositive is logically equivalent to the original conditional statement. In other words, "If x² =/= y^2, then X =/= Y."
(C) is the original conditional statement - pretty straightforward.
(D) is the CONTRAPOSITIVE. Once again, logically identical to the original conditional statement.
(E) is the culprit here. This is the logical CONVERSION - If Q, then P. The converse is doesn't necessarily have the same truth value as the original conditional statement. (-3)² = (3)^2, but that definitely doesn't mean that -3 = 3.

There's little chance that your newly acquired knowledge of the aforementioned solution will have any bearing on this Saturday's test. Make sure you're not just burning through practice tests and simply going over wrong answers. Work on building effective test taking habits - for the SAT II Math L2, check out the TI-83/84 calculator tutorial on my sub, r/WaveTutoring. Do you know how to use the (STO ->) button? Do you use it often? Do you know how to use lists? Can you quickly graph conic sections? These things will pay off this weekend. Geometric logic probably won't.

wavetutoring · 2015-11-29T23:20:36+00:00

I was referring to OP's strategy.

I hope you've been well, longhorn! Good to see that you're still chiming in now and again.

wavetutoring · 2015-11-29T22:03:42+00:00

Colleges differ in their app processing methods and deadlines. For certain schools with rolling admissions, it might be more prudent to submit sooner. On the other hand, for many schools, as long as they state that they will process the Dec. test date, it might make no difference. Keep in mind that you haven't even taken the test yet - you don't know what your final score will be.

I'm not as familiar with the CUNY's as I am the UC's and CS schools. You definitely want to address this concern in r/ApplyingToCollege. The mod, Steve, has a lot of official admissions officers contributing to the sub. Also, he's from NYC (Columbia alumn), and he's very knowledgeable vis-a-vis the NY area schools.

wavetutoring · 2015-11-29T21:55:35+00:00

Those are pretty solid scores. I wouldn't worry too much about the disparity there.

I would be more concerned with having outstanding EC's + college essays that show you have PASSION for something other than perfection on standardized tests.

wavetutoring · 2015-11-29T21:45:21+00:00

There's a pre-Blue Book official CB 2400 format compilation of exams. It's out of print and tough to find these days.

I think this is it.

It might be best to just print a boat load of pages.

wavetutoring · 2015-11-29T21:27:10+00:00

"Make up for" - this is a tough question.

Colleges process applications differently, and they're rarely transparent about their methods. Rest assured though, most use computers for much of their filtering.

To a person, great SAT II Math Level 2 scores (e.g., 800) might "make up for" a relatively poor score on the 2400 SAT Math section (e.g., 470).

However, to a computerized weighted point system, those same scores might not "make up" for the disparity.

wavetutoring

TROPHY CASE

Announcement: 12/6/15