Stephen Tarsitano - Crush the SAT with Growth Mindset: A Complete Program to Overcome Challenges, Unleash Potential and Achieve Higher Test Scores

Text copyright 2018 Paul Koontz and Stephen Tarsitano. Design and concept copyright 2018 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

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Ulysses Press

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www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-850-4

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Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Shayna Keyles

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This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, the College Board, SAT, and any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The authors and publishers encourage readers to patronize the quality brands mentioned in this book.

SAT is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

To all of our former students,

who showed us that there is no limit to what a person can achieve.

Table of Contents

Contents

Education is not the learning of facts, but training the mind to think.

Albert Einstein

Successful people come from all different backgrounds and attain success in all different ways. While their journeys and skill sets might be different, though, they all share one common denominator: growth mindset. Growth mindset is the secret ingredient to success of any kind. It is the belief that through hard work, perseverance, and learning from failures, we can grow our abilities, IQ, and talents.

While working with countless teenagers over the past 13 years, we have learned that your potential can be reached only by taking control of your thoughts and feelings, and by adopting the correct mindset. To attain higher test scores, you must first believe you can attain them. Mindset matters, and once you convince yourself of what is possible, learning our unique and proven strategies will make success on the SAT inevitable.

Crush the SAT with Growth Mindset delivers these educational principles, practices, and mindset trainings in a simple, easy-to-follow program. At the core of this book are the steps to shift your mindset from fixed to growth. Having a growth mindset will transform the way you learn and unlock your true potential. Its our mission to not only prepare you for the SAT so that you earn your dream score, but also change the way you view your own intelligence and abilities.

As you progress through this text, you will undergo great changes that will help you become a more confident, resilient, and intelligent person. Simply by reading and practicing the SAT concepts and mindset training throughout the book, you will build positive habits and adopt the mental outlook necessary for success in all aspects of life.

This book was written so that any student can benefit from it. This is not just for the A+ students, nor is it only for the below-average students. Crush the SAT with Growth Mindset is for everyone. If you have fallen behind because you didnt do well in math or English or didnt learn the basic skills in those classes, do not worry. This book will fill in the gaps and rebuild your foundations in both math and English.

This book is structured in such a way that each chapter builds upon the previous chapter. With this format, all students will get the scaffolding they need to develop or affirm their confidence in their SAT ability. Each strategy provided in this book is simple enough for you to use without ever having seen the SAT. As you use them with more frequency and learn how they relate to each other, you will develop new layers of skill that help you exponentially accelerate your growth as a test taker.

In sum, for those who are willing to begin this journey, this book will transform you into a great test taker, capable of accomplishing any goal you set your mind to. Success on the SAT, or any other standardized test, isnt as hard as it seems. Any student can score high on the SAT.

Crush the SAT with Growth Mindset is structured around three different components. These components are integral to your eventual success on the test, and each chapter will feature each of the three components.

The first component is growth mindset and its transformative power in all aspects of test taking and the SAT. As you work through the book, we will teach you how to develop the correct mindset for success through re-visioning, stress-relieving exercises, visualization, goal setting, and mindfulness training.

The second component is strategy. We will show you how simple SAT prep can be by arming you with our unique, proven strategies for conquering both the English and math sections of the test.

The third component is regular, tiered practice, which will build your confidence, perseverance, and testing stamina, while also rewiring your brain to become accustomed to welcoming challenge.

This structure will allow you to practice incrementally. Youll learn about a mindset strategy, develop skills, see examples, and practice regularly to keep building on what youve learned. Think of your practice as a snowball gaining size and momentum as it rolls down a mountain.

Although it might seem a bit intimidating right now, over the course of this book, you will learn strategies for conquering both the SAT questions that lay ahead and the mental anxiety that tends to accompany them. The SAT consists of two English, two math, and one optional essay section. The test takes approximately 3 hours, or 4 if you tackle the essay. Below, weve laid out the order and structure of the SAT. Take note of the duration of each section, when it appears, and the important considerations for each category.

Time: 65 minutes

Number of questions: 52

Section structure: Reading passages with accompanying questions that test critical reading ability.

Things to consider: This section is not divided up into separate parts, so you must complete it all in one sitting. Building reading stamina and concentration through practice is key.

Time: 35 minutes

Number of questions: 44

Section structure: Passages with accompanying grammar- or expression-based questions that require you to correct the underlined portion.

Things to consider: This section tests you on both grammar and content (how the author expresses ideas).

Time: 25 minutes

Number of questions: 20

Section structure: This section contains 15 multiple-choice questions followed by five grid-in questions.

Things to consider: Do not worry about not being able to use a calculator, as these questions will not require one. You may be asked to complete some arithmetic, so make sure to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing without a calculator. Questions in this section may be about Heart of Algebra, Passport to Advanced Math, or Additional Topics, including geometry.