BE PREPARED FOR THE S.A.T

This film "Be Prepared for the S.A.T." (1984?) features Jerry Bobrow, Ph.D. Dr. Bobrow wrote and produced the film with Peter Orton. Dr. Bobrow was an award-winning author and educator who wrote over 100 national top-selling books in the field of test preparation, and was founder and executive director of Bobrow Test Preparation Services, which assisted over 2 million people to prepare for tests such as the SAT, CBEST, LSAT, GRE, and CSET. He also wrote Cliffs Notes for these exams.

0:00 Dr. Jerry Bobrow introduces himself and his programs, which have helped over 300,000 students prepare for college entrance exams, and shares strategies for the SAT/PSAT. 1:05 Students preparing for the simulated SAT should bring sharpened #2 pencils, an admission ticket, photo ID, and ideally, a watch for pacing. 1:38 A key strategy for test-takers is to recognize they cannot answer all questions. Quickly assess problems: if impossible, mark with a minus sign and skip; if time-consuming, mark with a plus sign and return later. 3:03 Use the plus-minus system to prioritize: answer easy questions first, then tackle "plus" questions if time permits, and finally, "minus" questions. Remember to erase all marks from the answer sheet at the end. 3:40 This system helps maintain confidence, optimize time, and avoid getting stuck on difficult problems, unlike "Charlie Choker" who gets bogged down. 5:12 "Kathy Calm" demonstrates a better approach: she marks difficult problems (like antonyms) with a plus, moves on, and returns later. 5:59 Kathy uses three strategies for antonyms: identifying positive/negative connotations, breaking down words using prefixes/suffixes/roots, and using the correct guessing technique (only guess if one or more answer choices can be eliminated). 7:30 Summary of general tips: use the plus-minus technique, don't get stuck, guess only when eliminating choices, and mark out wrong answers. For antonyms: break up words and look for positive/negative connotations. 8:12 For analogies, understand the primary relationship between the key items, the order of the relationship, and then a secondary function if necessary, but prioritize the primary relationship. 9:49 For reading comprehension, "pre-read" the questions first . Don't reread difficult words; use context. The plus-minus system only works within each individual passage. 14:17 For sentence completion, read the sentence first without looking at choices and think of your own words. Then, look for synonyms among the choices. Also, identify "signal words" (like "but") that indicate contrasting ideas in two-blank questions. As a last resort, plug in answer choices one by one. 17:04 The quantitative ability section includes regular math and quantitative comparison. The same guessing strategies apply.
17:21 Avoid "Charlie Choker's" mistake of solving for the wrong variable. 19:12 Don't assume diagrams are drawn to scale unless stated; in geometry, the longest side is opposite the largest angle. All work must be done in the testing booklet, as scratch paper isn't allowed. 21:05 For word problems, scan answer choices to eliminate ridiculous options before calculating, as demonstrated by "Kathy Calm." 23:08 Summary of math ability tips 23:26 Quantitative comparison problems involve comparing quantities in Column A and Column B. The key is speed and shortcuts. 23:50 Avoid "Charlie Choker's" mistake 26:38 When comparing fractions, cross-multiply upwards; the larger fraction's side will have the larger product. 27:32 For quantitative comparison problems with unknowns/variables, plug in values like 0, 1, and -1. If different comparisons result, the answer is "D" (not enough information). If all values yield the same comparison, that's likely the answer. 29:15 If quantitative comparison problems contain only numbers (no variables), the answer cannot be "D." 29:39 Summary of quantitative comparison tips
30:19 Conclusion.