Gruber's SAT 2400: Inside Strategies to Outsmart the Toughest Questions and Achieve the Top Score

338 Pages·2009·9.95 MB·English

by  Gary Gruber

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GET THE TOP SCORE ON THE SAT “GARYGRUBER
MORE THAN 7 MILLION GRUBER BOOKS SOLD!
ISTHELEADING
EXPERTON
THESAT”
—HOUSTONCHRONICLE
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING:
GRUBER’S
“GaryGruberisthemostprominentguruof SATpreparation.”—ChicagoTribune
“His methods make the questions seem amazingly simple to solve.”—LibraryJournal G
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WHAT STUDENTS, PARENTS, AND EDUCATORS ARE SAYING:
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“TheworkthatGaryGruberdoesshouldbegiventoeverystudentandeveryteacher.”
—Dr.ShirleyThornton,formerDeputySuperintendent,CaliforniaStateDepartmentof Education B SSAATT
“I’ve gone through almost all the SAT books I can get ahold of, and so far the best is the Gruber’s SAT book. E **
I wish I could have found it earlier.”—Online review
R “GARY GRUBER
“Withtheaidofyourbooks,myscoresimprovedsodramaticallythatIamnowanticipating ISTHEMOST
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acceptanceintoschoolsthatIwasreluctanttoevenapplyto.”—LaurenFrasciello,Princeton,NewJersey S PROMINENT
GURUOFSAT
“In regards to the breadth and quality of material offered, the difference betweenGruber’sand other publications
PREPARATION”
is quite astonishing. Indeed, onlyGruber’sdeserves the highest recommendation in SAT preparation.”—Online review SS
—CHICAGOTRIBUNE
THE STRATEGIES YOU NEED TO GET THE PERFECT SCORE 22440000
AA
To achieve a perfect score—a 2400—on the SAT, you have to understand what skill each question is
testing:You have to know how to think about what type of question it is and the easiest,most efficient
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way to reach the answer.Dr.Gary Gruber’s exclusive strategies will teach you how to do exactly that as
well as give you unique methods for handling the toughest questions.
**
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FROM THE EXPERT IN ALL THINGS SAT
For more than thirty years, Dr. Gary Gruber has been the leading authority on testing and test
44
preparation—his Gruber Method has helped thousands of students develop critical thinking skills,
dramaticallyboostingtheirscoresonstandardizedtests.Gruber’sSAT2400isfocusedspecificallyonthe
strategies you’ll need to breeze through the hardest questions on all three sections of the SAT, get your 00
best score,and set you apart from the competition. Advanced Strategies for the Perfect Score
00
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO STUDY TO GET THE TOP SCORE If you’re a top student aiming to achieve the perfect SAT score,
•Math Skills,Shortcuts,and Strategies •How toAnswer the Hardest Questions here are the inside tips and powerful strategies you’ll need to
•Important Tips forWriting a Perfect Essay •Critical Reading Strategies and Grammar Review
beat the toughest questions and get into the best college!
•Practice Tests for Each Section of the SAT •ExtensiveVocabulary Builder
(cid:1) 20 Math Strategies That Will Help You Solve Every Problem Quickly
Gary R.Gruber,PhD, is nationally
(cid:1)
The 291 Vocabulary Words You Must Know
recognizedastheleadingexpertonthe StudyAids/TestPrep $16.95U.S.
SAT, test-taking methods, and critical ISBN-13:978-1-4022-1442-4 $18.99CAN (cid:1) 5 Things You Can Do to Write a Top-Scoring Essay
£9.99UK ADVANCED
www.sourcebooks.com ISBN-10:1-4022-1442-1
thinking skills. His books on test STRATEGIES (cid:1) The Hardest Actual SAT Questions and the Best Strategies for Answering Them
taking and critical thinking skills have www.sourcebookscollege.com AN FOR THE (cid:1)
E Practice Tests with Explanatory Answers That Pinpoint Exactly What You Need
sold more than seven million copies.
PERFECT
Visitwww.drgarygruber.com. to Study to Score a 700 or Higher on All Three Sections
SCORE
* G R. G , P D
®SATisaregisteredtrademarkof theCollegeEntranceExaminationBoard,whichwasnotinvolvedinthe ARY RUBER H
productionof,anddoesnotendorse,thisbook.
Advanced Strategies for the Perfect Score
Gary R. Gruber, PhD
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Copyright © 2009 by Gary R. Gruber
Cover and internal design © 2009 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writ-
ing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should
be sought.—From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American
Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trade-
marks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with
any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567–4410
(630) 961–3900
Fax: [phone]
www.sourcebooks.com
Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the publisher.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
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Recent and Forthcoming Study
Aids from Dr. Gary Gruber
Include
Gruber’s Essential Guide to Test Taking: Grades 3– 5
Gruber’s Essential Guide to Test Taking: Grades 6–9
Gruber’s Complete SAT Guide 2009 (12th Edition)
Gruber’s Complete SAT Math Workbook
Gruber’s Complete SAT Reading Workbook
Gruber’s Complete SAT Writing Workbook
www.sourcebooks.com
www.drgarygruber.com
Grubers_SAT_2400.indd 3 11/7/08 5:26:23 PM
Grubers_SAT_2400.indd 4 11/7/08 5:26:23 PM
DeDIcAtIon
To the memory of my parents Edward and Martha, who gave me the interest, encouragement,
and support for my lifelong mission of helping students realize their potential, achieve the
highest level, and excel in their careers.
To my treasured wife Raquel, who continues that support and encouragement.
To my son Ian, who has great insight into SAT preparation and is a terrific SAT teacher and
collaborator.
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contentS
Acknowledgments ix
Important Note about This Book and Its Author xi
A Personal Note from the Author xiii
Format of the SAT xv
Introduction xvii
Important Facts about the SAT / xvii What Are Critical Thinking Skills? / xxix
The Inside Track on How SAT Questions Multi-Level Approaches to the Solution of
Are Developed and How They Vary from Problems / xxxi
Test to Test / xxvii
General Test-Taking Strategies 1
Critical Reading Strategies 7
Vocabulary Strategies / 7 Reading Comprehension Strategies / 27
Sentence Completion Strategies / 21 Practice Exercises / 41
Math Prep, Shortcuts, and Strategies 60
Math Prep / 60 Regular Math Strategies / 77
Explanatory Answers with Shortcuts, The Grid-Type Math Questions / 114
Strategies, and General Math Review / 64
About Calculators / 119
Math Practice Exercises 120
Regular Math / 120 Answers to Regular Math Questions /
131
Grid Questions / 128
Answers to Grid Questions / 139
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The SAT Writing Test 143
The SAT Writing Section / 144 A Brief Review of English Grammar / 166
Content of the Writing Test / 145 Grammar / 177
The Essay on the SAT Writing Test / 146 Improving Paragraphs: Revision-in-Context
and Passage with Questions / 186
The SAT Scoring Guide / 149
Sample Test with Answers / 188
Important Tips on How to Write the Best
Essay / 154
The Hardest Actual SAT Questions and Their Top
Strategic Solutions 191
Math / 191 Writing / 197
Sentence Completions / 196
The Shortest SAT Test—16 Questions to Approximate
Your SAT Score and the Exact Strategies You Need to
Improve Your Score 199
Verbal (Critical Reading) / 200 Writing / 203
Math / 202 Answers / 204
SAT Practice Test 206
Answer Sheet for Practice Test / 207 Explanatory Answers for Practice Test /
271
SAT Practice Test / 213
What You Must Do Now to Raise Your
Answer Keys / 260
SAT Score / 300
Scoring the SAT Practice Test / 263
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AcknowleDGmentS
To Todd Stocke for starting the ball rolling with Sourcebooks and me, to Dominique Raccah
for her enormous vision, insight, and continued support in creating the SAT series, to Peter
Lynch for the numerous and very helpful dialogues and for the development of the series and
other books, to Heather Moore for her innovation and highly creative promotional efforts, to
Erin Nevius for her outstanding help and expertise in production, to Melanie Thompson for
her creativity in the school arena, to Tom Galvin for his sales expertise and follow-through,
and to all others at Sourcebooks who were instrumental in making the SAT series and my
other test preparation books successful.
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