SAT Math Quick Tip: Write While You Read

Long word problems on the SAT can be overwhelming. Don’t let them get you down! Take control of the test by writing while you read.

Most students first read the entire math problem, then go back to read it again and write down the material. This is how you are taught to do math in school, but it wastes valuable time on the SAT and forces your brain to hold a lot of information at once. Instead, the FIRST time you read an SAT Math problem, do the following:

• Start reading the problem from the beginning.
• When you hit a piece of punctuation (a comma or a period), stop.
• Write down what you just read. It might be a value or an equation.
• Then pick up your reading where you left off and read to the next piece of punctuation.
• Stop again and write what you read.
• Keep moving this way until you reach the end of the question.

Here’s a great example:

"The sum of two numbers is 440. If one of the numbers is 20 more than five times the other number, what is the smaller of the two numbers?"

Now, let's analyze this question using the write while you read strategy.

The sum of two numbers is 440 [stop].

Write what you just read: x + y = 440

[continue reading] If one of the numbers is 20 more than five times the other number, [stop]

Write what you just read: x = 20 +5y

[continue reading] what is the smaller of the two numbers?

Write what you just read: ? = smaller number

(Answer = 70)