Sat math Essentials

Fill in Answer Ovals Carefully and
Completely
The Math sections of the SAT are scored by computer.
All the computer cares about is whether the correct
answer oval is filled in. So fill in your answer ovals
neatly! Make sure each oval is filled in completely and
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T E C H N I Q U E S A N D S T R AT E G I E S
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that there are no stray marks on the answer sheet. You
don’t want to lose any points because the computer
can’t understand which oval you filled in.
Mark Your Answer Sheet
Carefully
This may seem obvious, but you must be careful that
you fill in the correct answer oval on the answer sheet
for each question. Answer sheets can be confusing—so
many lines of ovals. So always double-check that you
are filling in the correct oval under the correct question
number. If you know the correct answer to question 12
but you fill it in under question 11 on the answer sheet,
it will be marked as incorrect! 
If You Have Time, Double-Check
Your Answers
If you finish a section early, use the extra time to
double-check your answers. It is common to make
careless errors on timed tests, so even if you think you
answered every question correctly, it won’t hurt to
check your answers again. You should also check your
answer sheet and make sure that you have filled in your
answers clearly and that you haven’t filled in more than
one oval for any question.
. . . A n d D o n ’ t F o r g e t t o
P r a c t i c e !
The strategies in this chapter will definitely help you on
the five-choice questions, but simply reading the strate-
gies is not enough. For maximum benefit, you must
practice, practice, and practice. So apply these strategies
to all the practice questions in this book. The more
comfortable you become in answering SAT questions
using these strategies, the better you will perform on
the test!