The SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published 978-0615780849 Edition

If you are really serious about Passing the SAT with a 2000 or higher, this is the book.A summary of what you are getting:Confidence, because it takes away all the uncertainties from the SAT;Strategies, knowing exactly how to approach the questions;Knowledge related to the type of questions and their patterns.Confidence:The Math Tool Box for example reviews every single subject that might appear in the Test. The author explains every concept clearly. Besides he goes through a whole section using not only the concepts in the tool box, he also picks the "most difficult questions" in the Math Section from the Blue Book.StrategiesIn the Essay Section, the strategies are spelled out clearly. For example, he recommends that one takes a position for or against the Thesis spelled out in the question. Then you divide the Essay in five sections...when you buy the book you will see for yourself.Knowledge related to the types of questions and their patterns.Anybody who knows Music will tell you, chords and theories are made from patterns (think of the Cycle of Fifth for example). Michael does the same thing in the Black Book. In the Reading Section for example, he demonstrates how the right answer is always in the body of the text.As a trained teacher and a CPA, I live in Toronto, Canada, I bought the Black Book and the Blue Book from the College Board in order to train my daughter for the PSAT and the SAT. Being hands on, I read and applied all the instructions from the Black Book as a test drive before passing the knowledge to my daughter, the Black Book works like a charm. Using previous Tests from the Blue Book, my daughter consistently pulled between 2100-2300 in practice.In Summary, this book is worth its weight in Gold. I don't know whether there are better books on the market because this was the only book I bought and will NOT buy any additional book for the SAT. People might feel or think some instructions are repetitive, the reason is simple: The author wants to drill the principles into our head, making such principles a second habit. I highly recommend the Black Book

This book is an excellent study guide for the SAT in conjunction with the Official SAT Study Guide (released by the CollegeBoard). I read it from cover to cover, worked through the examples that referred to the Official Study Guide, and did a ton of practice tests from the Official Study Guide using the strategies from this book. I got a perfect 2400 on my first sitting. However, before reading this book, I was already scoring quite high (230 on my PSAT, which is approximately equivalent to a 2300 on the SAT), and I was in AP Calculus at the time I took the test, so I already had a solid math background. To be clear, although I was scoring high already, I don't think I could have managed the perfect score if I had not used some of the advice in this book, and definitely not in my first sitting, simply because the book suggests methods/strategies by which to study/practice as well as approach the test that are more effective than the methods I would have used otherwise.However, as I believe someone has already mentioned, I disagree with the book's recommendation not to study vocabulary. Some vocabulary is actually common between the official practice tests and the actual SAT test, and otherwise you can improve your vocabulary through flashcards and SAT vocab lists. Also, you can't just strategize your way through the math section, you do actually need to know the topics that are tested (thankfully they're not too difficult).Overall, excellent book. Keep in mind that you can't use most of it if you don't have the Official SAT Study Guide (the fat blue book) as well, but buying both books together is an *excellent* investment. This book is highly recommended! Good luck in your studying endeavors!

After reading this book I understand why most students fail or succeed on the SAT. The author, Mike Barrett, demystifies the test by explaining what standardized means and how we can benefit from it. The most important thing I learned is that the skills required for the SAT are completely different from those used in the high school classroom. Teachers in english classes love inventive interpretation while the SAT relies on details. Basically the entire test is one of critical reading. If you lack this skill, you will not do well on the test no matter how many vocabulary words you memorize, which, by the way, Mr. Barrett thinks is a poor method of preparation (read the book to learn why).How to study is just as important as what to study. The Black Book lays out a realistic plan for both. Mr. Barrett uses real test questions and provides a detailed analysis for answers-both right and wrong. Mr. Barrett walks you through the solutions and helps the student understand the process. It is essential to know why it is right as well as why the wrong one is wrong.After reading the section on Passage Based Reading I completed several pages of questions from the official SAT blue book (the only book to use for test questions). The strategy worked. Once I felt comfortable with the method I presented it to a student in desperate need of help to qualify for a college scholarship. We started to use the Black Book method and a lightbulb went off in his head. He now understands where and why he had difficulty and how he can improve those areas. This gift of understanding has improved his confidence so he now sees a way to win.Thank you to Mike Barrett who truly wants to see students do well and achieve success on this high stakes test.