sat writing practice book

Each test contains real questions given to actual students on previous administrations of the SAT. Without a doubt, the quality of official questions is far better than that of questions written by unofficial sources such as Kaplan or Barron's.

Even better, all official SAT practice tests are free ! You can download the tests as PDFs from the College Board website or our complete guide to official SAT practice tests . Make sure to print them out to get the realistic on-paper testing experience.

• They're the best set of SAT practice tests you can get anywhere, period . If you want to take a full-length practice test, these are absolutely the ones you should use first.
• Each test is completely free to access and download.
• Ten full-length practice tests mean a decent amount of studying . If each test takes about four hours to take and two hours to review, that's a solid 60 hours of study time.
• Answers and answer explanations are available for all questions.
• Most students will find that the answer explanations aren't that helpful for self-learning. Many explanations read like this: "A is wrong because A is wrong. B is correct for these reasons." In other words, they don't show you how to solve the question from step one. If you don't know key strategies such as how to approach reading passages or how to plug in numbers for math problems , you'll need a different resource to teach you.
• The tests don't offer any other instructional material . If you're bad at algebra, you can't rely on this resource alone. These tests are just that—practice tests and practice questions. Nothing else!
• With only 10 practice tests available, there's not enough practice material for more motivated students or those seeking a large score improvement . You'll want to have one test to get used to the format and figure out your current score level, three to track your progress, one to take right before the actual test, and a couple to keep as backups. Unfortunately, you'll need more practice questions to drill with than you can get from the leftover tests to get really good at the SAT (which is why our prep program has the equivalent of four more practice tests to help you improve your skills).
• You have to print out the PDFs yourself to be able to work through them on paper . But in my opinion, this is better than having to buy the tests as hard copies (more on this later).
• Taking practice tests without a system for learning SAT content isn't going to improve your score, and the tests don't provide any guidance on how to do this . Remember, mastering the SAT is as much about strategy as it is about content!

SAT Prep Black Book, Second Edition

The Black Book by Mike and Patrick Barrett is the only other critical book I recommend for SAT prep. Unfortunately, the book itself isn't sufficient, and even with the practice tests above you'll likely need supplemental help (as I explain below).

What it does have, though, is so good that I believe every student studying with SAT prep books should read it .

What you'll get from the Black Book is essentially a way to think about the SAT. But what does this mean exactly? Here are a few examples:

• You'll learn that the SAT is designed to be a predictable, standardized test . It needs to test basic concepts so that it can be administered nationwide to all students, but it also needs to be difficult, so it often distorts questions in a weird way.
• It explains how every answer on the SAT must be unambiguously correct , or else test takers would complain that their incorrect answers are correct. Therefore, your main strategy should be to rule out all incorrect answer choices—this is especially important on SAT Reading .

The concepts in this book were things I understood intuitively back when I took the SAT and was studying for a perfect score . This resource influenced the way I think about teaching our students at PrepScholar . Overall, of all books on the market, the Black Book aligns most closely with my personal philosophies on how to succeed on the SAT .

• It offers a very lucid take on the SAT. Its ideas will not only change your view on the SAT, but will also motivate you to work harder by showing you that any student can excel on it.
• The book contains practical strategies that are more helpful than those in most other SAT books. Unlike other popular prep books, this one doesn't rely on ineffective tricks.
• It doesn't assume all students are the same. Rather, the book offers a few alternatives for strategies, and then suggests you try them out to see which ones work best for you.
• The book has a thorough set of answer walk-throughs for all Reading, Writing, and Math questions in the first four official SAT practice tests (included in the recommended "book" above). Each explanation clearly breaks down how to approach the question and get the right answer.
• The book requires a ton of self-discipline and insight to be able to use it effectively. Because you're learning from your mistakes with no one there to guide you, you must be self-driven and willing to experiment with different strategies to figure out which one works best for you. For some students, following a set of straight guidelines could be less confusing.
• The fundamental content is lacking. If you're weak in word problems, for example, this book alone will not help you master the subject. I believe in recognizing your weaknesses and then mastering that skill through focused prep and practice questions . While this book gives you a general approach to SAT prep, it doesn't teach you the specific content you'll need to know.
• It's fairly long (more than 550 pages!), with answer explanations that often feel repetitive ; however, that's partly due to the structure of the SAT itself (remember, it's a standardized test and therefore repetitive in how it tests certain skills).
• I personally disagree with some of the key points in this book. For example, the writers believe you should aim to reach a certain skill level rather than aim for a particular score. By contrast, I believe that setting an SAT score goal is a useful motivator.

Once again, I highly recommend these two resources for all students studying with (or only with) SAT prep books . We cover most of the important concepts in the Black Book in our SAT prep program and also provide focused practice on individual skills.

As mentioned above, you'll most likely need specific training on each subject to be able to shore up your weaknesses. Next, we provide you with key resources for individual subjects on the SAT.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Beyond the critical SAT books covered above, you'll likely need supplemental help on specific SAT sections. Here, we discuss the best prep books to use for SAT Reading, Math, and Writing. These books all follow my SAT prep philosophy :

• Divide SAT content into skills , and then get focused training on those skills.
• Use realistic, high-quality questions that prep you well for the SAT.
• Cover only what you need to know —not advanced material that won't be on the SAT.

Best SAT Reading Prep Book

In my experience with thousands of students, SAT Reading is the most difficult section score to improve . This section uses logical reasoning skills that aren't as easily mastered as math concepts or grammar rules are. As a result, it's extremely important to learn what kinds of questions will be asked and how you can approach them in a systematic way.

My recommendation for best SAT Reading book is The Critical Reader: The Complete Guide to SAT Reading, Fourth Edition by Erica L. Meltzer. This book dissects the SAT Reading section by question type and skill, and does a great job teaching the core of what each question is asking. It also clearly explains how to work with a passage to arrive at the correct answer.

Of all writers, Meltzer uses an approach to SAT Reading prep that aligns most closely with mine : to drill questions skill by skill so you can recognize patterns .

• It offers a great breakdown of the Reading section on a skill-by-skill level , as well as helpful strategies for every question type. This is the same approach we use in our own SAT prep program .
• There are lots of high-quality, realistic passages and questions . Meltzer uses passages that are extremely similar to those you'll see on the actual SAT.
• The book has a helpful guide listing the questions on the SAT by skill so you can get even more focused practice.
• The cost is somewhat high for a book that covers just one SAT section (about $27-$35).
• Its writing style is dry and clinical like that of an academic textbook. It feels very formal and there are no images to break up the text. I personally prefer this style—cut out the fluff—but it can be too dense for some students. What this means is that you might not even read the book because you find it so boring .
• Its lack of creative page layouts and lots of text on large pages can get tiresome —sort of like reading a phone book.

Best SAT Math Prep Book

My philosophy on SAT Math is that the best way to significantly improve your Math score is to learn the underlying content . Getting familiar with math questions and learning some strategies like plugging in answer choices can help you make some progress, but you'll quickly run into a wall if you have gaps in your underlying math knowledge.

Your best bet, therefore, is to find a book that can teach you math content in an organized way and give you practice problems you can use to focus on individual skills. It should also cater to your skill level since math questions that are too hard or easy for you will be a waste of time.

For these reasons, I recommend Steve Warner's series of SAT Math books . He's written multiple SAT prep books for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students, and has a set of 240 SAT Math problems organized by topic and difficulty.

• Lessons that teach math concepts are clear and helpful. They suggest ways to speed up your ability to solve questions and help you identify what a question is really asking.
• Practice questions are all fairly realistic with good answer explanations.
• Customizing your SAT Math practice by skill level is important. If you're scoring below 600, there's no reason to focus on attacking the hardest questions on the test. Warner's books give you appropriate practice for your specific math level.
• The books' categories are too broad , making it difficult to find specific math concepts to practice. In contrast, our SAT program splits large topics into smaller subjects . In algebra, for example, we go over linear functions , single-variable equations , and systems of equations . By focusing on each individual skill, you can more accurately pinpoint your weaknesses and drill them in your prep.
• If you're planning to make a large score improvement, you'll need to buy multiple SAT Math books, which can end up costing you around $100 . This is pretty pricey for basically pages of practice questions.
• Math questions can get repetitive from book to book , as though they're being generated from templates. You definitely need to supplement these books with real practice tests to get broader exposure to how the College Board phrases SAT Math questions.
• The SAT has some creative, out-there math questions that I don't see covered well in Warner's books .

If you're really struggling with SAT Math at a basic level (say, scoring 500 and below), I recommend supplementing your work with Khan Academy 's math modules. This website is a free program that provides an engaging way to train your most basic skills. I believe the core Khan Academy program has better instruction than its SAT prep program , even though it's not focused on the SAT.

Best SAT Writing Prep Book

The best way to excel at SAT Writing is to understand the grammar rules and how they appear on the test . You also need to answer a lot of high-quality practice questions to ensure you learn the patterns of the SAT (that's how we designed our online SAT program to teach you grammar !).

Once again, I'm returning to Erica L. Meltzer for her SAT grammar books . Meltzer's fantastic at distilling all the rules of English grammar into what you need to know for the SAT; you won't learn any arcane grammar concepts not on the SAT. For the rules that are tested, Meltzer presents them clearly and covers their foundations in case you've forgotten grammar rules learned in school.

Unlike her single prep book covering SAT Reading, Meltzer has two books for SAT Writing :

• The Critical Reader: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, Fifth Edition : This book covers all SAT grammar rules you need to know and offers exercises to help you learn how to analyze grammar in the context of passages.
• The Critical Reader: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar Workbook, Fourth Edition : This book offers hundreds of SAT practice questions, equivalent to six full-length Writing tests, as training material.

Neither book is sufficient on its own, which is a big drawback. The first one doesn't have enough SAT Writing questions to let you really drill grammar rules. Meanwhile, the second one doesn't teach grammar rules, and questions aren't organized by rule. These problems can complicate studying for students, but I still believe these are the best SAT Writing books out there.

• Each book uses a clear writing style and cleanly articulates SAT grammar rules.
• The books cover only what you need to know for SAT Writing and omit extraneous material . A lot of SAT grammar books suffer from including too many esoteric rules that aren't tested on the SAT.
• The Writing practice questions are all fairly realistic .
• There's no guidance on study strategy. The books offer a nice breakdown of the SAT, but you don't get instruction on how to use each book to best maximize your Writing score.
• Like other SAT resources, the price for each book is a bit high—about $30 . They have good content, but I believe Meltzer could get a lot more customers by lowering her prices.
• I'd prefer a more unified, skill-based approach in a single book. Ideally, you'd practice single grammar rules with practice questions and then bring them all together in a full-length practice test. At PrepScholar, we believe in a unified, seamless experience, and integrate test content, customization, and feedback into a single package .

Bonus: Looking for the very best guides to every SAT section? Check out our top guides for every single section of the SAT. Choose the score level you're aiming for:

800 Score Guides: SAT Reading | SAT Writing | SAT Math | SAT Essay

Choose these guides if you're scoring a 600 or above on a section, and you want to get the highest SAT score possible.

600 Score Guides: SAT Reading | SAT Writing | SAT Math | SAT Essay

Choose these guides if you're scoring below a 600 on a section, and you want to boost your score to at least a 600 level.

These are the very best guides available on boosting your SAT score, section by section. They're written by Harvard grads and perfect SAT scorers. Don't disappoint yourself—read these guides and improve your score today.

As you can see, you already have a lot to work on. With 10 full-length practice tests and more than five SAT books at your disposal, you'll be studying for well over 50 hours. By using the guidelines we recommend, you can make huge improvements in your score.

If you still need extra practice, though, I recommend Barron's SAT prep books , especially if you want a perfect or near-perfect score. I remember using these books for my own SAT prep in high school . While their questions aren't as good as those in official SAT practice tests, they're a solid backup source to use when you finish all the other SAT prep books above .

• Each book offers a lot of content —thousands of practice questions and detailed lessons with many examples.
• The books are extremely thorough , covering every nook and cranny of what you need to know for the SAT. You can be confident that little is tested outside of what's in these books.
• The topics can get too difficult for what you need to know on the SAT. Some questions get unrealistically hard in a way you'd never see on the actual test. If you're not an SAT expert yet, you won't be able to detect when this happens and might end up wasting time studying irrelevant concepts.
• The books lack clear direction on what's important and what's not for the SAT. For example, a grammar rule that appears once every SAT gets the same number of pages as a grammar rule that appears eight times on the SAT. Specifically, algebra is really important but gets far too little treatment. These are definitely not the books to use if you have limited time to study for the SAT.
• Not all SAT strategies are top notch. For example, I have mixed feelings about the SAT Reading passage strategies detailed in these books.

So far my recommendations have been primarily for the super ambitious students who really want to improve their SAT scores. But I know that there are some students who just want to put in a few hours of prep, get exposure to the test, and then take the SAT and forget about it.

I personally believe that for most test takers, raising your SAT score is the best way to improve your chances of college admission . If you don't want to put in hours of time to raise your score, I strongly suggest questioning your approach to test prep.

Still, some of you either won't have the time or motivation to prep better. If you're one of those just hoping to get the SAT over with, I recommend using Kaplan's SAT Prep Plus 2023 . It's an all-in-one book that covers the three sections and has a wide assortment of practice questions and tests.

The book doesn't excel at any of what it's doing , but it addresses the most important bases for SAT prep. It also has more reasonable content than other all-in-one SAT books like the one by The Princeton Review.

The truth is, I don't love this book. I don't even really like it. I don't recommend it if you actually want to improve your score and are willing to put in the study time needed to do so. However, if you just want a single resource that's easily digestible and does an OK job teaching you the basics, this book is the best one out there.

• It covers all three SAT sections and contains five full-length practice tests .
• At about $30, it's quite affordable for the breadth of SAT content it covers.
• The book offers some basic test-taking strategies that can get you a few easy points if you're new to standardized testing and often feel like you have no idea what to do.
• Practice questions tend to be unrealistic —the book doesn't phrase questions the way the SAT would and doesn't always test concepts correctly. In addition, the questions don't trick you in the same ways the real test does.
• Answers and other materials have a lot of errors , indicating poor quality control. You'll probably notice many of these mistakes yourself, but if you don't catch them you'll learn the wrong facts and strategies.
• The strategies are not super helpful once you move past a 600 score in a section. To improve beyond this point, you'll need to master specific content and develop customized strategies based on your weaknesses.

The #1 SAT Prep Book to AVOID Buying

Unlike every other section in this guide, I'm making one specific recommendation against buying an SAT book. This is particularly unusual because, prior to 2015, this was the #1 SAT prep book to get!

So what book is it? None other than The Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition .

It feels really weird to recommend not buying this book because, for years and years, this was the book to use to study for the SAT. This guide used to contain 10 full-length practice tests you could only get by buying the book.

Here's the problem today, though: everything in this book is available for free online . You just go to the College Board website and download PDFs for every section of the book. (The practice tests contained in it are my #1 recommendation at the beginning of this article.)

So why release this guide for free? This is all part of the College Board's move to make the SAT more accessible to test takers and to reduce educational inequality .

Such an endeavor is admirable, and I support them—but it also means that The Official SAT Study Guide is now a waste of money . What's more, the material outside the practice tests is superficial and overall unhelpful (we've written far better guides on the Reading , Math , and Writing sections, all of which are available on our blog for free).

• The guide has eight official SAT practice tests pre-printed for you , so you don't need to print them out yourself.
• It can be ripped apart for fire kindling or birdcage lining.
• Everything in this guide is available for free through the College Board website (which actually has two additional practice tests not in this book).
• The book doesn't provide any instructional material , so don't expect to actually learn skills and content here. If you're bad at algebra, you can't rely on this book alone. Most test takers buy it for the tests, and the College Board knows this.
• Taking practice tests without a system for learning isn't going to improve your score , and the book doesn't provide any guidance on how to do this.

More important than buying SAT books is knowing how to use them effectively . The more prep books you have, the more important it is to build a unified study system. We've written thorough guides to help guide you through your SAT studies.

Before you buy any books, though, take a realistic SAT practice test to assess what areas you're weak in. Check out our guide on how to set up a diagnostic practice test if you aren't sure where to start.

After taking this first practice test, you'll need to go over your results in detail to pinpoint your weaknesses ; this will help you determine where you should spend your prep time and money . For instance, if you did fine on the Reading and Writing sections but bombed Math, you'll want to focus your prep on Math and potentially invest in the SAT Math books recommended above.

It's also important to set a target SAT score so you know what your end goal is for your SAT prep. Students aiming for around 1200 ( 600 on Math and 600 on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing ) should use different strategies and prep books than students shooting for 1600. If you're aiming for a top score, check out my comprehensive guide detailing how I got a perfect SAT score .

Finally, you'll need to build a study plan that works well with your schedule and lets you figure out the best time to take the SAT . We offer a free guide explaining the five essential components of an SAT study program guaranteed to improve your score by 160+ points .

Use these free resources to guide yourself through the maze that is SAT prep. ( FutUndBeidl /Flickr)

There are a lot of prep methods available, and book studying is just one of them. To explore all our options, let's quickly examine whether using SAT prep books is right for you.

Students who choose to study for the SAT with books do so for different reasons. Some use books because they're cheaper than other options like prep programs and tutors . That said, the best SAT books can get expensive: if you buy all top books, you'll be spending around $200 . This is close to the cost of our online SAT prep program , which goes beyond books by guiding your studies step by step and motivating you to put in study time.

Other students use SAT prep books because they're self-motivated and like teaching themselves. If this isn't you, books can be a disappointing way for you to spend your time prepping . Without a solid study strategy, you can put in dozens of hours yet make zero improvement since you're not understanding your weaknesses and how to fix them.

By far one of the most important ways to improve your SAT score is to study and learn from your mistakes . If you can't do this reliably, you'll need extra help to get you started. We've written a free guide comparing various methods of SAT prep. Download this to see which methods are best for you.

Recap: The Best SAT Book in Every Category

Here's our shortlist of the best SAT prep books for 2023-2024, complete with links:

Best Critical SAT Books

• SAT Prep Black Book (Second Edition)

Best SAT Subject-Specific Books

• The Critical Reader: The Complete Guide to SAT Reading, Fourth Edition
• Steve Warner's SAT Math books
• The Critical Reader: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, Fifth Edition and its companion Grammar Workbook

Best SAT Books for Top Scorers

• Barron's SAT prep books

Best SAT Book for Low Scorers and Low Motivation

• Kaplan's SAT Prep Plus 2023

We've given you an excellent array of SAT books to choose from. Now, it's time to start looking for the ones you think will help you the most and get studying!

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score.

Download this free SAT guide now:

What's Next?

Understanding your SAT target score is critical for success. Read our step-by-step guide to help you figure out what exact SAT score you need to aim for on test day.

Want to score a super high SAT score? Get all the tips and expert advice you need in my guide to getting a perfect SAT score .

Looking for additional SAT prep help? Check out our picks for the top SAT prep websites and the top SAT apps you should be using in your studies.

Check out our industry-leading online SAT program . We've designed it to cover all the advantages of books and tutors at an affordable price. Featuring in-depth strategy lessons and thousands of practice questions, we have the content from the leading books. We include the critical Official SAT Study Guide above.

Beyond that, the program acts like your personal tutor . It guides you step-by-step through what you should be working on at every moment to best improve your score. It customizes to your strengths and weaknesses and then gives you focused practice so you learn the patterns on the SAT. Furthermore, it motivates you to study so that you put in enough time.

There's a 160-point guarantee—if you don't improve your score by 160 points , you get all your money back.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

As co-founder and head of product design at PrepScholar, Allen has guided thousands of students to success in SAT/ACT prep and college admissions. He's committed to providing the highest quality resources to help you succeed. Allen graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude and earned two perfect scores on the SAT (1600 in 2004, and 2400 in 2014) and a perfect score on the ACT. You can also find Allen on his personal website, Shortform , or the Shortform blog .

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The College Panda's SAT Writing: Advanced Guide and Workbook for the New SAT First Edition

• Paperback $28.00 - $32.62 22 Used from $3.70 7 New from $32.37

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This book brings together everything you need to know for the SAT writing section, from the simplest to the most advanced grammar rule. Unlike most other test prep books, this one is truly geared towards the student aiming for the perfect score. It leaves no stones unturned.

Inside, You'll Find:

• Clear explanations of all the tested SAT grammar rules, from the simplest to the most obscure
• Tons of examples to illustrate each question type and the different ways it can show up
• Hundreds of drills and practice questions to help you master the concepts
• The most common mistakes students make (so you don't make them)
• Three practice tests
• Fun illustrations

This is the most thorough SAT prep out there. For more sample chapters and information, check out http://thecollegepanda.com/books

• ISBN-10 0989496430
• ISBN-13 978-0989496438
• Edition First Edition
• Publication date October 13, 2015
• Language English
• Dimensions 8.5 x 0.65 x 11 inches
• Print length 286 pages
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ College Panda, The; First Edition (October 13, 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989496430
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0989496438
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.47 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.65 x 11 inches
• #134 in SAT Test Guides
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About the author

Nielson phu.

Hi, I'm Nielson!

Once upon a time, I was an ambitious student hoping to get into a top university. I struggled to do well on the SAT (barely above average), so my parents sent me to classes that didn't help and gave me books that never went beyond the basics. They didn't know any better. After a lot of failure and frustration, I decided to self-study and figure out the test myself. My efforts paid off because I eventually scored in the top 1% of all test takers (this was the old exam). Since then, I've stayed up-to-date with the test prep world as a teacher and an author, helping thousands of students improve their own scores. Unlike many other "experts" out there, I've actually taken both the SAT and ACT in their current forms, scoring a perfect 1600 and a 35, respectively.

I created The College Panda to be the resource I wish I had when I was a student. If you're an ambitious student who's striving for that high score and wants the most comprehensive test prep out there, then these are the books for you.

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The 11 Best SAT Prep Books in 2023

June 7, 2023

While we wish there were a magic password to help you achieve that perfect score on the SAT, sadly, no such thing exists. However, what we do have at our disposal is a list of the best SAT prep books to help you challenge your mind, hone your skills, and feel confident on the day of your exam…which is nearly as good! We’ve gone through all the SAT books—from those put out by the major companies to resources found online—to compile a list of the best SAT preparation resources to help you thrive and improve your score. The prep books on this list will help you practice, practice, practice—the real key to acing that big test.

How to Study for the SAT

We get it: the SAT can seem overwhelming. How do you begin? Well, firstly, we recommend taking a practice test, like those found in many of the SAT prep books below. This will not only show you what areas you need to focus on, but it will also give you a sense of where you currently stand. (Check out our guide here for a complete list of colleges and their SAT admissions rates.) After taking the diagnostic test, identify your areas of weakness. Ask yourself: where did you get stuck? What sections did you score lowest on? This will give you a good sense of which areas to focus on in your preparation.

Many students find classes or tutors useful for helping them improve their scores. If these resources aren’t available to you, don’t worry! Self-study is a great way to prepare for the SAT. Regardless of the path you choose, remember to stay diligent and focused. The SAT isn’t the type of test you can cram for the night before. To prepare for this mammoth test, you’ll want to start early and practice often, doing a few practice questions or more each day and ensuring you thoroughly understand them before moving on to the next section.

Factors to Take into Consideration When Choosing an SAT Prep Book

• Material Covered : Some books cover just the SAT Reading and Writing Sections, while others focus exclusively on Math. Then you have the books designed to address all three of these subjects. In this article, we’ll break down the SAT prep books based on individual subjects and suggest comprehensive options.
• Full-Length Practice Tests : One of the best ways to prepare yourself for the SAT is to take several practice tests. These tests prepare you for the test format and highlight areas where you may want to concentrate more of your efforts. Be sure to take these practice tests as close to real-world conditions.
• Explanations : A good SAT prep book will offer explanations for their answers. These explanations help walk you through how to solve a problem you might have missed.
• Recency: For the sake of this list, we chose to concentrate on books published in the past year. This is because the SAT is constantly changing and evolving. We want to make sure that you have the most up-to-date resources available to you.
• Price : In compiling this list, we looked at how much material came in each book to ensure the value offered by each book justifies its cost. And keep in mind that there are plenty of free resources out there to help you study for the SAT. Khan Academy , for instance, offers tons of material. Additionally, The College Board provides free practice tests on its website . Whether you purchase an SAT prep book or not, we recommend checking out these valuable resources.

The Best SAT Prep Books – Overall

1) princeton review’s sat premium prep – purchase here . page length: 832. price: $24.84.

• Offers nine full-length practice tests (four in the book and five online) with detailed explanations.
• Includes access to online videos with test-taking strategies, as well as college admissions advice.
• The unique “SAT Insider” section gives college admissions advice, such as writing application essays and choosing the right school for you.
• Pros: 12 months of access to study materials, a personalized study plan, and a score improvement guarantee.
• Cons : The complex wording of its questions doesn’t mimic the language found on the SAT. Moreover, it uses a traditional approach in terms of style and structure that some students might find dull.

2) Kaplan’s SAT Prep Plus – Purchase here . Page Length: 972. Price: $24.99.

• This book not only provides five full-length practice tests (two in the book and three online), it also offers detailed explanations to demonstrate to students how to arrive at the correct answer.
• The book offers pre-quizzes to show you what areas to skip when reviewing questions and which to concentrate your energies on.
• After each chapter, the book provides quizzes and practice questions to test your retention.
• Offers a “Test Day” strategy section to help you prepare for the SAT.
• Pros : Cheaper than Princeton Review’s options, access to a personalized study plan.
• Cons : Less access time than Princeton Review’s options (6 months versus 12).

3) Barron’s SAT Study Guide Premium – Purchase here . Page Length: 1000 pages. Price: $30.49.

• This one tops our list both in terms of price and page count. That said, some students may find the additional pages challenging to navigate.
• Eight practice tests (five in the book and three online).
• In-depth review of each subject, with practice questions and detailed answer explanations.
• Pros : More affordable option. Effective as a supplemental book for students already well-versed in the SAT format and question style.
• Cons : Not as comprehensive as other options. Some questions and explanations are dense, which might prove ineffective for students engaging with the format for the first time.

4) Mometrix’s SAT Prep Book 2023 – Purchase here . Page length: 438. Price: $22.99.

• The shortest of the books listed here, Mometrix offers a comprehensive guide to each section of the SAT.
• Pros : The book is well put together and easily navigated. It also includes a three-week study plan to help you prepare for taking the SAT.
• Cons : the book only offers two practice tests, with no online content or practice tests.

The Best SAT Prep Books for the Math Section

5) sat math workbook by barron’s – purchase here . page length: 592. cost: $16.99.

• Intensive preparation for the SAT’s math section.
• Hundreds of math questions with answer explanations.
• Offers strategies and pointers for ways to tackle the math section of the SAT.
• Pros : Well-structured by topic.
• Cons : Ideal for students with some familiarity with the subjects at hand.

6) SAT Math Packets by Settele – Purchase here . Page length: 330. Cost: $23.74.

• Thirty-seven packets that help you to narrow your focus on a single math topic at a time.
• Short chapters make the book easy to navigate.
• There’s minimal text crowding the pages. Instead, the focus is on lessons and their explanations.
• Offers 450 realistic practice questions.
• Pros: Offers study plans and suggested lessons to break down topics for test-takers.
• Cons: The breakdown of the topics doesn’t reflect the actual SAT, where questions are mixed.

7) SAT Math Mastery – Purchase part one here , and part two here . $30 per volume.

• The first volume (Volume 1) covers the first nineteen topics of the SAT and offers pretest diagnostics.
• The second volume (Volume 2) covers the more advanced topics of the SAT Math section, including advanced algebra, geometry, and statistics.
• While these books offer a comprehensive overview of all topics covered in the SAT Math section, the fact that they’re broken up into two volumes makes them clunkier than the other options on our list and less cost-effective.
• Pros : Offers many study tips in its pre-lessons sections. Breaks down the questions in an easy-to-follow format.
• Cons : The fact that this book breaks its topics into two volumes immediately makes it less cost-effective than the other options on our list.

8) Jang’s SAT 800 Math Workbook New Edition – Purchase here . Page length: 415. Cost: $26.00

• With 1500 practice questions, this book tops our list as the most comprehensive math book.
• The questions are easily arranged by difficulty level, which means students can engage with them as needed.
• Pros : 10 sample tests, with language that mimics that found on the SAT.
• Cons : Lack of detailed explanations to show how they arrived at the answer. If you’re looking for a book that teaches you new approaches to problem-solving, this one is not your best bet.

The Best SAT Prep Books for the Reading and Writing Sections

9) the critical reader’s ultimate guide to sat grammar. purchase here . page length: 291. cost: $29.25..

• Provides comprehensive coverage of all the grammar concepts tested on the SAT Writing and Language sections.
• Offers practice questions and explanations.
• Pros : Easy to navigate. Discusses question types as well as helpful strategies for answering questions. Its questions are thorough, including passages from a wide variety of subjects.
• Cons : Due to its dense format, some students may find the book less engaging than the other options on our list.

10) SAT & ACT Grammar Mastery: ACT & SAT Writing Rules. Purchase here . Page length: 299. Cost: $29.99.

• A grammar textbook that breaks down the ACT and SAT grammar tests into easy-to-digest sections.
• Seventeen grammar lessons and 320 practice questions.
• Offers a pretest diagnostic to identify grammar weak spots quickly.
• Pros : The lessons are practical and enjoyable. The explanations of the answers are less dry than those found in the more traditional SAT books, which might motivate students to keep going.
• Cons : Fewer practice tests than we’d like (only one pretest and one post-test).

11) SAT Reading & Writing Packets by Settele. Purchase here . Page length: 242. Cost: $19.99.

• Offers 400 practice questions.
• Composed of 31 packets on grammar and writing to help you narrow your focus.
• Offers tips and strategies to help prepare test takers.
• Pros : At $19.99, this is our most cost-effective option.
• Cons : The explanations could be more thorough than those in other prep books.

Best SAT Prep Books – Conclusion

Whatever SAT prep book you choose, dedication is the most critical factor in improving your overall score. The more you study and practice, the better off you’ll be. Remember to break down the study materials into manageable sections and concentrate on improving your weakest areas. Follow these tips, and you’ll be well on your way to earning that 1600!

What’s Next?

For more information on what’s considered a “good” SAT score, check out our article that answers this question and more.

Additional Resources:

If you enjoyed our list of the Best SAT Prep Books, you may also wish to check out the following College Transitions blogs:

• 250 SAT Words You Must Know
• 130 GRE Words You Must Know
• 30 Literary Devices High School Students Should Know
• 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know

Lauren Green

With a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, Lauren has been a professional writer for over a decade. She is the author of the chapbook  A Great Dark House  (Poetry Society of America, 2023) and a forthcoming novel (Viking/Penguin).

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The Best SAT Prep Books

Advertising Disclosure : Our team independently selected these products. If you purchase a product through one of our links, we may collect compensation. Pricing and availability are accurate at the time of publication.

Doing well on the SAT typically requires considerable dedication, studying, and practice. By using some of the best SAT prep books, students can develop effective test-taking strategies and familiarize themselves with the types of questions they'll encounter on the exam.

Below, you can peruse a list of top SAT prep books. Keep in mind that no single book is a magic bullet. While these books can certainly help you prepare for the test, you still need to spend time studying.

If you can't afford an SAT prep book, check with your school or local library — many libraries have resources to help students prepare for the exam. You can also look into free online resources .

Why Use an SAT Prep Book?

Many students who want to do well on the SAT turn to prep books to help them study and learn the strategies they need to maximize their scores. These books feature tips , questions, and practice tests aimed at students who plan to spend large amounts of time studying to increase their scores .

To find the right SAT prep book for you, think about the areas you'd like to improve in — some books focus on specific sections of the exam.

The Top SAT Prep Books

Price legend.

$ = Under $10 | $$ = $10-$25 | $$$ = $26-$50 | $$$$ = Over $50

Top General SAT Prep Books

Barron's "sat study guide premium, 2021-2022".

This highly rated SAT prep book features a step-by-step process that helps test-takers gradually master each content area. The book works well for students who learn best by repetition and by examining the same concepts from multiple angles.

In addition to ample practice questions and content review, "SAT Study Guide Premium" contains seven full-length practice tests — including one diagnostic and two online — and detailed answer explanations.

KALLIS' "SAT Pattern Strategy, 3rd Edition"

Developed for individuals who learn by doing, this prep book prepares students to take multiple practice exams and learn from their mistakes in the process. The book analyzes common types of questions on the SAT, covering more than 100 subject areas.

It also includes six full-length practice exams and over 1,000 questions that adequately mirror the difficulty of those on the test.

Kaplan's "SAT Prep Plus 2022"

Kaplan is a big name in test prep. With two in-book and three online practice exams, "SAT Prep Plus 2022" features clear explanations of SAT content areas, sound practice techniques, and effective strategies to use on exam day.

The book boasts more than 1,400 practice questions, all with in-depth answer explanations, as well as diagnostic pre-quizzes and "reflect" pages to help you better understand your comfort level with each test subject.

McGraw Hill Education's "SAT Elite 2022"

Created by professional SAT coaches, this book tackles the most challenging types of questions on the exam and provides math and reading comprehension tips not found in other resources. Students who need to improve in specific subject areas and gain familiarity with how the SAT presents questions will appreciate this resource.

You'll also get access to eight full-length practice tests, a bonus section with tips and tools for top-scoring students, and daily progress reports.

"SAT Prep Black Book, 2nd Edition"

Based on the expertise of world-renowned SAT tutor Mike Barrett, the "Black Book" provides students practical advice on how to approach each section of the SAT. Readers learn to master the approach that the College Board takes when creating questions, giving them a leg up when preparing for the exam.

The Princeton Review's "SAT Premium Prep, 2022"

Written by The Princeton Review — a top test prep company — this prep book offers a helpful introduction to the SAT for students less familiar with the exam. The guide includes common strategies for approaching the various types of questions on the test and nine high-quality practice tests (five online, four in the book). You'll also get detailed online score reports.

Readers receive access to exclusive online features as well, such as videos covering test-taking strategies, multiweek study guides, and college admissions advice.

The Princeton Review's "10 Practice Tests for the SAT, 2022"

The 10 practice exams in this bestselling prep book allow students to gain familiarity with the types of questions and concepts appearing on the SAT. The resource includes a self-scoring mechanism to give students an idea of how well they can expect to do on the exam.

Those who've already studied and simply need to practice will likely benefit the most from this book.

Top SAT Math Books

"dr. jang's sat* 800 math workbook, 2020 edition".

This comprehensive workbook helps students understand all major types of questions and concepts they'll see on the SAT Math section, including algebra and problem-solving questions. The book contains 10 full math practice exams, over 1,500 practice questions, and one diagnostic test to help you determine what you need to focus on in your prep.

"500 New SAT Math Problems Arranged by Topic and Difficulty Level"

Dr. Steve Warner — a university professor and math tutor — uses unique strategies to help students find solutions to a variety of math problems commonly found on the SAT.

In addition to providing thorough answer explanations, this guide covers different ways to solve the same math problems, allowing students to choose the approach that best suits their preferences and learning styles.

"PWN the SAT: Math Guide, 4th Edition"

This 2016 guide remains an excellent resource for students committed to maximizing their SAT Math score. Author Mike McClenathan — a perfect SAT scorer himself — makes clear that the strategies in this book require hard work and persistence.

This guide works best for test-takers willing to dedicate a considerable amount of time and effort to studying for this section of the SAT.

Barron's "SAT Math Workbook, 7th Edition"

Reasonably priced and packed with quality practice problems, Barron's "SAT Math Workbook" outlines key strategies that test-takers can use to solve a variety of problems on the exam. The book includes in-depth answer explanations and has helped many students raise their SAT Math scores, sometimes by over 100 points.

Top SAT Reading Books

"the critical reader: the complete guide to sat reading, 4th edition".

Designed for students committed to raising their SAT Reading scores, this guide by test prep expert Erica L. Meltzer offers crucial strategies for quickly understanding complex writing and finding the information needed to answer related questions.

This extremely popular guide covers supporting evidence questions and chart-based data analysis concepts, both of which students will find on the SAT, as well as how to use context clues.

"2018 SAT Reading: World Literature Practice Book"

This guidebook helps test-takers understand the key concepts of the main idea, character development, the plot, and the theme, which they'll need to know in order to master the SAT Reading section. The book includes the same American and international authors students will encounter on the exam.

In total, you get 500 Reading practice questions, 50 reading passages, and 2,000 answer explanations.

Top SAT Writing and Language Books

The college panda's "sat writing: advanced guide and workbook, 2nd edition".

This highly rated book details the SAT Writing and Language section's grammar rules, including some of the more obscure guidelines that many students miss. The resource offers clear examples and hundreds of practice questions to help students gradually master the concepts that will help them succeed on this portion of the exam.

Additionally, the guide outlines common mistakes students make on SAT Writing and how to avoid them.

"The Critical Reader: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, 5th Edition"

Another hit by Meltzer, this guide introduces test-takers to the various grammar, data analysis, and rhetorical concepts that drive the SAT Writing and Language section. Students learn these concepts and then apply them through several practice tests that mimic the real SAT.

You'll study concepts and strategies individually before practicing applying them to passage-based questions like those on the exam. The book includes over 300 answer explanations.

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6 Best SAT Grammar Books and Reviews

What’s the best SAT grammar books? I’m studying for the SAT and I need wit SAT Grammar Writing section. Does anyone have any suggestions for some good SAT grammar prep books? I scores in 500’s in SAT when I took last time.

SAT Writing Section

SAT writing section includes a short essay and multiple-choice questions on identifying errors and improving grammar and usage.

• Improving Sentences
• Improving Paragraphs
• Identifying Sentence Errors

To improve your SAT Writing section score, you need to have good command with your English Grammar skills.

Best SAT Grammar Books

• The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar
• Cliffs Notes Writing: Grammar, Usage, and Style Quick Review
• The Elements of Style
• The Only Grammar and Style Workbook You’ll Ever Need: A One-Stop Practice and Exercise Book for Perfect Writing
• Grammar Workbook for the SAT, ACT, and More

 The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar – Review

• Doesn’t include SAT Essay tips
• Learn about Writing part of the SAT (Identifying Sentence Errors, Improving Paragraphs, Fixing Sentences)
• Learn about SAT Grammar Test prep tips

The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar  is very useful book for SAT writing section.

SAT Grammar Test Prep Tips

• Study rules of the grammar, especially use of commas and apostrophes.
• Don’t skip a few lines if you don’t see any questions for a while.
• Reading takes a few seconds and it enables you to understand flow and nuance, something you’ll need for the inevitable rhetorical questions that follow!
• When answering questions in the English section, underline the key points in the question and make sure your answer choice supports that idea.

Non-Native English speakers taking SAT test will find it difficult to understand Grammar while preparing for the SAT Test. The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar book will help prepare for the SAT Grammar section.  If students who are finding it difficult the crack the Grammar section, you my have to spend more time for practice.

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The Best SAT Prep Books for Reading, Writing, and Math

These SAT prep books stand out amidst the crowd in terms of quality, intelligence, precision, and accuracy.

• By Sakina Fakhri
• May 4, 2020

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$37.99 (list price) $30.99 on Amazon

With its strategies and explanations combined with over 1,500 practice questions with detailed explanations, 5 practice tests, and chapter quizzes, the SAT Prep Plus 2023 from Kaplan is our 2022 pick for the best SAT prep book. It combines a physical book with further resources online to provide candidates with a comprehensive approach to increasing their score at the SAT.

Kaplan Test Prep

Once you start studying for the SAT, innumerable prep books will vie for your attention. Many will boast benefits that are monetary or quantity-based (“6 full tests!” or “500 problems!”). It’s important to remember, however, that these are not the considerations that contribute to a higher score. You will be better-served by content that is written by experts, strategy tips that are particular to the SAT, and high-quality questions that mirror the style of the real test. After all, what’s the use of 500 problems if they’re all the wrong ones?

There are a handful of prep books that stand out amidst the crowd in terms of quality, intelligence, precision, and accuracy. That is, their authors are not only good at their subjects (math, grammar, or reading), but they also know the SAT. They have done their due diligence, mapped out questions from all released official College Board SAT exams and created a program of study to address the nuances of each question type. In the ideal test prep world, they have done this so you don’t have to. That being the case, this is the main criterion you should look for in a book: The best-written prep books are those that are very transparent about which College Board SAT questions map back to their practice material.

• Only use books that are written by top-level SAT experts.
• Get extra practice by turning to the free official College Board tests.
• Visit the /r/SAT/ subreddit to get advice from other SAT students.

The following are our recommendations of prep books that are precisely calibrated to the skills and content tested on the SAT. These are books written by successful test-takers and skillful tutors who have, over the years, not only honed the art of instruction but also become familiar with how students respond to the granular particulars of this test.

These are our choices for the best SAT prep book.

Best SAT Prep Books

Best overall sat prep book: sat prep plus 2023 (kaplan).

With its strategies and explanations combined with over 1,500 practice questions with detailed explanations, 5 practice tests, and chapter quizzes, the SAT Prep Plus 2023 from Kaplan is our 2022 pick for the best SAT prep book. It combines a physical book with further resources online to provide candidates with a comprehensive approach to increasing their score at the SAT. ​

Best Official SAT Prep Book: "Official SAT Study Guide 2020 Edition" by the College Board

It nearly goes without saying that the book of official tests is absolutely necessary to your SAT prep. Although the pages of this book can be found for free online, we recommend that you work through the chapters in paper form to mimic the conditions of the real test.

It is worth mentioning that there is more to this book than practice exams (though those do account for most of the sheer heft of this tome). The introductory chapters include topic summaries and sample questions that give you an excellent overview–at varying difficulty levels–of the items on each test section. You can consider these sample questions, taken together, as a sort of mini-diagnostic.

If you plan to take the SAT with essay, you can also find sample prompts and graded essays in the College Board book.

Best SAT Reading Prep Book: "The Complete Guide to SAT Reading (3rd edition)" by Erica L. Meltzer

Critical reading practice that closely mimics the style of the SAT is incredibly rare; most books on the market provide reading passages that are roughly based on general reading comprehension exams. Unfortunately, the reading section is also the one in which SAT-like practice content is of paramount importance–you are training yourself to pare down all of your profuse reading and analytical skills to read in a very specific, efficient way for the SAT. Generic reading practice simply will not do.

In my experience, Meltzer’s is the only prep book that does a nice job of approximating SAT reading passage style. She has clearly written the practice passages specifically for the SAT, and her multiple-choice is expertly crafted: One can tell she has done her research, as even the wrong answer choices (oft-overlooked) map to specifically measured nuances in the official exams.

The instructional content is also top-notch. Like the other authors in this list, Meltzer includes reading strategy that will directly help you answer SAT questions–no more, no less. This way, you don’t have to decide what strategy is worth skimming and what should be read closely. What you are reading is a condensation of the most essential points, all of which are worth imbibing. Meltzer’s confidence comes through in her clarity of explanation, and it proves to be well-founded.

Each chapter addresses one reading skill, which Meltzer connects to a particular set of SAT question stems. Explanatory exercises are peppered within the chapter alongside her strategy lessons, and each chapter ends with a set of exercises that address the skill in question.

What this book does not have is full, timed practice sections for you to test your endurance and focus under test-like conditions. Thus, this book should be a precursor to your taking the College Board practice exams.

Best SAT Writing Prep Book: "The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar (4th edition)" by Erica L. Meltzer

In this SAT writing prep book, Meltzer’s descriptions are clear, her samples sentences helpful, and her grammatical accuracy unimpeachable. In more than a decade of teaching the SAT, I have not come across another print SAT book that has no grammar errors (beyond the stray typo, perhaps). Meltzer’s book is exemplary in this regard, as it is in so many others. (In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you encounter grammatical errors in other SAT books and you’re not sure which one is right, defer to Meltzer’s as the trusted authority).

Each chapter of this book focuses on one grammar topic, arranged in descending order of frequency of appearance on past SAT exams. Meltzer is not only proficient in grammar, but in SAT grammar; she pinpoints the rules that the SAT likes to test and presents these comprehensively and clearly, with clever and instructive sample sentences. She does not weigh the book down with grammatical exigencies that are unlikely to be tested. Dry as the subject matter may be in nature, Meltzer makes her description of rules very easy to follow. Each chapter is followed by a set of relevant exercises.

Unlike Meltzer’s Critical Reading book, this one ends with a full timed Writing Section that you can use to assess your progress.

Best SAT Math Prep Book: "PWN the SAT: Math Guide (4th Edition)" by Mike McClenathan

In this SAT math prep book, McClenathan explains all of the topics you need to know in an intuitive, conversational (though ever-intelligent) tone. This doesn’t read as dryly as so many math books do, nor does McClenathan delight in the esoteric just for the sake of it; instead, he frames each lesson as a tutor would–narratively. The way he has managed to strip away all extraneous math concepts to focus directly on SAT-like problems is nothing short of impressive.

There are internal questions and drills within each chapter, and each chapter comes with 10 end-of-chapter questions that very closely mimic SAT questions (if you are curious which ones, he includes a table at the end of each chapter describing the College Board questions of each type). In terms of time and symmetry, this book provides a very natural study structure; you might choose to do two chapters a week, for example. The structure of the book also makes it very easy for you to understand which concepts you need more help with. You might consult our article on free online resources if you find you need topic-specific assistance.

Bonus: With the purchase of this print book, you get access to a special section of the PWN site that contains a few supplementary math lessons and practice exercises, as well as a breakdown of question type on each of the 10 released SAT exams (the 4th edition book only addresses up to College Board Test 6).

As is the case with the other books covered in this article, there are no full, timed practice sections in this book. After finishing all of the chapter exercises in this book, you can turn to the College Board tests for section-based practice.

"New SAT Reading: Vice and Virtue in the Exploration of Democracy" by Khalid Khashoggi

This book contains history passages organized in chronological order, separated into chapters based on political era. This can help you contextualize potential SAT passages and become familiar with the writing style of various time periods. Keep in mind that the passages in this book don’t seem to flow precisely like SAT passages would (some lack the key “call to action” component), but this practice will certainly help you become comfortable reading dense language.

"2018 SAT Reading: World Literature Practice Book (Advanced Practice)" by Khalid Khashoggi

The questions in this book do not seem to be at the level of other IES books, but the passages are, for the most part, SAT-like excerpts. You can use this book to gain proficiency with reading fiction passages of various styles; and even where you find some questions inaccurate, you might pull out the College Board model and practice writing your own!

"New SAT Reading Practice Book" by Khalid Khashoggi

This book contains full, timed reading practice sections. The difficulty level of some of the tests is slightly lower than the SAT, but this is overall more SAT-like than the reading practice in other prep books.

"The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar Workbook (4th edition)" by Erica L. Meltzer

This workbook, to be used after completing the practice content in the Ultimate Guide, contains 6 timed grammar sections. I find the practice tests in this book to be slightly easier than those on the real SAT, but the distribution of question types accurately reflects that in official SAT exams and the questions are high quality. Still, when assessing your progress, adjust your expectations here for a slightly inflated score.

"The College Panda's SAT Writing: Advanced Guide and Workbook" by Nielson Phu

Students tend to find the sample sentences in this book quite amusing (which they are), and therefore memorable (which can be useful). This book does a comprehensive job of covering grammar errors that might appear on the SAT. Certain errors crop up in the writing from time to time and some questions are of better quality than others, but the sheer number of exercises in this book makes it a useful addition if you have exhausted your other materials. Grammar exercises are presented in stand-alone sentence form, in multiple-choice form, and then within SAT passages. This book also contains three timed writing sections.

"PWN Test Prep: Extra SAT Math Practice (Volume 1)" by Mike McClenathan

The organizing principle behind McClenathan’s follow-up book speaks to McClenathan’s tutor-mindset. After collecting statistics on which “Question-of-the-Day” students miss most often on his website, he compiled the most challenging problems into this supplementary volume. This book does not represent an even distribution of topics, but rather a way to fine-tune areas that commonly invite error.

Sakina Fakhri

The Sentence Method of Note-Taking: A Quick Guide

The sentence method is a simple and versatile note-taking method, and it holds value during fast-paced lectures.

The 12 Most Effective Note-Taking Methods

These are efficient note-taking methods that anyone can pick up and use to take better notes.

4 Stress Management Strategies for Online Students

Q&A with Laurie Santos, Ph.D., instructor of Coursera’s online course, The Science of Well-Being from Yale University.