How to Study SAT? (English 👎 / Math 👍)

Many immigrants fall into this category. They’re confident in math but held back by English, which prevents a major score increase. In this case, you should first master Writing and Math. Because Reading scores are very hard to raise in a short time, you should secure 750–800 in Math to offset a lower Reading score, and master Writing so that (for example, 14 questions in 10 minutes with ≤ 3 wrong) you leave plenty of time for Reading on test day.

Immigrant students who are strong in math often underperform on the SAT Math section for two main reasons:

1. Insufficient proficiency with calculators like Desmos

2. Insufficient command of math-related English terminology

   
   

First, Desmos (The calculator that you can use during the test) is an extremely important tool on SAT Math for cutting solution time, so you must master how to use it.

(To learn Desmos systematically, I recommend this YouTube channel.)

Next, while you could memorize math terms one by one from a glossary, in my experience, that approach is inefficient. It’s better to solve lots of SAT Math problems and get used to the terms in context. Whenever you miss a question because of terminology, mark it and record the term. This sticks better in your memory and helps prevent repeat mistakes.

(For SAT Math practice, I recommend the following resources: SAT Panda / Alpha Test / OnePrep.)

Now, Writing study is almost like memorizing formulas. SAT Writing contains various rules and grammatical patterns, and if you practice and internalize them, you can solve the problems without major difficulty.

(For Writing study, I recommend: summaries of grammatical pattern types / a YouTube channel / practice problem sets.)

Finally, Reading. If you’ve reached a decent level in Math and Writing as above, it’s time to focus on the final boss: Reading. For immigrant students, vocabulary and contextual comprehension are crucial. Without this foundation, even the best strategies and methods won’t raise your score. Therefore, you must memorize a large number of English words to expand your core vocabulary. If you don’t know the words, you won’t naturally be able to interpret the passage, and if you can’t interpret it, you can’t apply the strategies you learned. Because of this, jumping straight into heavy problem-solving without the foundation is essentially wasting problems. Early on, do practice sets primarily to adapt to the format and style, but avoid excessive volume.

The SAT also has vocabulary questions. These often require not just the dictionary meaning but the implied nuance as well. So rather than memorizing only a translation into your native language, I recommend learning English definitions and memorizing synonyms together. With native-language translations, nuance can get lost. Moreover, SAT Reading often includes rephrasing items, where the correct answer restates the passage using different vocabulary. To handle these, you must know not only word meanings but also synonyms and near-synonyms, so you can quickly recognize that the correct answer expresses the same idea as the passage.

(To build vocabulary, I recommend this book. It includes pronunciation, English definitions, synonyms, and example sentences, so you can capture both nuance and synonym sets.)

Contextual comprehension refers to situations where “you know the words but still can’t understand the sentence.” This comes from unfamiliarity with complex sentence structures. To fix it, expose yourself to many complex sentences and practice unpacking them directly. It can also help to read one science magazine article a day on topics you find interesting. (For building contextual comprehension, I recommend: BBC News / The New York Times / Smithsonian Magazine / ScienceNews.)

Once you’ve completed the foundational build-up (vocabulary + context) and have mastered Writing/Math, it’s time to develop problem-solving strategies in earnest. DSAT Reading includes a variety of question types, and each requires slightly different approaches and procedures. Look up type-specific strategies, apply them, and refine your own solving routine. For high scores, an error log is especially important. The SAT is famous for recycling prior questions (including similar variants), so simply understanding your mistakes thoroughly and not repeating them will naturally raise your score.

When writing your error log, always record the following in full sentences:

• Why did I choose this (wrong) answer?

• Why is this answer wrong?

• Why is the other answer right?

Through this process, you internalize the logical flow and evidence that the SAT expects. No one else can do this part for you—you must do it yourself for it to be effective. Even if it feels tedious, analyze your errors carefully, flag your weaknesses clearly, and ensure you don’t miss the same way next time.

(For SAT Reading, I recommend: Erica’s SAT Reading book / Alpha Test / OnePrep. / Settele Tutoring)

When you feel reasonably proficient and like you’re getting the hang of it, start solving questions under time limits. Since the real test is timed, practicing under test-like conditions is essential. (Recommended per-question limits: easy–medium: 1 min 30 sec / medium–hard to hard: 2 min.) Also, take practice tests periodically to adapt to the actual testing experience. There are third-party tests and Bluebook tests created by the official organization. Third-party tests may differ somewhat in difficulty and style from the real exam, so Bluebook tests are extremely important—but there are currently only seven, so use them sparingly. After each practice, write down which types you were weak on, what exactly caused problems, and what to improve. Of course, an error log is mandatory.

(※ This article is based on the author’s experience and collected sources. If anything is inaccurate or uncertain, please feel free to point it out so it can be corrected or supplemented. ※)