Maximum SAT

by Peter Edwards

Book Overview

The Second Edition of the best-selling "Maximum SAT", the UNOFFICIAL companion to "The Official SAT Study Guide", is here! Now with a unique new approach to mastering Reading Comprehension! Improved and expanded from the first edition, "Maximum SAT" by Achieve Tutorials is unique: it is designed to be the UNOFFICIAL companion to "The Official SAT Study Guide". It is written and edited by an elite group of SAT tutors, each with over 15 years of experience...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141965800X
• ISBN13: 9781419658006
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Createspace
• Length: 359 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.8" x 1.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A good analysis of the SAT

This book analyzes every type of questions on the practice tests in the Official SAT Study Guide by collegeboard. It is said to be the unofficial companion to the Official SAT Study Guide and that's exactly what this is. It has perfect analysis on every type of problems and practice questions of that type so that when we see those types of problems on the actual test we'll really know what to do. The book is written in a very objective point of view telling you and proving to you what kind of problems are on the test by referring to the problems on the Official Study Guide. In my opinion, this is most ideal prep book for the SAT. Princeton Review's Cracking the SAT has the least amount of practice problems and the most number tricks and tips that aren't very useful. They have this assuring tone that makes people falsely believe that they know everything there is to know about the SAT. Kaplan's is better since it focuses more on the problems than some guessing tricks that may look good but won't work that well without actually having the skills which you are being tested. Barron's is known for its overpreparation. It contains the most amount of practice problems but their major flaw is that they're too hard. Still too hard is better than too easy and those myriad of practice problems would definitely help you way more than learning gimmicks from Princeton Review's I'd recommend The Official study Guide and this book if you're just going to buy two books. And if you want to buy more you should either use Barron's or Kaplan's depending on how much effort you're willing to put into. And lastly, I wouldn't recommend Princeton Review's for its misleading informations and strongly subjective opinions by the author.

Worked for Me

I saw this book recommended on a college prep site, and now I'm telling my friends to use it. I didn't have much time because I waited til the last minute to study. But this book really helped. I'm happy with my score (most of my friends aren't happy with theirs). I did all the exercises and most of the practice questions (mostly math because that's where I needed it). Make sure you buy this with the Official Guide because it points to questions as extra practice.

I'd write this book!

If I were to write my own SAT book, this would be it. I've read literally every SAT book on the market. Some are good, some are bad, some are outstanding. This one is truly outstanding. After tutoring a student, I have him read sections out of the book and then practice with the real questions suggested in the book. Every student has said that he loves this book and finds it to be very thorough yet easy to follow. It's a truly ingenious idea to teach concepts and then point students right to real questions. The practice for the students has been invaluable. The one section that I think is a bit lacking is the critical reading section, more specifically, the reading passages. Then again, most books are lacking in this area because one really has to find one's own style of reading. The only thing is to practice reading sections and develop a method. Trust me, this book is well worth the $25. In fact, whenever I work with a new student, the two books I buy him are the Official Guide and this book. I've seen students scores raise anywhere from 50 to over 300 points combined. Many of the students attribute it to the clarity of this book and practicing with real questions.

Really helped me along with the Official SAT Study Guide

My mom bought me about 5 SAT prep books and I looked through them all and decided to use this one, mostly because ur supposed to use it with the Official SAT Study Guide which has real test questions. It was also really easy to read and understand, and it has a great study schedule that I followed. The material was really clear and easy to learn, and it covered everything I saw on the real test, but not much extra. The section on Writing (the grammar and the essay) was really helpful. I was totally scared of the essay, but i ended up feeling really good about it and got a 10! I think the vocabulary lists were really good (but I didn't really learn all the words for the test.) The math was also helpful 'cause it actually reviewed all of the math topics and gave tricks to get the answers a lot more quickly than I was doing them before. I actually had 5 minutes left at the end of 2 math sections to check my answers. The good news is that I went up almost 300 points from my PSAT score and I probably won't take the test again...I way did better than I thought I could! So, I really recommend this book. Great material and easy to understand, and it assigns homework from real test. The downside is that you have to buy the Official SAT study guide too, but you should anyway, since it has real tests.

A Great Resource for Students and Tutors

There are tons of SAT prep books on the market, but this one stands out. Written by an expert teacher, this book presents a thorough yet concise look at the SAT. Combined with "The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT," this book provides diligent students with complete SAT prep - and gives SAT tutors a ready-made course. I am an experienced (12+ years) SAT tutor myself, and I can verify that there's no better way to practice for a test than to use real questions. "Maximum SAT" presents techniques and hints for every type of SAT question in easy-to-understand language - and provides pointers to hundreds of real SAT questions. It also includes a study syllabus that's easy to understand and follow, as well as an incredibly thorough table of contents and index. I highly recommend this book to any student preparing for the SAT, and to any tutor who's been looking for a comprehensive guide.