5 stars (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.
4 stars (Benefit of a doubt) - Right, I give it benefit of a doubt - that's why 4 stars. Concept is good.
I have not checked it out it yet. I try to scan new SAT publications (I am almost afraid to say "as a tutor", because so many reviewers claim to be tutors/teachers in their reviews, you can't help but start thinking whether it's for real).
What I did notice in this book reviews, and have noticed lately in many other books reviews, is a very peculiar trend. Many reviewers either have no other reviews, or they did write several reviews, but it looks they got suddenly bitten by a writing bug: all their reviews are posted on the same date.
Makes one wonder...
5 stars (Peter has done a wonderful job.) - I have just received my copy of this book and as an educator I can see years of experience as well as a lot of intelligence put together under one cover promising to help an SAT bound student very much. Congratulations. |
