Sat Reading and Writing Which Are the Best

With then many Sat prep books to choose from, how can you tell the skilful ones from the bad ones? Well, not to worry because we've evaluated SAT books for you! This fully updated guide gives you our recommendations for the tiptop 11 Sabbatum preparation books to help you achieve the scores y'all desire.

To best outline the differences, I've divided the books into four main sections:

• Best Overall Sabbatum Prep Volume
• Best Traditional Sat Prep Books for Education, Strategy, and Do Questions
• Best Books for Sabbatum Math
• All-time Books for SAT Reading and Writing

Before jumping into our Saturday book recommendations, though, allow me to give y'all a give-and-take about my perspective.

Disclaimer: Why Am I Recommending SAT Books?

Y'all're probably wondering why PrepScholar, known for its online SAT prep program, is going old school and recommending an Sat book list.

Equally SAT experts who accept made it our mission to understand the test and help students succeed, we are defended to providing you with the best resource to achieve both your academic and personal goals. If you're self-motivated and adopt using SAT books in your prep, then they can be a bang-up style to acquire content, practise strategies, and try out sample questions.

That being said, all the Sat prep books recommended below take strengths and weaknesses. Several of them seem as if they were rushed to publication, while others unfortunately don't offer the same level of quality that they did in previous versions.

I believe PrepScholar has managed to integrate the best parts of these books into its online prep program while adding the helpful element of accountability. Nosotros help y'all plan out and stick to your study schedule, keep runway of your progress, and hone the specific skills and practice trouble types you need most in social club to better your scores.

With prep books, you can try to customize your written report plan to your specific needs too—but with PrepScholar, nosotros do all that heavy lifting for you. Plus, because the huge gains y'all tin get from it, it'southward much more cost effective than buying all these books!

Since nosotros're non necessarily benefiting from these SAT volume recommendations, y'all can trust that our advice is neutral, objective, and based on both our and students' real experiences with these SAT preparation books.

Now that nosotros've got all that out of the fashion, let's move on to our list of Sat books. Because the all-time representation of Saturday questions always come from the test makers themselves, I'll be starting this listing with the Higher Lath's Official Saturday Written report Guide.

The College Board'south Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition

Price: Almost $20 on Amazon

In by years, I told students that the College Lath'due south SAT guide was the number i, disquisitional book they had to have in their written report arsenal. At present, I'm proverb pretty much the opposite—don't bother! Why? Considering you tin find all of its material for free online.

In a helpful move, the College Board has asserted its commitment to transparency by providing free online SAT practise materials (they're also strongly promoting their partnership with Khan Academy, which offers useful video explanations to continue with official Sabbatum questions).

Some students and educators were disappointed to buy The Official Study Guide book merely to find that its practice tests were the same exact ones offered online.

So does this book offer anything beyond Saturday practice tests? Information technology does dedicate a agglomeration of pages to explaining the exam structure, basic strategies, and respond explanations. Since you can notice the majority of this info online, though, I don't recommend ownership the official guide unless you really want all the material printed out for you.

If you have access to a printer and a working net connection, I'd say to accept advantage of the free online material and learn about the SAT that style. The total number of tests is still limited, so you might space out these SAT practice tests throughout your prep as a way to guess your progress and determine what concepts you need to study most.

In betwixt these tests, yous can supplement with questions from other books on this list. Read on for the pros and cons of the all-time overall Saturday prep book, along with the best books past Saturday department.

Best Overall Saturday Prep Book: Kallis' SAT Pattern Strategy

Price: Almost $33 on Amazon

Students and educators akin have reported having peachy experiences with Kallis' Redesigned SAT Design Strategy volume. This volume provides six full-length practice tests, calculation up to around 24 hours of practice testing.

Pros

• The Sabbatum questions are generally realistic and closely mimic official examination questions.

• Kallis goes beyond the official guide's simple explanations to give step-by-step answer explanations for each question. These in-depth descriptions help you lot empathize any mistakes and ready them for next time—a primal strategy for improving your scores.

• The book discusses 101 topics yous'll find on the Sat and offers a clear, focused presentation of fundamental concepts in grammar, literature, and math. Across content review, this book gives some analysis of the various question types, allowing you to take a more strategic arroyo to your prep.

• Kallis goes over the structure, format, and topics covered on the SAT in detail, so you'll take a stiff grasp of logistics earlier test twenty-four hour period. This review will save you time in having to read any instructions and pace yourself since you'll know exactly what to expect on the Sabbatum.

Cons

• While this volume does a practiced chore providing realistic do questions and content review, it's less helpful for learning central SAT strategies, such as time management and the process of emptying. Considering this book emphasizes a "learning by doing" approach, it doesn't spend a lot of fourth dimension going over mindset and critical exam-taking strategies.

• This volume is relatively expensive at over $xxx on Amazon (although you lot can get a used version for virtually half that toll).

• It requires a lot of independence and cocky-discipline. You'll need to take responsibility for dividing up the material in the most effective way and designing and sticking to a productive study plan. While the practise questions are there, it's up to yous to put in the work and make the most out of them.

All-time Traditional SAT Prep Books for Educational activity, Strategy, and Practice Questions

The post-obit Saturday prep books are of decent quality but have some serious weaknesses too. The following four books are the all-time currently available for content review and practice bug. Let'south become over the pros and cons of each.

Sat Prep Black Book, 2nd Edition

Price: Virtually $28 on Amazon

I highly recommend Saturday Prep Black Book for its insightful strategies and examination advice. The SAT Blackness Book, every bit it's called, was written past Mike Barrett, who's taken the time to understand the test within and out. In information technology, he goes over the different types of questions and introduces disquisitional tips, such as how to recognize tricky wording and "distractor" respond choices.

Pros

• This volume is excellent for students who desire to larn about the construction, format, and tricks of the SAT, and for those who desire to gain practical strategies when information technology comes to answering questions and saving fourth dimension.

• It tin can be useful for students of all levels, since Barrett customizes his advice depending on your target score.

• Information technology provides thorough reply explanations for questions on the outset four official Sat practice tests. Where the College Board fails to walk y'all through the steps of a practice problem or explain why other respond choices are incorrect, this book guides you through each question on each practise test in detail.

• It can help change your mindset when actually taking the SAT. Y'all can incorporate the book'southward explanations and strategies into your own approach so that you're more confident when answering each question blazon. While the Black Book is bang-up for strategy, though, information technology'southward less helpful for studying concepts.

Cons

• Information technology doesn't have any of its ain SAT exercise questions. Instead, the book must exist used in conjunction with the official Saturday practise tests. It refers directly to official Saturday questions and gives thorough explanations, especially for the hardest questions.

• The Black Volume focuses on strategy and understanding the SAT, then it'due south not the strongest resources for reviewing concepts and content. If you're looking to completely relearn sentence parallelism or linear functions, for case, you'd need an additional resource.

• Although I find this book to exist written in a pretty engaging style, this is entirely a matter of opinion; in other words, Barrett's explanation style and test strategies might non work for everyone.

McGraw-Hill Education SAT Elite 2022

Price: About $24 on Amazon

If you're looking for an informative overview of the construction and content of the SAT, so McGraw-Hill Education Sat Elite 2022 is a decent choice. At more than 950 pages long, this massive book goes over the Sat in great item, from the number of questions to the fourth dimension limits on each section, and so yous tin know exactly what to expect on examination day.

Pros

• Information technology contains eight full-length SAT exercise tests, including i diagnostic exam. Five of the tests are in the book, and three are online. These are all fairly realistic and include thorough answer explanations for each question.

• The book'south do questions are realistic and resemble official questions. Specifically, the Math questions characteristic real-world scenarios you'd likely see on the SAT, with issues revolving around topics such every bit temperature and selling tickets for a performance.

• The book is extremely potent in its presentation of Sat Math concepts. Information technology breaks downward all the major topics in detail, from expressions and linear systems to less ordinarily tested ideas such as geometry, basic trig, and complex numbers.

• Information technology gives you helpful guidance when it comes to mapping out your Sat report plan. Similar to our own SAT prep programme, this book suggests kickoff your prep with a diagnostic Sabbatum exercise exam and using it to shape your report plan. It too offers some crucial strategies, such as improving your calculator fluency so you know when information technology'll be useful and when it'll just slow y'all down

Cons

• It's weak in reviewing Reading and Writing. While the volume goes over the Math section in detail, its presentation of the two verbal sections is more limited and even a little unusual. Its review of the sections is more than conceptual and experimental than it is specific to the SAT. For example, the book features chapters with titles like "Language of Truth, Truthfulness, and Beauty" and the "Linguistic communication of Dissent, Criticism, and Rebellion." While these sections might audio interesting to volume lovers, they aren't really relevant to the SAT—a feature I consider disquisitional when prepping for this unique, idiosyncratic exam.

Barron's Sabbatum, 29th Edition

Toll: $27 on Amazon

Barron's Sat, 29th Edition is some other thorough prep book that offers ample content review, sample questions, and SAT practice tests.

Pros

• The book contains four full-length practice tests, in improver to access to 2 more full-length online practice examination. This gives you lot tons of opportunities to practise.

• It offers a diagnostic exam, a helpful tool to familiarize yous with the SAT, go you lot into a testing mindset, and help you note any weaknesses you'll need to address moving frontward.

• Barron's is very comprehensive and covers almost of the topics you need to know for the Sat. Because of its dense format, it'southward typically more effective for high scorers who tin engage quickly with the content and maintain focus throughout. If yous can divide up and scaffold the material in a manageable mode, at that place's no uncertainty y'all'll gain some valuable practice with this Sabbatum prep book.

Cons

• Barron's has been criticized for recycling do questions from its old books rather than creating new SAT content, and this trouble remains in this edition besides. Simply reusing former questions won't give yous a realistic sense of the question types and concepts on the Sabbatum. This volume appears especially guilty of this in its math sections, where it also lacks sufficient focus on algebra—a major component of the examination.

• Some of the questions are overly confusing and have complicated wording. By contrast, existent SAT exam questions call for in-depth reasoning skills while using relatively straightforward wording. Therefore, the questions you'll make it Barron'due south, while helpful, might ultimately be too hard and not as useful as they could be for your test prep.

The Princeton Review'due south Keen the Sat, 2020 Edition

Price: About $xx on Amazon (and $3 for the premium edition)

Similar to Barron's, The Princeton Review'south Cracking the SAT, 2020 Edition prep volume provides a comprehensive review of the SAT, covering concepts yous need to know, such equally grammar rules and algebraic functions, along with strategies for approaching the test questions and managing your fourth dimension.

Pros

• It contains 4 full-length practice tests and one additional practice exam y'all tin access online (or, if you become the premium version, y'all'll take admission to 3 more than online, giving you a total of eight do tests!).

• The book offers thorough reply explanations for practice questions, which help you remember about how you can approach similar questions in the hereafter and on examination twenty-four hour period.

• There'south an online component that helps yous score your practice tests.

Cons

• The Princeton Review shares one of Barron'south biggest drawbacks: some of its questions accept overly elaborate wording and therefore don't match the straightforward style of official Sabbatum questions that well. While the practice tests are helpful, they're not the best representation of Sabbatum questions.

• Some of the book's content review and questions are too conceptually piece of cake. While Barron's might be ameliorate for peculiarly motivated students aiming for meridian scores, this book is probably more appropriate for students scoring effectually or beneath 600 on a exam section. Don't wait to have this volume help you score much beyond this range.

• It doesn't break each content surface area downwards into as many subtopics equally it could, so there's a lack of particular when information technology comes to certain subject areas.

• Its style might not be for everyone. This book is a big, traditional test Sat prep volume with a straightforward approach. While some students might appreciate or adopt this, others might find information technology tiresome and deadening.

All the SAT prep books mentioned to a higher place take both strengths and weaknesses. Combined, though, they provide relatively comprehensive prep in all major areas: practice questions, content review, and strategies.

If you're looking to focus even more than on a particular Sabbatum department, you'll likely benefit from a subject-specific Sabbatum prep book. The following books are my meridian recommendations for SAT Math, Reading, and Writing.

Unlike his couches, this frog prefers his Sabbatum prep one section at a fourth dimension.

All-time Books for SAT Math

Books that focus on a single SAT subject area often provide especially in-depth prep. Plus, they tin exist easier to arroyo than the huge comprehensive test prep books. If you need more prep in one section than the others or are taking reward of your colleges' superscoring policies past edifice up your SAT scores one section at a time, then these books could be not bad resources.

We'll start with my recommendations for Math prep books, starting with Dr. Steve Warner's 500 New SAT Math Problems.

Dr. Steve Warner'southward 500 New Sat Math Problems

Price: About $xl on Amazon

Dr. Steve Warner's 500 New SAT Math Bug is his most recent in SAT Math grooming. He discusses each area on the test: Heart of Algebra, Passport to Advanced Math, Trouble Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Complex Numbers (the Higher Board calls this last topic Boosted Topics).

Pros

• Just like with his last series, Dr. Warner offers comprehensive and clear content review and teaching.

• This book helpfully arranges SAT math concepts past difficulty, with the easiest being Level 1 and the most avant-garde being Level 5. This system ensures that math problems from all the unlike content areas are integrated; it also allows you to focus on certain capacity depending on your own level. Students already scoring in the 700s, for instance, will benefit the most from studying Level four and 5 concepts and problems.

• Each lesson in this book is advisedly crafted, and practise bug are realistic, helping to reinforce your understanding.

• Reply explanations are clear and get over some different approaches yous can take when solving a trouble. As mentioned above, these kinds of multifaceted explanations appeal to different kinds of learners and allow you to carefully understand your mistakes and fix them for next fourth dimension.

Cons

• While information technology's perhaps unfair to compare this book with its predecessors (which focused on the old version of the Saturday), I can't help simply detect it a little express. The volume could be a amend resource if it broke downward each content expanse into smaller, more specific subtopics.

• At $twoscore, it's too quite an investment for a volume that merely covers on subject area of the Saturday.

Dr. Jang'south SAT 800 Math Workbook New Edition

Price: About $24 on Amazon

At more than 400 pages long, Dr. Jang's SAT 800 Math Workbook for the New Sabbatum is a nifty (and hefty) math prep volume to add together to your SAT book collection.

Pros

• By far, this volume's nigh impressive strength is its sheer number of math exercise problems—more than 1,500 of them! It definitely allows for a "learning by doing" arroyo, equally you can time yourself and answer practice questions for days on end.

• Question types are arranged by difficulty level, so you lot can break them up and customize your math practice depending on your needs. You might first with Dr. Jang's diagnostic examination and then infinite out the book'due south ten sample tests as you lot prep.

• Dr. Jang's SAT math problems are generally realistic examples of what you'll see on the Sat. The book emphasizes algebra, includes basic trigonometry, and divides questions into not-calculator and calculator sections (just like the actual SAT does). It likewise offers a strong representation of the concepts, format, and rules you'll run into on the SAT Math department.

Cons

• This book is similar the flipped version of Dr. Warner's book above—lots of practise problems but not a ton of content review. For more education, as well as strategies and detailed explanations, you lot'll need to supplement this workbook with another resources.

• It has some occasional typos, which can detract from your prep.

• It doesn't include many examination-taking strategies, such equally time management. This book has lots of practice problems that appeal to students of all levels, but it's probably not sufficient on its own to prep yous for all aspects of Sat Math.

PWN The Sat: Math Guide, 4th Edition

Toll: Almost $xxx on Amazon

PWN the SAT targets high-achieving, motivated students who are aiming for a superlative score in Sabbatum Math. The book contains five main sections: Techniques, Heart of Algebra, Passport to Advanced Math, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Additional Topics in Math. Each category is cleaved down into its component concepts to teach you the fundamentals tested on SAT Math.

Pros

• The book is written in an engaging, irreverent mode, which can help students stay engaged with the material.

• It has realistic practice math problems, both Calculator and No Reckoner, to help y'all go ready for both question types. Each affiliate too provides a listing of official questions of a certain type to help you lot drill specific skills.

• You tin can register on the PWN Sabbatum website to get bonus material and watch video answer explanations that walk you lot step past step through the practice problems.

Cons

• Its target audience is express. While this book volition assistance top scorers with stiff math skills, it won't be equally accessible to students who struggle with math. If you desire to focus on gaining foundational knowledge, PWN the SAT isn't the book for you.

Although in that location are works by several different authors to choose from to maximize your SAT Math score, I just take one author recommendation to boost your Saturday Reading and Writing score: Erica Meltzer.

Quick coffee break, and then it's on to Saturday Reading and Writing.

Best Books for Sat Reading and Writing

If you lot're looking to brush up your reading comprehension skills or knowledge of grammar rules, I recommend Erica Meltzer's books on the Reading and Writing sections of the SAT.

The Critical Reader: The Consummate Guide to SAT Reading, 3rd Edition

Price: Well-nigh $33 on Amazon

While studying for the SAT Reading section might seem hard to break down into specific parts, Erica Meltzer's Complete Guide to Sabbatum Reading does a adept chore outlining the skills you lot'll demand.

Pros

• It offers helpful strategies for answering questions. While your English grade might go out more room for subjective interpretation, the SAT Reading section does not. This volume helps y'all locate the one unambiguously right respond on reading comprehension questions.

• In addition to time direction and reading comprehension techniques, this volume teaches yous how to locate and identify fundamental data both quickly and efficiently. It provides useful strategies for approaching paired supporting bear witness and data estimation questions, many of which require you lot to read tables or graphs.

• Information technology has a listing of common, multiple-pregnant words with their various definitions aslope strategies for how to use context clues to uncover the meanings of words and phrases.

• This book discusses question blazon so you can proceeds a better sense of what kinds of questions appear on Reading, such every bit main point, interpretation of detail, and vocabulary in context.

• It's total of loftier-quality questions and passages that resemble what you lot'll see on the Sat, including passages from US/world literature, history/social studies, and science. Information technology as well incorporates questions from the College Board and Khan University so y'all can lucifer up concepts with relevant official sample questions.

Cons

• Non all students are fans of the overall layout and formatting of the volume, which has small, crowded font and isn't very creative or engaging.

• The writing style is all to the point. Some people appreciate this for its directness; other students find it dry. Yous tin learn more than nigh it at Meltzer's web log, The Critical Reader, and run across how it suits you.

• Information technology'southward a relatively expensive book considering it only covers one section of the Sat.

The Critical Reader: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, fourth Edition

Price: About $31 on Amazon

Erica Meltzer'due south Ultimate Guide to Sat Grammar clearly articulates the important grammar rules you'll need to know for the SAT Writing section and does a fantastic task getting you lot used to how the section will wait and what kinds of questions you'll exist asked on test mean solar day.

Pros

• The questions are realistic and resemble those on the Sat Writing section. Like questions on the Sat, they are all connected to the context of a longer passage.

• It breaks downwards disquisitional skills and grammar rules so yous can written report them individually. By learning the rules of grammar and usage, you lot'll be able to apply them to practice issues. Rather than just choosing an answer that sounds right, Meltzer's book will teach you all the rules you absolutely must know to get a good SAT Writing score.

Cons

• While this book is helpful in the fashion it breaks the department downwards past skill and grammar rule, the questions on the existent Sabbatum volition be in random order. This resource is useful for learning and drilling the rules, but you besides want to take practice tests to make certain you can easily identify the grammar dominion, fifty-fifty when it'southward non clearly laid out and labeled for you.

• There isn't a frequency guide, then it's hard to know which rules to prioritize over others.

• It's written in a similar style to her Sat Reading book, which some students might find dry.

• Like Meltzer's SAT Reading book, it'southward somewhat costly at around $thirty.

This concludes our list of the best Saturday prep books. Now, since this guide is meant to help yous streamline your studying, let'south talk over how you lot can best use these books to prep for the SAT and reach your target scores.

Key Tips for Studying With SAT Prep Books

There are a lot of options when information technology comes to studying for the Sat from books. Rather than reading them cover to cover, yous would be better served coming up with a plan and breaking each book downwardly into smaller, manageable goals.

I recommend using an official College Board practice test to requite yourself a pre-test and gain a sense of your starting level, or baseline score. Use its answer central to score it and then analyze your results to determine what areas of the exam you need to focus on in your prep.

Yous could likewise save one of the tests to take right earlier y'all take the official SAT so you tin can gain a sense of how much y'all've improved. As mentioned, the other tests could be used equally benchmarks along the way to gauge your progress and re-adjust your written report plan if needed.

A comprehensive volume such as Kallis' or Barron's could exist used aslope a subject-specific volume, such as Steve Warner's Math book and Erica Meltzer's Reading and Writing guides. Depending on your goals and needs, you can decide how much fourth dimension to devote to each subject to get the most out of your studying.

There's a lot of room here to customize your study programme to your own strengths, weaknesses, and goals. This requires a expert deal of planning and cocky-subject to actually stick to your plan. You'll besides benefit from reflecting on what works best for you lot in terms of maintaining interest, retaining data, and staying organized.

If this sounds like a lot of "study prep" before you even get to your test prep, you might benefit from exploring SAT prep options across using an Sabbatum book list.

Time to explore!

Last Tip: Explore Your Sabbatum Prep Options

The Sabbatum is a unique test. Doing well in math and English class doesn't necessarily guarantee you lot a high score on Sabbatum Math or Reading. Prep is a critical component of getting a high score for near students, which the Higher Board is finally acknowledging with its efforts to provide complimentary online practice materials.

Since y'all probably don't have time to waste matter, you lot want to make the near of your prep time. If you're taking fourth dimension out of your schedule to study, you should see results.

PrepScholar'southward online Sat program was developed with these goals in mind. It retains the quality of content review, practical strategies, and Saturday practice questions while calculation those elements of accountability and customization. It as well ensures you're getting the well-nigh out of your prep and aren't wasting time on material y'all already know or that won't aid you on the Sat.

With that aforementioned goal in mind, nosotros've fabricated bachelor a number of in-depth strategy guides for the SAT, which we're adding to all the time. Here are some of our virtually popular guides:

• How to Get a Perfect 1600 Saturday Score, by a 2400 Practiced Full Scorer
• How to Go 800 on SAT Reading: 11 Strategies by a Perfect Scorer
• How to Go 800 on SAT Writing: ix Strategies From a Perfect Scorer
• How to Get 800 on Sat Math, by a Perfect Scorer
• How Long Should I Study for the SAT? 6-Footstep Guide
• Should You Approximate on the SAT? 6 Guessing Strategies
• The 21 Critical SAT Math Formulas You MUST Know
• The Consummate Guide to Saturday Grammar Rules
• The All-time Way to Review Your Mistakes for the SAT

The recommended SAT prep books can be very useful in getting you fix, but they can also experience overwhelming and repetitive, not to mention expensive.

Take the fourth dimension to explore your options while as well learning nigh the SAT from high-quality online resources and our detailed guides. If you're putting in the time to prep for the SAT, make sure that you lot're seeing results and enjoying the procedure along the way!

What's Next?

Before delving into content and strategies, you lot should familiarize yourself with exactly what's on the Sabbatum. Acquire all virtually the Reading, Writing, and Math sections in our individual guides. As well, read our consummate guide to the SAT to acquire more about the test overall.

An of import part of your written report schedule is knowing exactly when yous program to take the Sabbatum. Read all about how to choose your test dates.

Did you know a lot of colleges superscore the Sabbatum, significant they take your highest department scores across all dates? Learn how you tin can use this policy to your advantage and build up your scores beyond different examination dates.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We accept the industry'south leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and Sat total scorers, the programme learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, and then customizes your prep program to yous so you lot get the most constructive prep possible.

Check out our 5-day free trial today:

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through 1 of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Have friends who too need help with examination prep? Share this commodity!

About the Writer

Rebecca graduated with her Master's in Boyish Counseling from the Harvard Graduate Schoolhouse of Education. She has years of instruction and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the Sat.

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Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/10-best-sat-books-for-sat-prep

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