Test-Taking Strategies

Read Carefully – Make sure you fully understand what each question is asking before you begin solving it. A common mistake students make on the SSAT is misinterpreting the question, so take your time, read each word carefully, and underline key details to avoid errors. You also want to make sure that you have selected an answer before clicking away, so that you aren’t accidentally leaving a question blank. 

Work Backwards – For many math questions, starting with the answer choices can be an effective approach. If the problem involves an unknown value, try plugging in the provided answers to see which one works. Begin with the middle choice to quickly narrow down your options.

Use Estimation – Before solving a problem, make an educated guess about what the answer should look like. Consider whether the answer will be positive or negative, larger or smaller than the given numbers, or if it should be a fraction, decimal, or whole number. Estimation can help you eliminate unreasonable answer choices and solve problems more efficiently.

Test-Taking Strategies

Locate Supporting Evidence. Every answer can be found within the passage. Approach reading comprehension like solving a mystery—identify the key clues that lead you to the correct answer.

Predict Your Answer. Before looking at the answer choices, try to determine the answer on your own. This approach helps you avoid being misled by incorrect options.

Identify the Main Idea. Take notes and highlight crucial information as you read. Summarizing sections as you go will help you save time and improve comprehension.

Check out additional reading comprehension strategies.

Test-Taking Strategies

Come up with your own answer first – Before checking the answer choices, try to come up with your own response after reading the question. This helps you stay focused and avoid being influenced by incorrect options.

Break unfamiliar words apart – If you come across words that you don’t recognize, try breaking them into smaller parts. Understanding common roots, prefixes, and suffixes can help you figure out its meaning, even if you’ve never seen it before.

What topic should I choose for the prompt I receive?

It is important to consider your audience – the admissions board at your school of choice – when choosing a topic for the SSAT writing sample. 

You will want to consider how you would like to portray yourself to the people who will be reviewing your application. You likely don’t want to choose a topic that will make you sound mean, insensitive, or out of touch with your fellow students.

It is a good idea to brainstorm a few different topics for each prompt before you start writing. If your topic was something along the lines of “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you decide to live and why?”, you could use this to relate back to a story about your life (you could share a story about a time that you went to a beautiful place), or describe things that you are passionate about (you would choose to live in the mountains because you are interested in that ecosystem). You may want to steer clear of a response that paints you in a negative light, such as cutting yourself off from communities or prioritizing materialistic desires (such as living in a secluded mansion with a garage full of sports cars, for example). 

If you’re unsure what to write or don’t have an experience that directly relates to a given prompt, that’s okay. You can include that in your essay as a starting point. However, you’ll want to make sure that you do address the prompt you choose. Let’s say you are given these two prompts to choose from:

1. Is there a social media influencer or pop culture icon that has impacted you, and why?
2. Has social media had an overall positive or negative impact on society?

However, you do not use social media. This could likely help you eliminate option one. You could begin your response to option two by saying something along the lines of “While I myself don’t use social media, it has had some major effects on society and the world around me…” and continue on from there.

The important thing is to not allow the prompt to delay your writing process. You only have so much time, use it as best as you can.