Increase Your Score in 3 Minutes a Day: SAT Critical Reading

People who review books without reading them must have some ulterior motive. I found the "Camouflage Airy Persiflage" advice in the Strategy Section invaluable and I certainly would have never figured out this approach on my own. This book is so much more creative than the other books I looked at it's not even funny. Well, actually it is (the book I mean).

This prep book actually has cartoons that are funny. And the authors are pretty amusing considering the subject matter. But the good news is that the content has the potential to help you score higher on the writing section. The tips made me think about different ways to approach the writing prompts. As they say, you have to be unafraid to "Take the Shot." No mooncalfing. No lollydolling. Save that for your sweetheart. Buy this book now.

If you don't want to overwhelm your SAT candidate with GIANT books filled with scary tests, use this book as a stepping stone. It's small enough to fit into a back pocket, has an encouraging tone and will help with motivation. It is not enough for the SAT's by itself, but it is a good baby step to build confidence to move into the bigger books. Most students can handle 3 minutes and once they are successful--are willing to move into more substantial study time. Overall, good warmup book to prepare students to learn.

As a tutor I bought this book thinking I could use it for some of my students. The book is too short and what there is consists of vague generalizations, and cutesy comments. Some of the quotes are funny, but there is too little of substance to justify buying this over the many other SAT books available.

Throughly pleased with Randall McCutcheon's other 3 Minutes A Day book for the SAT essay, I purchased this book with high hopes. While this book was far more interesting than other books, the lack of examples and obvious tips made this book not very helpful. Then again, one does have to realize that it is difficult to be both concise and comprehensive. For a quick review of the verbal section, this book is great. However, if you need intensive help with reading, I would suggest a different book (or just more practice). The practice passages in the end particularly irked me. The passages were informative and interesting, with one or two follow-up questions. These passages, however, are not reflective of the real SAT, which usually has obscure or boring passages. This book is a fun read, but lacking in true practice material.