Want to take the SAT, TOEFL, or IELTS but afraid your English isn't good enough? Don't be sad...

Email the Dubai Tutor for help! I now offer foundational tuitions to help students build their English language abilities in:
* Reading
* Writing
* Listening
* Speaking
* Grammar
* Vocabulary

I can design a personalized study program for you at reasonable rates. Get a discount if you sign up with your husband/wife or school mates.

Email me and I will give you a FREE assessment to see what you would score on the actual test!

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

Ever wonder why Americans say something is "the greatest thing since sliced bread?" It's because the invention or discovery they are talking about revolutionized (good SAT word) an industry, just the way sliced bread did when it was introduced in the 1930s.

My latest "sliced bread" discovery is SparkNotes.com, and I guarantee it will revolutionize your test preparation. The SparkNotes test center features free online preparation guides and practice tests the SAT, SAT (II) Subject Tests, ACT, GRE, and LSAT. The best feature is that if you create a free account, you can practice with online tests, print a detailed score report, and save your results.

I have started using SparkNotes in my private tuitions and classes and I can see dramatic differences with students. My students can access their test results at any time and do a detailed review of their answers from practice tests, something we do not usually have time to do in class. The online test prep books are a great supplement to my teaching, their notes, and the books we use in class.

So how should you use SparkNotes in your study? Well, if you're working with the Dubai Tutor, we're already using it. If you're preparing on your own, the online practice tests can help you track your progress and let you know if it's time to email me for some extra support. While SparkNotes is not a replacement for the experienced help the Dubai Tutor can give, it will make you happy you turned your computer on that day.

Need to prepare for the SAT but don't want to spend money at MacGrudy's? Here's a list of websites with FREE SAT practice tests. Download 'em, print 'em, take 'em, ace 'em.

* College Board printable test: The questions are exactly like the ones on the real SAT.
* Peterson's timed practice test: Try to do it in one sitting to get used to taking a 4 hour test.
* 4tests.com timed practice test: Short version good for quick practice.
* The Princeton Review timed practice test: Good practice but you have to register.
* Eduers.com printable tests: Separate verbal and math sections good for practice.
* Education Planner printable tests: TWO free printable full-length SAT practice tests!

You have to do more than just questions to do well on the SAT, though. Need help preparing? I'm in Dubai! Email me at dubaitutor@live.com.

What is the SAT?
The SAT is a college admissions test designed to be taken during high school in the U.S. If you want to go to school in the U.S. as an international student, you pretty much have to take it. If you're studying in Dubai, many schools use it as an entry exam or to exempt you from taking certain courses like college algebra.

Who makes the SAT?
It is made by a company called the Educational Testing Service and administered through the College Board. Keep in mind, these guys do nothing but make tests. They also make the TOEFL and SAT subject tests.

What's on the SAT?
For the best overview of the SAT, check out the College Board website. Basically, the content is split into three parts: reading, writing, and mathematics. These subjects are tested over 10 sections.

For the reading, there are three sections that include sentence completions (fill in the blank), short reading passages, and long reading passages. For the writing, you have to write an essay and answer prove you've got good grammar on improving sentences, improving paragraphs, and error identification questions. The mathematics tests arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.

How is it scored?
Scoring can get pretty complicated, so all you need to know is that you get a score from 200 to 800 in reading, writing, and mathematics. Your total possible score is 2100.

What's a good score?
Figure out where you want to go to school and then figure out the school's required (or average accepted)score...that's a good score. Here's a secret your parents and test prep companies don't want you to know: getting into a college or university is about more than your SAT score. Get the best one you can and move on. More on this later.

What else do I need to know?
If you are taking the SAT, use the College Board website to register for the test, download the bulletin, and take a free practice test. Read my post on FREE SAT practice tests to find more test online.

How do I prepare for the SAT?
If you're in Dubai or the UAE, email me at dubaitutor@live.com for private tutoring. Get two friends and I'll teach you as a group. Not in the UAE but in the Middle East, email me and find out where I'm willing to travel.

Studying vocabulary for the SAT, GMAT, TOEFL, or any of these standardized tests is a waste of time. There I said it. Why is studying vocab a waste of time you ask? I'll give you not one, but three reasons:

1. There are more than 750,000 words in the English language according to AskOxford.com. Can any of these words be on your test? Yes. Do you really have time to learn the definitions of all of them? No.

2. Vocabulary is not directly tested. With the exception of a few questions on the SAT and TOEFL, there aren't really any questions that ask you "what does this word mean?". These questions are usually asked is indirect ways. Basically, the question makes it seem like you need to know the definition of a word to get the answer right. Well, you actually don't. You can always use context clues--the other words in the sentence or paragraph--to help you figure out the answer.

3. You have more important things to do with your time (and I don't mean watching TV). Considering that you should spend three months or less studying (not cramming) for the test, there are other concepts to learn that relate directly to the test. Suck at probability? Well, it's on the SAT and GMAT. Use your time to improve it. Can't write an essay to save your life? Well, you have to write one not matter which test you take so learn how.

Teachers, test prep companies, and the test maker do not want you to know that learning vocabulary for tests, like the SAT and GMAT, is useless. Why not? Is there some global conspiracy to get students to read and study hard? Of course not. Vocabulary is easy to teach. Vocabulary flash cards fill books. Vocabulary adds to the mystery of the test. Focus on the important stuff and leave vocabulary out of it.