The SAT is the most popular standardized test used for admission into colleges and universities in the United States.  It includes three sections: math, critical reading, and writing.

General Tips

• In each section of the SAT, the questions start out easy and become increasingly difficult.  Answer the questions that are easiest for you first.
• Be careful about guessing.  For most questions, you don’t lose a point for omitting an answer, but you do lose a fractional point for a wrong answer.
• Don’t spend more than one or two minutes on any one question.
• Mark the test book in any way that will help you.
• Keep track of time.
• Bring water and healthy snacks to renew your mental and physical energy during breaks.

Math Section Tips

Most of the items in the math section are multiple-choice questions.

• Use a calculator as needed.  (Be sure to bring a calculator.)
• Use the test booklet for scratch work.
• If stuck, try substituting the numbers given as answer choices for the variables in the question.

Other questions require that you come up with your own answers and fit them into a grid.

• Since there is no penalty for wrong answers here, take your best guess if you can’t figure out the answer.
• The answer cannot be a negative number.  Do the problem again if you come up with a negative number.
• The answer cannot be a mixed number.  If your answer is a mixed number, convert it to an improper fraction or a decimal.

Critical Reading Section Tips

Some of the questions require you to read a sentence containing one or two blanks. You are required to select the answer choice that correctly completes the sentence.

• Read the sentence and try to complete it before looking at the answer choices.  If what you come up is one of the answer choices, select it as your answer.
• Read all the answer choices before selecting one.  Don’t just select the first one you come to that you think might be correct.
• Be especially careful when sentences include negative words (e.g., not) or prefixes (e.g., un).  These change the meaning of a sentence.
• When a sentence contains two blanks, do not select an answer choice unless you are certain that both words in the answer choice are correct.

Other questions require you to read a passage and select the correct answers to questions about the passage.

• Read the passage before reading the questions.
• As you read a passage look for the main ideas.  You can always go back to look for details.
• Pay the most attention to the first and last sentence in a paragraph.
• Some passages are presented in pairs.  In this case, read the introduction first to see how the passages are related.

Writing Section Tips

This section includes multiple-choice questions.  Some require you to improve sentences, others to find errors in sentences, and others to improve paragraphs.

• Select an answer choice that seems simple and clear.  Do not select an answer choice that seems awkward and very complicated.
• It is particularly important to read the questions and answer choices in this section very carefully.

This section also requires you to write a short, persuasive essay on an assigned topic within 25 minutes.

• Because the score for your essay is based on the reader’s overall impression, express your ideas clearly using examples to back them up.
• The standard five-paragraph essay is the best format to use.
• Keep your writing as simple as possible.  Don’t be too “wordy.”
• Focus on the organization of the essay rather than perfect grammar and spelling.
• Avoid the use of slang.

Many deserving candidates lose out on job
opportunities because of their vernacular accent.

Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to
speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you
speak your mother tongue.

How do you train yourself? By inculcating certain
practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you
closer to sounding like a native English speaker and
equip you with a global accent — and you will speak
not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be
it American or British or Australian.

Lisa Mojsin, head trainer, director and founder of the
Accurate English Training Company in Los Angeles,
offers these tips to help ‘neutralise’ your accent or
rather do away with the local twang, as you speak.

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak
English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth
movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of
their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm
of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong
intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.

Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with
your slow speech — it is more important that
everything you say be understood.

iii. Listen to the ‘music’ of English.

Do not use the ‘music’ of your native language when
you speak English. Each language has its own way of
’singing’.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols
of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying
them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book.
Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to ‘S’ and ‘ED’ endings. This
will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every
day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of
daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation
mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and
avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help
you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen
overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if
you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips

Various versions of the English language exist. Begin
by identifying the category you fall into and start by
improving the clarity of your speech.

~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and
the ‘Indianisms’ that creep into your English
conversations.

~ Watch the English news on television channels like
Star World, CNN, BBC and English movies on Star Movies
and HBO.

~ Listen to and sing English songs. We’d recommend
Westlife, Robbie Williams, Abba, Skeeter Davis and
Connie Francis among others.

This article contains three parts:

1. Step One: Brainstorming
2. Step Two: Selecting a Topic
3. Step Three: Writing the Essay

Step One: Brainstorming
The most important part of your essay is the subject matter. You should expect to devote about 1-2 weeks simply to brainstorming ideas. To begin brainstorming a subject idea consider the following points. From brainstorming, you may find a subject you had not considered at first.

1. What are your major accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments? Do not limit yourself to accomplishments you have been formally recognized for since the most interesting essays often are based on accomplishments that may have been trite at the time but become crucial when placed in the context of your life.
2. Does any attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop this attribute?
   Consider your favorite books, movies, works of art, etc. Have these influenced your life in a meaningful way? Why are they your favorites?
3. What was the most difficult time in your life, and why? How did your perspective on life change as a result of the difficulty?
4. Have you ever struggled mightily for something and succeeded? What made you successful?
5. Have you ever struggled mightily for something and failed? How did you respond?
6. Of everything in the world, what would you most like to be doing right now? Where would you most like to be? Who, of everyone living and dead, would you most like to be with? These questions should help you realize what you love most.
7. Have you experienced a moment of epiphany, as if your eyes were opened to something you were previously blind to?
8. What is your strongest, most unwavering personality trait? Do you maintain strong beliefs or adhere to a philosophy?
9. How would your friends characterize you? What would they write about if they were writing your admissions essay for you?
10. What have you done outside of the classroom that demonstrates qualities sought after by universities? Of these, which means the most to you?
11. What are your most important extracurricular or community activities? What made you join these activities? What made you continue to contribute to them?
12. What are your dreams of the future? When you look back on your life in thirty years, what would it take for you to consider your life successful? What people, things, and accomplishments do you need? How does this particular university fit into your plans for the future?

If these questions cannot cure your writer’s block, consider the following exercises:

1 – Ask for help from Parents, Friends or Colleagues
If you cannot characterize yourself and your personality traits do not automatically leap to mind, ask your friends to write a list of your five most salient personality traits. Ask your friends why they chose the ones they did. If an image of your personality begins to emerge, consider life experiences that could illustrate the particular traits.

2 – Consider your childhood
While admissions officers are not interested in reading about your childhood and are more interested in the last 2-4 years of your life, you might consider events of your childhood that inspired the interests you have today. Interests that began in childhood may be the most defining parts of your life, even if you recently lost interest. For instance, if you were interested in math since an early age and now want to study medicine, you might incorporate this into your medical school admissions essay. Analyze the reasons for your interests and how they were shaped from your upbringing.

3 – Consider your role models
Many applicants do not have role models and were never greatly influenced by just one or two people. However, for those of you who have role models and actually aspire to become like certain people, you may want to incorporate a discussion of that person and the traits you admired into your application essay.

4 – Read Sample Admission Essays
Before you sat down to write a poem, you would certainly read past poets. Before writing a book of philosophy, you would consider past philosophers. In the same way, we recommend reading sample admissions essays to understand what topics other applicants chose.

5 – Goal determination
Life is short. Why do you want spend 2-6 years of your life at a particular college, graduate school, or professional school? How is the degree necessary to the fulfillment of your goals? When considering goals, think broadly. Few people would be satisfied with just a career. How else will your education fit your needs and lead you to a fulfilling life?

If after reading this entire page you do not have an idea for your essay, do not be surprised. Coming up with an idea is difficult and requires time. Actually consider the questions and exercises above. Without a topic you feel passionate about, without one that brings out the defining aspects of you personality, you risk falling into the trap of sounding like the 90 percent of applicants who will write boring admissions essays. The only way to write a unique essay is to have experiences that support whatever topic you come up with. Whatever you do, don’t let the essay stress you out. Have fun with the brainstorming process. You might discover something about yourself you never consciously realized.

Step Two – Selecting an Essay Topic
Having completed step one, you should now have a rough idea of the elements you wish to include in your essay, including your goals, important life experiences, research experience, diversifying features, spectacular nonacademic accomplishments, etc. You should also now have an idea of what impression you want to make on the admissions officers.

We should remark that at this stage, undergraduate applicants have a large advantage over graduate school applicants. Whereas nobody questions a high school student’s motivation to attend college, graduate and professional school applicants must directly address in their essays their desire to study their selected field.

You must now confront the underlying problem of the admissions essay. You must now consider topics that will allow you to synthesize your important personal characteristics and experiences into a coherent whole while simultaneously addressing your desire to attend a specific institution. While most admissions essays allow great latitude in topic selection, you must also be sure to answer the questions that were asked of you. Leaving a lasting impression on someone who reads 50-100 essays a day will not be easy, but we have compiled some guidelines to help you get started. With any luck, one or two topics, with small changes, will allow you to answer application questions for 5-7 different colleges, although admissions officers do appreciate essays that provide convincing evidence of how an applicant will fit into a particular academic environment. You should at least have read the college’s webpage, admissions catalog, and have an understanding of the institution’s strengths.

Consider the following questions before proceeding:

1. Have you selected a topic that describes something of personal importance in your life, with which you can use vivid personal experiences as supporting details?
2. Is your topic a gimmick? That is, do you plan to write your essay in iambic pentameter or make it funny. You should be very, very careful if you are planning to do this. We recommend strongly that you do not do this. Almost always, this is done poorly and is not appreciated by the admissions committee. Nothing is worse than not laughing or not being amused at something that was written to be funny or amusing.
3. Will your topic only repeat information listed elsewhere on your application? If so, pick a new topic. Don’t mention GPAs or standardized test scores in your essay.
4. Can you offer vivid supporting paragraphs to your essay topic? If you cannot easily think of supporting paragraphs with concrete examples, you should probably choose a different essay topic.
5. Can you fully answer the question asked of you? Can you address and elaborate on all points within the specified word limit, or will you end up writing a poor summary of something that might be interesting as a report or research paper? If you plan on writing something technical for college admissions, make sure you truly can back up your interest in a topic and are not merely throwing around big scientific words. Unless you convince the reader that you actually have the life experiences to back up your interest in neurobiology, the reader will assume you are trying to impress him/her with shallow tactics. Also, be sure you can write to admissions officers and that you are not writing over their heads.
6. Can you keep the reader’s interest from the first word. The entire essay must be interesting, considering admissions officers will probably only spend a few minutes reading each essay.
7. Is your topic overdone? To ascertain this, peruse through old essays. However, most topics are overdone, and this is not a bad thing. A unique or convincing answer to a classic topic can pay off big.
8. Will your topic turnoff a large number of people? If you write on how everyone should worship your God, how wrong or right abortion is, or how you think the Republican or Democratic Party is evil, you will not get into the college of your choice. The only thing worse than not writing a memorable essay is writing an essay that will be remembered negatively. Stay away from specific religions, political doctrines, or controversial opinions. You can still write an essay about Nietzsche’s influence on your life, but express understanding that not all intelligent people will agree with Nietzsche’s claims. Emphasize instead Nietzsche’s influence on your life, and not why you think he was wrong or right in his claims.
9. In this vein, if you are presenting a topic that is controversial, you must acknowledge counter arguments without sounding arrogant.
10. Will an admissions officer remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of essays? What will the officer remember about your topic? What will the officer remember about you? What will your lasting impression be?

After evaluating your essay topics with the above criteria and asking for the free opinions of your teachers or colleagues, and of your friends, you should have at least 1-2 interesting essay topics. Consider the following guidelines below.

1. If you are planning on writing an essay on how you survived poverty in Russia, your mother’s suicide, your father’s kidnapping, or your immigration to America from Asia, you should be careful that your main goal is to address your own personal qualities. Just because something sad or horrible has happened to you does not mean that you will be a good college or graduate school student. You don’t want to be remembered as the pathetic applicant. You want to be remembered as the applicant who showed impressive qualities under difficult circumstances. It is for this reason that essays relating to this topic are considered among the best. Unless you only use the horrible experience as a lens with which to magnify your own personal characteristics, you will not write a good essay. Graduate and professional school applicants should generally steer clear of this topic altogether unless you can argue that your experience will make you a better businessman, doctor, lawyer, or scholar.

2. Essays should fit in well with the rest of a candidate’s application, explaining the unexplained and steering clear of that which is already obvious. For example, if you have a 4.0 GPA and a 1500 SAT, no one doubts your ability to do the academic work and addressing this topic would be ridiculous. However, if you have an 850 SAT and a 3.9 GPA or a 1450 SAT and a 2.5 GPA, you would be wise to incorporate in your essay an explanation for the apparent contradiction. For example, perhaps you were hospitalized or family concerns prevented your dedication to academics; you would want to mention this in your essay. However, do not make your essay one giant excuse. Simply give a quick, convincing explanation within the framework of your larger essay.

3. “Diversity” is the biggest buzzword of the 1990’s. Every college, professional school, or graduate school wants to increase diversity. For this reason, so many applicants are tempted to declare what makes them diverse. However, simply saying you are a black, lesbian female will not impress admissions officers in the least. While an essay incorporating this information would probably be your best topic idea, you must finesse the issue by addressing your own personal qualities and how you overcame stigma, dealt with social ostracism, etc. If you are a rich student from Beverly Hills whose father is an engineer and whose mother is a lawyer, but you happen to be a minority, an essay about how you dealt with adversity would be unwise. You must demonstrate vividly your personal qualities, interests, motivations, etc. Address specifically how your diversity will contribute to the realm of campus opinion, the academic environment, and social life.

4. Don’t mention weaknesses unless you absolutely need to explain them away. You want to make a positive first impression, and telling an admissions officer anything about drinking, drugs, partying, etc. undermines your goal. Why admit to weakness when you can instead showcase your strengths?

5. Be honest, but not for honesty’s sake. Unless you are a truly excellent writer, your best, most passionate writing will be about events that actually occurred. While you might be tempted to invent hardship, it is completely unnecessary. Write an essay about your life that demonstrates your personality.

Step Three – Writing the Essay, Tips for Success
Even seemingly boring topics can be made into exceptional admissions essays with an innovative approach. In writing the essay you must bear in mind your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that you are extremely worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality.

Unfortunately, there is no surefire step-by-step method to writing a good essay. However, we have compiled the following list of tips that you should find useful while writing your admissions essay.

1 – Answer the question
You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the question, you will not be admitted to any institution.

2 – Be original
Even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively approached. If writing about a gymnastics competition you trained for, do not start your essay: “I worked long hours for many weeks to train for XXX competition.” Consider an opening like, “Every morning I awoke at 5:00 to sweat, tears, and blood as I trained on the uneven bars hoping to bring the state gymnastics trophy to my hometown.”

3 – Be yourself
Admissions officers want to learn about you and your writing ability. Write about something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions. If you do this, your essay will be unique. Many people travel to foreign countries or win competitions, but your feelings during these events are unique to you. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested you intensely for years, stay away from grand themes that you have little personal experience with.

4 – Don’t thesaurize your composition
For some reason, students continue to think big words make good essays. Big words are fine, but only if they are used in the appropriate contexts with complex styles. Think Hemingway.

5 – Use imagery and clear, vivid prose
If you are not adept with imagery, you can write an excellent essay without it, but it’s not easy. The application essay lends itself to imagery since the entire essay requires your experiences as supporting details. Appeal to the five senses of the admissions officers.

6 – Spend the most time on your introduction
Expect admissions officers to spend 1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must use your introduction to grab their interest from the beginning. You might even consider completely changing your introduction after writing your body paragraphs.
- Don’t Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would want to read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize, the admissions officer need not read the rest of your essay.
- Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction. It is not necessary or recommended that your first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise questions in the minds of the admissions officers to force them to read on. Appeal to their emotions to make them relate to your subject matter.

7 – Body paragraphs must relate to your introduction
Your introduction can be original, but cannot be silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.

8 – Use transition
Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You must use transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of your essay. Transition is not limited to phrases like “as a result, in addition, while . . . , since . . . , etc.” but includes repeating key words and progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual architecture to argument building.

9 – Conclusions are critical
The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid summary since the essay is rather short to begin with; the reader should not need to be reminded of what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not use stock phrases like “in conclusion, in summary, to conclude, etc.” You should consider the following conclusions:
- Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion.
- Consider linking your conclusion to your introduction to establish a sense of balance by reiterating introductory phrases.
- Redefine a term used previously in your body paragraphs.
- End with a famous quote that is relevant to your argument. Do not try to do this, as this approach is overdone. This should come naturally.
- Frame your discussion within a larger context or show that your topic has widespread appeal.
- Remember, your essay need not be so tidy that you can answer why your little sister died or why people starve in Africa; you are not writing a “sit-com,” but should forge some attempt at closure.

10 – Do something else
Spend a week or so away from your draft to decide if you still consider your topic and approach worthwhile.

11 – Give your draft to others
Ask editors to read with these questions in mind:
- WHAT is the essay about?
- Have I used active voice verbs wherever possible?
- Is my sentence structure varied or do I use all long or all short sentences?
- Do you detect any cliches?
- Do I use transition appropriately?
- Do I use imagery often and does this make the essay clearer and more vivid?
- What’s the best part of the essay?
- What about the essay is memorable?
- What’s the worst part of the essay?
- What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?
- What parts of the essay do not support your main argument or are immaterial to your case?
- Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This MUST be the case.
- What does the essay reveal about your personality?
- Could anyone else have written this essay?
- How would you fill in the following blank based on the essay: “I want to accept you to this college because our college needs more ________.”

12 – Revise, revise, revise
Revise, Revise, Revise. You only are allowed so many words; use them wisely. If H.D. Thoreau couldn’t write a good essay without revision, neither will you. Delete anything in the essay that does not relate to your main argument. Do you use transition? Are your introduction and conclusions more than summaries? Did you find every single grammatical error?

Allow for the evolution of your main topic. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and that you can only tweak sentences.
Editing takes time. Consider reordering your supporting details, delete irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.

Have your Essay Professionally Edited. The application essay is too important not to spend $50 for its improvement. Editing houses will significantly improve your essay’s style, transition, voice, grammar, and tone; they will also make content suggestions to ensure your essay is unique and memorable.

Starting out as a new teacher can be intimidating and even frightening. Some basic tips may help to eliminate the stress and anxiety from teaching a class of children. Students will give their trust easily if they like you.

Don’t be too serious

Every new thing is kind of scary, so when you have to stand up and teach math it can be a little intimidating at first. Try not to frown or look to serious. It will discourage the students and they will be afraid of you. Humor can built a bridge that can make amends later on it the year. Remember that a good laugh is like medicine for the body.

Use discipline

There will be no teaching without controlling of your class. It is better to fall behind by a day or two early in the year to address discipline, than to have an uphill battle all year long over behavior. Let students know from the beginning what is acceptable behavior and what is not. This way they won’t take chances.

Involve the students

Encourage the students to work in groups. In this way they can have a study partner and feel comfortable with one another and learn to trust each other. In the long run it will benefit your students if they all get along smoothly and there will be order in the classroom. Later on you can have competitions between the different groups as well.

Motivate your students

Be a motivation to your students. Identify early on what math they are struggling with and help them overcome those areas. Students are surrounded with negativity where ever they go. If you can give them a place to feel safe and comfortable they will give back to you a solid return by doing their best.

Make it interesting

Use every day examples to draw and hold their attention. Math can get very boring when the same patterns are followed every time. Be open to creativity and use basic things that aren’t costly. Students can bring junk materials from home to use in their projects.

Prioritize

Get your priorities straight right in the beginning. A good diary can only be an investment and remember that you don’t have to do everything just to accommodate others. If your schedule allows it, you can take on extra curricular activities.

Rest when possible

Teaching is hard work. Make time for yourself. If you are stressed out you cannot give your best. Take vacation time to sleep, eat and maybe read a good book once in a while. When you are rested you will benefit your students.

Be prepared

Preparation is of the essence. Take time every day to prepare for the following days lessons. This will pay tremendous rewards as you can then give your full attention to the subject at hand. Don’t leave things and hope it will work out. Be prepared for all situations.

Organizational skills

Organizational skills are like a lifeline. Pack away stuff, clear desks, and make sure that you personally take tests from students. Organizing can save you a lot of time and trouble.

Planning goes a long way

Keep students busy. When they sit around they get bored and think of mischief. Plan extra activities that they can do. Something that will be a challenge to them. Some students finish quicker than others, give them extra assignments, perhaps let them read an article about math and set up a reward system for every 10 articles they read. This way they will be kept busy and won’t bother each other.

As you start your first year as an elementary school teacher, on the top of your list of things to do should be, “Get to know the support staff.” That is anyone you will call on for help during the year. Of course the principals are important, but who are you going to call when the toilet overflows or a student gets sick in the middle of class? Who is going to prepare the lunch you will buy or make sure you have enough tables and chairs for all of your children? Who is going to get you a sub when you have to call in sick? Those people can make or break your year. You don’t have to bake them cookies, although they would enjoy them; just introduce yourself and say hello during the day. It is amazing how helpful someone can be when they feel appreciated.

Always have the names and contact numbers of your students’ parents at your fingertips. This can be easily accomplished with an index box and note cards. Place each of the students’ names, addresses, birthdays, contact numbers, bus numbers and allergies or medicines on their respective cards. When you need any of this information, all you have to do is grab your box and not a huge file.

Make your own classroom files. The ones in the office are filled with all of the important and official records. The ones that you keep in your classroom can be less formal. Keep examples of work and test grades. Always keep copies of notes you have sent home. Then keep the response. Keep a copy of formal and informal yearly assessments. All of this stuff can be used during parent-teacher conferences.

Label all of your personal belongings. You don’t want to get your things mixed up with things that belong to the school. Plus, if you let someone borrow your materials, they will know to whom they should return them.

Keep a box or desk drawer with emergency supplies; flashlight, hairbrush, lotion, screwdriver, hammer, etc. You want to be able to take care of the simple things without having to wait.

Devise a filing system. When you make or find something that is good, file it away for next year. If you teach the same grade each year, your system could be based on weeks. Number your files week 1, 2, etc., and put what you do week by week in them. You can also file according to months or seasons. It does not matter how you do it. What matters is that it gets done and that you can understand it.

Do the same thing with your books. Shelve them so you can find what you need easily. Alphabetical order by author or title always works. You can also shelve by topics or reading levels. Using tubs is a good way to keep books in order. Label each tub with the type of book that you or a student will find inside. Make a running list of all of the books you have and the way you are shelving them. This will help you keep track of them and know where to look when you need one.

Collect copy paper boxes, and use them to store monthly materials. Label each box with the month, and only put things for that month inside. For January’s box, you might put that month’s bulletin board boarder, winter decorations, pictures, wall hangings, and paper snowflakes.

Have a set of mailboxes for student work. Instead of trying to send home papers every day, do it once a week. Designate a day when all work will be sent home. Make sure you use the same day each week. Give each student a folder, and have them check their mailbox on the assigned day. Send only important papers or notes home on a daily basis. Inside the folder, label the pockets, “Keep at Home, Return to School.”

The more organized you are in your classroom, the easier your year will be. Save what you know you will use again and get rid of the rest.

There’s a lot you’re going to learn from your broker and mentor agents after you start to work. But to get that license, focus on study materials and resources that are designed to “pass the test”.

Be selective in taking advice. If you’re going to ask other agents what they remember of the test, ask those that took their exams in the last few months. Memories falter and tests change, so at least get the most current advice you can.

Check exam training book dates. Again, tests change over time with business change and to make this passing on of questions and answers more difficult. Look for published study guides that are current.

Learn for the test. You’ll have lots of time after you have your license to expand your knowledge and expertise. Focus now on locating study materials or courses that are designed for “passing the test”. If you’re considering a pre-exam prep course, find out their first-time passing success rate. Some offer free re-training if you fail the first time around.

Read it, know it, or skip it. Good test-taking practice is to answer the questions you know, while not getting bogged down time-wise on those that you’re not sure about. Many are given on computers now, and they usually make it easier to mark and come back to skipped questions. If you know it, answer it. If you’re not sure, move on. It may surprise you how a related question further along in the test will help you with the answer to one that you skipped.

The old stand-by advice still works. The tried-and-true advice to get a good night’s sleep and arrive early and fresh still applies. It’s rare that the midnight oil helps if it’s the midnight before the test.

• Pens and Pencils.
Some exams require the use of PENS, while others have to be completed in PENCIL. Make sure you know what you should be using in every paper before you go in.

• Websites.
All the major examination boards have websites these days, usually with sample papers and examiners’ reports that you can download. These sites are well worth a visit as they may offer a lot of sound advice. The examiners’ report, for instance, can give you an idea of exactly what it is that they are looking for.

• Take Spares.
Take spare pens and pencils just in case the one you are using stops working.

• On time not In time.
Allow for problems, hold-ups and traffic jams on the way and make sure you arrive with time to spare so that you can go in calmly rather than in a frantic rush.

• It may sound stupid, but …
Don’t forget to read the instructions and make sure you know what you are being asked to do. You should go into the exam well aware of what is expected of you, but you should always check. Don’t, however, waste a lot of time on this.

• Honesty – 1.
A language exam is not a test of honesty and you will not be penalized if you tell the examiners that you are CANCER rather than SAGITTARIUS in a written question simply because you are sure of how to spell it. Language Tests are quite simply that; they are designed to test your language and not your honesty- don’t worry about lying or being economical with the truth in order to show off your accurate language use.

• Zzzzz.
Try to get a good night’s sleep the night before any exam.

• Hangovers.
Try to avoid alcohol the night before an exam, especially in quantity, as a bad hangover is among the very worst things to be suffering from in an exam room.