Writing Workbook for the New SAT (SAT Writing Workbook) [Paperback]

George Ehrenhaft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0764132210 | ISBN-13: 978-0764132216 | Edition: 1

The totally restructured SAT college entrance exam that became effective in 2005 includes an entirely new and very important Writing Test, which consists of two main parts. First is a 25-minute period during which students must write an essay on a given topic. Later, students must answer multiple-choice questions that test their skill in correcting poorly-written sentences, finding mistakes in grammar and usage, and correcting mistakes in the first-draft version of a student essay. This manual familiarizes students with all aspects of the SAT Writing Test and presents review chapters and questions with answers that are designed to hone test-takers' skills. Also included is a helpful overview of the Writing Test and details on how student essays are scored. This manual presents five writing tests. The first introduces students to the test's format and the following four are similar to the actual SAT writing test in length and question types. All tests have answers and explanations, and come with instructions on how students can convert their practice test score to the familiar SAT scale of 200-800.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

[back cover]
Choose Barron’s Method for Success on the New SAT Writing Test

Read overview of the new test and understand how it is timed and scored

Use the book’s review chapters to sharpen your writing skills

Take a writing test to familiarize yourself with the test format

Take four additional writing tests and score your results

Answer the sentence-correction questions and check your results

Review the answers and explanations for all questions

It’s Your Path To a Higher Test Score

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 1 edition (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764132210
• ISBN-13: 978-0764132216
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, January 17, 2007

By 

Kim Olan (Bronx, New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Writing Workbook for the New SAT (SAT Writing Workbook) (Paperback)

This book is wonderful! I had been using it at the SAT prep center where I work and finally broke down and bought my own copy. I use everything in it...the grammar review exercises, the sample essays with scoring, the practice tests. The questions are challenging and follow the SAT format closely. My students have never had complaints about the work from this book. The answer explanations are also easy to comprehend. Excellent!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best of the SAT workbooks, September 10, 2007

By 

Dennis Freeman (Roswell, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writing Workbook for the New SAT (SAT Writing Workbook) (Paperback)

We provide this to our tutors (In-Home Tutors of Atlanta, In-Home Tutors of Orlando) to help prepare students for the SAT. This is at their recommendation, although some prefer the official CollegeBoard blue book. Lots of practice material and rational strategies and hints. It's a good price through Amazon too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Useful SAT Book to Own, November 27, 2009

By 

Spudman (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Writing Workbook for the New SAT (SAT Writing Workbook) (Paperback)

I took an immediate liking to this book from the comprehensive overview with its pertinent, wise advice, to the inclusive index at the end, a feature not included in all SAT workbooks. Of the collection of SAT books on my shelf, this entry from Barron's is the one I use most often for supplementary practice and reinforcement.

Barron's approach is to give much practice on writing and evaluation essays while providing much practice in specific components of the essay like main idea, supporting details, sentence variety, and parallel structure.
The grammar section is wonderful because it touches on all the types of errors typically found in the SAT writing section. Plenty of practice is provided for the student. (Note that I just used the passive voice, an unacceptable sin on the SAT.)

The design and layout of the book are good, and the font is very readable. In other books of this type I've encountered multiple errors (unintended) in the practice tests, and questionable "correct" answers with which my students and I have had issue. The Barron's book is no exception. Because of errors in the practice tests, this probably wouldn't be a good book for a student to use independently. It's best used with a tutor who can point out the annoying and unnecessary errors.

I'd like to see a better analysis of incorrect answers with a breakdown by specific topics. For example, it would be helpful to pinpoint areas needing practice such as pronoun agreement or comparisons.