The College Panda's SAT Writing: An Advanced Essay and Grammar Guide from a Perfect Scorer 1st Edition

Finally a comprehensive guide to BOTH the essay and grammar! It was so frustrating to be stuck in the 600 range on practice tests, and looking back, it was almost as if I were going through the questions blind. This book really opened my eyes to the things I need to look out for, and I'm now consistently scoring 750+ on past exams. It has done wonders for my confidence.The explanations are clear and concise. Rarely felt lost. The examples in each chapter are really great and cover the full range of question variations that might show up. I wasn't even aware of some of them until this guide pointed them out. And as a testament to the book's comprehensiveness, I haven't yet encountered an official question that isn't explained by a concept in this book.The essay template is amazing and the author even includes the essay that he wrote on his own SAT exam, showing how he followed the exact template he provides. The book also lays out several easy essay examples you can "tweak" to any prompt, as well as sample student essays to show you how it's done.What makes this guide the best, though, are the chapters in "The Perfect Scorer's Toolbox" section. Those chapters include a review cheat sheet of all the grammar rules you need to know as well as real test-taking strategies and habits to ensure you do well on test day. He walks you through how a perfect scorer thinks through each question.The book has just 3 practice sections, but if you take into account all the end-of-chapter exercises and the last chapter (which has over 50 "easy-to-miss" questions - awesome practice), you have more than enough to internalize what you learn. The practice questions are an accurate reflection of the real test, but I recommend you get the Official SAT Study Guide along with this for even more practice.All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this book. I love that it's focused on knowing the material instead of fluffy tricks. If you've taken the SAT before, you know that tricks can only get you so far. At some point, you're gonna have to know the concepts.The illustrations are pretty cool and more importantly, the author really knows his stuff. This is the only guide you need for SAT Writing, so if you wanna get that 800.... BUY THIS BOOK!

I thought this guide was a fantastic tool for improving both my grammar and my essay. Before I started using this book my essay scores were consistently in the 6-8 range but after putting lots of effort into learning the essay template and the versatile examples my essay scores have been constant 10-12s ever since. I was already good at grammar but my scores were quite volatile, sometimes great and sometimes okay but now I consistently dominate the grammar section and can systematically go through answers confidently. I would recommend this book for anyone wishing to have top scores on the SAT Writing section as this book is both thorough and interesting.

I used this book to prepare for the January SAT last year. Put simply, it was a godsend. On my first practice test I scored a 530 in Writing (my lowest section) and knew that I would have to put in some work to get the score I wanted. Over the next 2 months, I read every page, did every exercise, and worked through every practice test. By the time the SAT came around, I was able to get the score I was hoping for - an 800 and it was entirely thanks to this book.(Posted from my parents' account)

As a parent and Cornell alum, I'm extremely impressed with how Nielsen has constructed this guide book. Our child has not been as strong in reading and writing as he has been in math/science. This book has helped him make great strides quickly on SAT writing questions. It is easy to follow, engaging, and the example questions match very well to what we are seeing on official SAT practice exams. For any student serious about raising their SAT writing score to a high level, I highly recommend this book.

This book helps my writing section a lot. It is written in a way like a teacher is directly teaching you and it is divided into 38 sections which motivated me, I know I just need to do 1 section per day and 38 days later I will be ready to go. If you want to get a score of 700 or above, I recommend you to carefully follow its essay (memorize the examples) and its grammar instruction, plus doing all the writing questions in the OG(official blue book).

This book is such an invaluable resource when studying for the SAT. The essay template he provides is so helpful and will, without a doubt, improve anyone's essay score. The grammar lessons in this book are easy to use and effective. This and Nielson Phu's  The College Panda's SAT Math: An Advanced Guide from a Perfect Scorer  book are both truly unique and wonderful resources that anyone who is studying for the SAT should have.

I've been looking for an SAT Writing text for my SAT prep class this summer and initially wasn't happy with my choices. Both Barron's and Princeton Review's workbooks seems bloated and ineffective. So glad I found the College Panda's guide! I think my students are going to love the format and the way it is organized. The grammar reviews are practical and the essay suggestions are smart and well-written. I only wish I had discovered it a few years ago.

I normally don't write reviews, but I bought this book because my other learning material was just not working for me. This book is very clear and the examples are perfect. The examples made it easier to memorize some of the more challenging areas. I just took the test and felt very confident in the writing and reading section. If you don't want your time wasted, use this book. I'm so happy with how useful this book was.

Quite simply a must-have for those aspiring to get a perfect score on SAT writing. Lucid, succinct and tailored for the actual test, this book is the best SAT writing book out there. I also recommend Phu's SAT Math book, equally a must-have for the perfect scorer.

great book ,currently using it ;highly recommended