We are in the midst of the SAT process with our high school student, so I was keenly interested in this product. It is a small, concisely written 43-page booklet with a chapter on each of the areas of the SAT. Written to the tester, the tone is encouraging and the format is simple and clear.

The introduction contains general mechanics about the SAT. Shawna Huggins emphasizes that since wrong answers will cost you, you should not be concerned about skipping questions to which you don't know the answer.

The essay chapter opens with seven important points about the essay. A basic attack strategy gives you specifics on how to structure your essay. Since a good essay contains examples, Shawna Huggins strongly suggests students keep an ongoing log of examples from history, reading, current events, and their personal lives to help substantiate their essays

For the vocabulary section of the SAT, the author recommends covering the answer choices and supplying your own answers, then choosing the given answer that best matchers yours. Short and long reading passages often pose a problem for students who can't stay focused on what they are reading. Ms. Huggins introduces a strategy of active reading (quick note-taking, little sketches, and underlining). This is a great skill for the SAT and beyond! This chapter also has three simple, fun ideas for boosting your reading score.

The chapter on math contains some basic pointers the tester needs to know:   plug in actual numbers for the variables, start by checking answer C (a mid-range answer) for the multiple choice, change the fractions to decimals, and draw your own figure if the given one is "not drawn to scale."

The last chapter on writing instructs you to be a proofreader in finding the grammar, punctuation, or usage errors. Six comma rules are reviewed along with examples and exercises. You will also find a list of homophones (its/it's, their/there/they're, etc.). There is an eleven sentence exercise to test for correct sentence structure; it you don't do well, you are referred to the SAT Booklet or the Princeton Review.

In keeping with the format of the rest of the book, the two paragraph conclusion sums up the boot camp strategy of small, focused daily practice sessions and ends with a positive "You can do it!" message.

SAT Book Camp makes an excellent starting point for SAT test prep. By reading through and doing the exercises, your student will quickly discover subject areas that need improvement. Furthermore, if your student (or you) is short on time or easily distracted, I highly recommend this book with its distilled information and clear instruction on preparing for the SAT.