by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 11, 2025 | Blog, Books
As a result of the holiday season, the release of the updated SAT grammar, reading, and vocabulary books has unfortunately been delayed by several weeks. While the release date has not yet been finalized, it is likely to be around February 15th.
If you are planning to take the March SAT, then you should plan to use the current set of books; however, if you intend to sign up for the exam later in the spring of 2025 or after, and do not need to begin studying urgently, you may want to wait.
The alterations to the grammar book are very minor and involve only a section of a single chapter; the updated reading book includes about a dozen new pages involving material that was not included on the first four official digital practice tests, on which the fifth edition was based.
Please note that the reading book will be released as a new, sixth edition, whereas the grammar books will retain its current edition number (six). I am aware that the mismatch in edition numbers has led to some confusion over the years, but going forward, the edition numbers of the most up-to-date grammar and reading books will finally be the same!
The changes to new (third) edition of the vocabulary book are significantly more substantial than those to the grammar and reading books. It has been completely reorganized, and includes more than five new chapters, with detailed definitions of more than 250 College Board favorite words, plus many new exercises to practice applying vocabulary to test-style contexts. Reworking this book has been a massive project, and I hope you’ll think it’s worth the wait!
by Erica L. Meltzer | Nov 16, 2024 | Books
I periodically receive emails inquiring about the order in which students should work through Critical Reader guides, and it occurred to me that rather than respond to them on an individual basis, I should probably just post my recommendations here.
Assuming that a student has at least several months before the test and is starting at roughly equivalent levels in both Reading and Writing, I would generally suggest the following order:
1) The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar & SAT Vocabulary: A New Approach (concurrently, with the vocabulary book to be continued for as long as necessary)
2) The Critical Reader: The Complete Guide to SAT Reading
3) Reading and Writing Test Book (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Oct 19, 2024 | Blog, Books
Over the next few months, updated versions of several Critical Reader guides are projected to be released.
Late October 2024:
- The Complete Guide to ACT® Reading, 2nd Edition
The book will be aligned with the 2024-25 Official Guide and will also include, for the first time, an index of Official Guide Reading questions, grouped by category.
Early January 2025 (exact date TBD):
- SAT® Vocabulary: A New Approach
This will be the 3rd edition and will include detailed definitions/discussions of all 250+ words as well as additional exercises. It will also place a stronger emphasis on learning high-frequency words in terms of categories/topics and in relation to one another, as opposed to memorizing straight-up definitions.
- The Ultimate Guide to SAT® Grammar & The Critical Reader: The Complete Guide to SAT® Reading
Indexes of Official College Board Reading and Writing questions will be added to the respective guides (currently available for download via the Books page).
The reading book will feature about a dozen pages of new material; in the grammar book, some material will be reworked slightly in order to be more precisely aligned with dSAT.
by Erica L. Meltzer | Sep 11, 2023 | Books
I am very happy to announce some new book releases.
First, the e-book editions of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, 6th Edition, and The Critical Reader, 5th Edition, are now available on Amazon Kindle. (more…)
by Erica L. Meltzer | Sep 1, 2023 | Books
I am very happy to announce two additional forthcoming Critical Reader prep books for the digital SAT.
The first is a test book to accompany the main Reading and Writing guides. It features three full-length Reading & Writing tests in dSAT format (two modules per exam, each with 27 questions) and includes detailed explanations for all questions. It should be available from both Amazon and The Critical Reader within the next two weeks. (Please note that this book replaces The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar Workbook; because the number of Writing questions is considerably reduced on the digital test, it did not make sense to have a book of practice tests devoted solely to that portion of the exam.)
The second guide is a vocabulary book, on which I am very happy to be collaborating again with Larry Krieger. The book features approximately 200 challenging must-know words for both sentence completions and transitions, along with numerous entertaining examples drawn primarily from contemporary pop culture (think plenty of Barbie, with some Oppenheimer and The Avengers thrown in, plus an eclectic* mix of other references).
I really have to hand it to Larry: his knowledge of pop culture positively puts mine to shame, AND he actually managed to distill the Avengers plot down into a few hundred easy-to-follow words. Most impressive!
We’re doing our best to get a beta version of the book out sometime this month so that it can be used for PSAT preparation, with a final version to follow in the late winter or early spring. Stay tuned for more details.
*Varied, diverse, heterogeneous; note that this has traditionally been a favorite SAT word, and all signs suggest that the College Board is once again relying on the top ETS list. So much for that whole “no more ‘obscure’ (ha!) words” thing.
by Erica L. Meltzer | May 8, 2023 | Books, The Digital SAT
I am happy to report that Amazon/KDP has approved the file for the final version of The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar, 6th Edition, making both the grammar and reading books available for through Amazon and The Critical Reader.
At this time, we do not yet have copies of the new editions in our warehouse, so books must be sent directly from the printer. As a result, orders may take longer to arrive than would normally be the case. If you need the books urgently, please order directly from Amazon.
In addition, please note that if you are located outside of the United States and wish to purchase the books on Amazon, you must order through the corresponding Amazon page in your country of residence.
If you have a question regarding the new editions, please contact us directly.
