Cracking the SAT II: English, 1999-2000 Edition (Cracking the Sat II: English)

Rating:
Summary: A Very Limited Book
Review: I am sorry, but I have serious objections to the Princeton Review manner of creating study guides. While some attention is given to actually reviewing the material that is on the test, much information is dismissed as unlikey to appear on the test and therefore unnecessary to remember. Princeton Review bets on statistics of what material is most often tested when deciding what it will teach you.

Likewise, and more importantly, the Princeton Review encourages students of its book to rely on chance and statistics in regards to guessing multiple choice answers. Princeton Review teaches the students the techniques that are most likely to help them and, on the side, teaches the material that is most likely to be essential. Well, that which is most likely is not the case 100% of the time. While some suggest that tests are so unlikely to have three questions in a row with the same answer that a student should be overly skeptical if he or she finds his or her self marking three questions in a row with "B", the fact is that I have taken many tests and many times have I had the same answer for four or even five questions in a row. I got these questions right because I did not doubt my answers based on some test-taking techniques I picked up in the Princeton review but because I had learned enough of the material to be confident.

The English AP book is slightly better than other Princeton Review study guides in the amount of actual material it presents to you, largely because of its helpfully organized vocabulary section. Still, the book is not enough to prepare fully for these tests. Since the book does include information and practice test for bothe the Language and Literature tests, it is a reasonable value for the money and deserves a slightly higher rating than a book with comparable quality but only one test covered might.

Rating:
Summary: Better than most PR books, but not enough to be used alone
Review: I am sorry, but I have serious objections to the Princeton Review manner of creating study guides. While some attention is given to actually reviewing the material that is on the test, much information is dismissed as unlikey to appear on the test and therefore unnecessary to remember. Princeton Review bets on statistics of what material is most often tested when deciding what it will teach you.

Likewise, and more importantly, the Princeton Review encourages students of its book to rely on chance and statistics in regards to guessing multiple choice answers. Princeton Review teaches the students the techniques that are most likely to help them and, on the side, teaches the material that is most likely to be essential. Well, that which is most likely is not the case 100% of the time. While some suggest that tests are so unlikely to have three questions in a row with the same answer that a student should be overly skeptical if he or she finds his or her self marking three questions in a row with "B", the fact is that I have taken many tests and many times have I had the same answer for four or even five questions in a row. I got these questions right because I did not doubt my answers based on some test-taking techniques I picked up in the Princeton review but because I had learned enough of the material to be confident.

The English AP book is slightly better than other Princeton Review study guides in the amount of actual material it presents to you, largely because of its helpfully organized vocabulary section. Still, the book is not enough to prepare fully for these tests. Since the book does include information and practice test for bothe the Language and Literature tests, it is a reasonable value for the money and deserves a slightly higher rating than a book with comparable quality but only one test covered might.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: I used the Princeton Review book to help me review for the SAT II: Writing and SAT II: Literature. Overall, I thought that the PR made sure to get all bases covered for the SAT II: Writing, which is basically grammar. The review was not bad at all, and allowed me to point out pretty much all the types of grammatical errors presented in the Writing exam. However, I felt that the author was rather frugal in giving the readers enough exercises, and found myself reviewing the same exercises over and over again to learn a certain aspect of grammar (typically, for one type of mistake you'd only have ONE exercise). I found myself going online, reviewing resources from the PSAT Writing section, etc. etc. Basically, you cannot use the book by itself--you probably need some supplements, some of which just take some time to find online or elsewhere (collegeboard.com, and I'm sure there are a lot of resources on the internet for grammar rules). Nonetheless, I made the very best I could of the book and was able to manage an 800. And yes, the PR is KNOWN for being extremely gimmicky in their techniques--take it with a grain of salt, because the author practically imbues the book with these so called ingenious techniques.

As for the Literature section, don't even look at it in this book. The whole review basically consists of looking at a few passages and answering very basic questions on theme, voice, tone, literary devices, etc. To be quite honest, the Literature test is extremely demanding and I'm sure that doing the PR's exercise failed to help me one bit. In order to be thoroughly prepared, one should be a strong English student overall...

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: I used the Princeton Review book to help me review for the SAT II: Writing and SAT II: Literature. Overall, I thought that the PR made sure to get all bases covered for the SAT II: Writing, which is basically grammar. The review was not bad at all, and allowed me to point out pretty much all the types of grammatical errors presented in the Writing exam. However, I felt that the author was rather frugal in giving the readers enough exercises, and found myself reviewing the same exercises over and over again to learn a certain aspect of grammar (typically, for one type of mistake you'd only have ONE exercise). I found myself going online, reviewing resources from the PSAT Writing section, etc. etc. Basically, you cannot use the book by itself--you probably need some supplements, some of which just take some time to find online or elsewhere (collegeboard.com, and I'm sure there are a lot of resources on the internet for grammar rules). Nonetheless, I made the very best I could of the book and was able to manage an 800. And yes, the PR is KNOWN for being extremely gimmicky in their techniques--take it with a grain of salt, because the author practically imbues the book with these so called ingenious techniques.

As for the Literature section, don't even look at it in this book. The whole review basically consists of looking at a few passages and answering very basic questions on theme, voice, tone, literary devices, etc. To be quite honest, the Literature test is extremely demanding and I'm sure that doing the PR's exercise failed to help me one bit. In order to be thoroughly prepared, one should be a strong English student overall...

Rating:
Summary: Good General Overview.
Review: this book covers the grammar part of the writing and literature tests. great book for people who want to brush up on their grammars before the test.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: TPR has once again defended its impeccable reputation. It has created a great book with the most review in the shortest amount. Not only does it teach you the grammar you need to know, but it teaches you how to deduce the answers. Plus, it includes the Literature section. Its much better than any of the other review books: Barrons, Kaplan, and Arco. However, I have noticed one error in the tests, but otherwise, it is good. P.S. Despite its review on the back, it lacks the explanations to the answers.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Limited Book
Review: While this book does give some of the basics that you need to know for the SAT II English tests, it does not give enough. It offers almost no new information, and its selection of practice tests can at best be labeled poor. Basically, Princeton chose the tests that it felt reflected the points illustrated in its book, but in doing so did not cover the full spectrum of information needed to ace the SAT II exam. I would not reccomend buying this book, even in conjunction with another. It is just not worth it.