There are many students who are afraid of placing a smudge on their test booklets. These students don’t write down any formulas or equations. They don’t write out their work when manipulating numbers. They don’t score very well on the SAT either.

Get over your respect for the SAT test booklet. Write all over those rough, recycled pages. When you are finished, your test booklet should be covered with scrawls, notes, computations, and drawings. In fact, the simple act of writing something down for every item helps improve your SAT score. It forces you to put your thoughts down on paper instead of trying to solve items in your head. If you try to answer items in your head, the SAT chews you up and spits you out.

Be a smart test-taker and jot down everything you can.