In my Online tutoring work, I always begin with a mantra I teach to students: Read → Rephrase → Represent. That three-step process gives structure and stops random guessing.
Read carefully The SAT Math Word Problmes
- Read the full problem once for context.
- Then read it again, slower, underlining keywords, numbers, and phrases.
- Ask: What is this asking me to find?
Rephrase the SAT Math in your own words
- Turn the problem into a simpler sentence: “There are x apples, Sara has twice as many as Tom…”
- This reduces linguistic noise.
- I tell students: pretend you’re explaining the problem to a friend.
Represent visually / algebraically with online tutoring
- Draw a quick sketch or bar diagram.
- Or assign variables (x, y) and translate with clue words:
• sum, more than → +
• less than, difference → –
• times, product, “__ times as many” → ×
• half, per, ratio → ÷ or fractions
PrepScholar gives a useful list of keyword-to-operation translations. Online SAT and Online tutoring Use that with your student.
- Then set up the equation(s).
- Solve carefully.
- Always check: substitute back, check units, ask if the answer makes sense.
Here’s a quick example we might walk through in a session:
SAT Math Word Problem: “Two friends share the cost of a gift. Alice pays $5 more than Bob. Together they pay $45. How much did Bob pay?”
Read → Underline “$5 more than” and “together $45.”
Rephrase → Let Bob pay x, Alice pays x + 5.
Represent → x + (x + 5) = 45 → 2x + 5 = 45 → 2x = 40 → x = 20.
Check → Bob $20, Alice $25, sum $45. Works.
During tutoring, I often pause here and say: “If you had done substitution from the answer choices, you’d also find $20 fastest.” Offering multiple paths builds flexibility.
Mini Exercise (~10 min):
Give your student 3 SAT Math word problems (simple ones with sums, differences, or rates). Time them for 8 minutes. Then, have them explain in writing how they translated each into an equation. This gives insight into how they think, not just whether they got it right.
As students progress, I layer in more complexity: multi-step problems, variables that represent rates or percentages, scenarios with inequality (e.g., “at most,” “at least”). I teach them to decompose the problem: break it into chunks, solve one chunk at a time, and reassemble. This prevents getting overwhelmed by fluff.
Finally, I train them to self-diagnose translation errors: Does 2x + 5 = 45 feel right? If Alice is paying more, then x + 5 makes sense. If a result seems negative or illogical, you flag the setup and re-express.
Scaffolded tutoring means I gradually remove supports as confidence grows. When students consistently translate well, I’ll prompt: Before writing the equation, what’s your rephrase? So they internalize the method.
