SAT and PSAT links

Yes, I'm sending you to SPARKNOTES. What, you haven't heard of SPARKNOTES? You're joking. Doesn't it sounds like another silly St. Mark's name pun? You know, Spark is your yearbook, Markings is your literary magazine, PostMark is the alumni publication, etc.

But, no, SPARKNOTES did not have St. Mark's in mind when they came up with the name for their on-line cheat sheets.

And what about me taking you to SPARKNOTES? Am I condoning the use of such a site as a source for borrowing "original" ideas for your essays or reading your literature homework? Of course, not. I am smart enough to know, believe it or not, to know if you've borrowed heavily from SPARKNOTES in your essays. And as far as reading the SPARKNOTES instead of reading your homework, I do not test or just discuss plot, or symbols, or characters, or whatever other category of information you'll find at this web site. I'll sometimes talk about the "birds" in the story (since I like birds) or quote and recite some funny lines from a novel (since I'm a frustrated non-actor). So if all you've done is read the SPARKNOTES, you've really missed out.

Remember, this, too. "You get what you pay for." You pay nothing for SPARKNOTES. You're paying lots of $$$$$ to hire teachers like me at St. Mark's. Millions of dollars, in fact. I don't work cheap.

Having said that, I think that SPARKNOTES does an excellent job with SAT prep. I guess SOME of the best things in life ARE free. Click on any of the SPARKNOTES to go to the SAT prep site.

Another great site to visit is at Collegeboard.com. You know, the official SAT place. Just click.