Score improvement depends on your starting point and effort level, but students typically see meaningful gains—often 50-100+ points—when they work with a tutor to identify specific weak areas and practice strategically. Many students struggle with pacing and recognizing question patterns, which tutoring directly addresses. Consistent practice combined with targeted instruction in your problem areas tends to yield the strongest results.

Buffalo students often struggle with pacing (fitting all 44 questions into 35 minutes), distinguishing between similar answer choices that both seem correct, and recognizing grammar rules they've never formally studied. Many also miss the "big picture" questions about passage organization and rhetorical purpose. A tutor can help you develop a strategic approach to each question type and build the pattern recognition skills that separate strong writers from test-ready ones.

Practice tests are crucial—they reveal your pacing patterns, show which question types trip you up, and build familiarity with the test format so you're not surprised on test day. Taking full-length practice sections under timed conditions helps you develop realistic timing strategies and identify whether your mistakes come from knowledge gaps or careless errors. A tutor can review your practice test results with you to pinpoint exactly where to focus your study time.

Your first session typically includes a diagnostic assessment—either a full practice section or a review of your recent test scores—to identify your specific strengths and weaknesses. The tutor will discuss your timeline, goals, and any test anxiety concerns, then create a personalized study plan focused on your biggest opportunities for improvement. You'll leave with clarity on exactly which skills to prioritize and what to expect from your tutoring plan.

Effective timing comes from recognizing question patterns quickly and knowing when to skip difficult questions temporarily. Many students waste time on one tricky question when they could answer three easier ones first. A tutor can teach you a strategic approach—like identifying question types at a glance, prioritizing high-confidence questions, and developing a system for marking questions to revisit—so you're not racing against the clock.

You don't need to memorize every grammar rule, but you do need to recognize the most commonly tested ones: subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, comma usage, verb tense consistency, and modifier placement. The PSAT tests practical grammar knowledge through context, not isolated rules. A tutor will focus on the rules that appear repeatedly on the test and teach you how to spot them quickly in passage context.

Look for tutors with strong test prep experience who understand the PSAT Writing section specifically—not just general writing instruction. Ideal tutors have a track record of helping students improve scores, know the common pitfalls students face, and can teach both the content (grammar rules) and test-taking strategy (pacing, question patterns). Varsity Tutors connects you with expert tutors for students in Buffalo who specialize in PSAT preparation and can tailor instruction to your needs.