No Need For Derrick Rose To Cheat On the SAT
By charles | May 28, 2009
If someone had given Derrick Rose a copy of The Laugh Out Loud Guide this never would have happened.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/185914-drose-might-have-cheated-on-the-sat
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Study Finds SAT Test Prep Courses To Be A Waste Of Money
By charles | May 20, 2009
If you’re thinking you need to pay thousands on test prep courses to do well on the SAT, think again. Check out this story in the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html
Of course, if you have the money to spare, there’s certainly nothing wrong with giving it a shot. Some test prep companies are better than others. But if you don’t have the money to spare, don’t feel bad about it. Just buy a couple of SAT books and make sure to add learning questions to your test prep routine. Repeating from yesterday:
If you’re really serious about achieving a higher SAT score, then you need to add some learning questions to your test prep mix, and the best way to do that is with The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
http://www.learningisfunny.com/2009/05/19/the-importance-of-learning-questions-in-sat-test-prep/
http://www.learningisfunny.com/2009/05/04/sat-advice-multiple-books/
Happy studying!
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The Importance of “Learning Questions” in SAT Test Prep
By charles | May 19, 2009
One question I’m asked sometimes about The Laugh Out Loud Guide is whether or not one should be concerned that the real SAT exam is so much more boring than the comedic questions found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
The short answer is not only a big fat NO, but even stronger than that — the test prep process will actually be enhanced with the comedic questions in the mix.
To explain why, here’s the longer answer:
There’s a difference between test questions and what I call learning questions. A test question is simply that — a question that tests your knowledge. A learning question, on the other hand, goes way beyond that to help you learn the material and retain your knowledge.
Test questions are the boring official questions students need to answer correctly on test day, but that doesn’t mean the entire study process should consist of ONLY test questions. In fact, test questions are almost by design not memorable and are therefore less effective in the learning phase because they’re so boring.
A smarter approach would be to include some learning questions within the study process. These learning questions would be more memorable so that you could learn the overall concepts more effectively and remember them better. And then you’d be able to continue and complete the study process by moving to the test questions, applying the same concepts you just learned.
Let’s consider an example. Consider a boring official test question that tests your knowledge of the word corpulent. If you already know the meaning of the word, you’ll get the question right and be happy with yourself. But what if you don’t know what the word means yet? In that case, the test question won’t effectively help you learn and remember what the word means. The test question is boring and you’ll forget it very quickly.
On the other hand, let’s look at the following learning question found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide:
Yo Momma so _______, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
(A) diaphanous
(B) luminous
(C) ravenous
(D) grisly
(E) corpulent
I guarantee you won’t soon forget what the word corpulent means. And now the next time you see a boring official test question that requires you to know the meaning of that word, you’ll be able to apply what you learned in the learning question to correctly answer the test question.
To write this as an equation:
Learning Questions + Test Questions > Test Questions
In other words, a test prep plan that includes both learning questions and test questions is better than one that is made up entirely of test questions.
Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.
The other benefit to including some learning questions in the study process is that funny learning questions are more effective at getting a person started. Many students are simply handed one of those massive study guides and it’s no surprise that they have a tough time getting started because it’s so massive and boring. If there’s a book that gets you interested and started well along the process, that’s half the battle right there.
Now, yes, if a student completely misuses The Laugh Out Loud Guide, going straight from it to the actual test on test day, then they’ll be in for a bit of a shock with respect to how boring the real test is — but the book explicitly guides students on that point so that should never happen. Students who DO listen to the book’s guidance will enjoy a much more enhanced study process than if they use boring test questions and ONLY boring test questions.
It’s the same with teachers — the really boring ones aren’t as effective as they can be, and similarly if every single piece of reading and teaching is goofy then it’s too much and that would be wrong too, but if the overall lesson plan includes both boring and entertaining elements, then that’s the most effective approach of all.
My feeling is there are a spectrum of students and The Laugh Out Loud Guide will be used differently depending on the student. Some students will start with The Laugh Out Loud Guide and work through it completely before moving on to other books and official practice tests. Others won’t use The Laugh Out Loud Guide in any primary way, but will use it instead as comic relief during study breaks. In other words, even while taking a study break, they’ll be learning something. I think both uses are perfectly legitimate — every student is different — but in either case, the student’s learning process is being enhanced by including The Laugh Out Loud Guide in the mix. The book is not meant to totally replace — it is meant to enhance.
So that’s the long answer. If you’re really serious about achieving a higher SAT score, then you need to add some learning questions to your test prep mix, and the best way to do that is with The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
Good luck on the test!
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Author Q&A — Write On!
By charles | May 12, 2009
Here’s an author interview I just did for for my book The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!
The interviewer is Debra Eckerling of Write On! Online. Check it out!
http://writeononline.com/2009/05/12/author-qa-comedy-writer-charles-horn/
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SAT book not just for high school!
By charles | May 8, 2009
From the latest Amazon review of The Laugh Out Loud Guide:
“I keep my copy on my coffee table, and everyone that comes over loves to read through it. My friends and I actually read the questions out loud to see if anyone knows the answer. I’m sure you could build a board game around it.”
If you haven’t picked up a copy for your coffee table yet, what are you waiting for?
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Interviewed by Teen Success Expert Justin Sachs
By charles | May 8, 2009
Here’s a blog interview I did for my book The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! (cut for length). The interviewer is Justin Sachs, who is a Teen Success Expert.
Interview with Charles Horn
Friday, May 8, 2009
Charles Horn is the author of the new book, The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!, which uses comedy to prepare students for the dreaded SAT. Charles is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and a Princeton PhD.
1. What do you do?
I am a comedy writer based in Los Angeles. My credits include Robot Chicken, Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and freelance jokes for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
2. Tell us about your new book.
The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! is a fun and effective SAT study guide that uses comedy to prepare students for the SAT. Sample questions include:
Yo Momma so _______, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
(A) diaphanous
(B) luminous
(C) ravenous
(D) grisly
(E) corpulent
At a Saks Fifth Avenue store, Winona Ryder examines four distinct blouses, five distinct dresses, and two distinct handbags. How many different combinations of items can she shoplift if she takes exactly one blouse, two dresses, and a handbag?
A couple of quotes regarding the book include:
“Anyone with kids about to enter the collegiate system needs to buy this for their children.”
–Curled Up With A Good Book [Book Review]
“SAT prep books don’t work if students don’t read them. A professional comedy writer and PhD wrote this book to hold students’ interest, and students will eagerly read it.”
–James Rosenbaum, professor of education, Northwestern University
3. Why did you write it?
I often tutor in between writing gigs and whenever I tutor for the SAT I invariably see either a boredom factor or a stress factor come into play. If students are bored, they won’t put in the effort, and if they’re too stressed, their learning ability becomes impaired. Comedy helps in both regards, because it reduces stress and keeps students interested and engaged. The other remarkable thing about comedy is that it actually increases recall, so students will remember the information better on test day (and apply the same concepts to the more boring SAT questions).
Let’s face it, too often students are simply handed huge mind-numbingly boring textbooks that put them immediately to sleep, so they don’t even end up studying in the first place. If research shows that comedy is an effective teaching tool in many ways, then a comedic SAT study guide will be helpful and effective on multiple levels. I realized I was in a unique position to write such a book. I designed the guide so that it could be used to enhance all traditional forms of test prep. In other words, students can now laugh their way to a higher test score.
4. What makes you an expert in your field?
I have a Ph.D. from Princeton and a total of five degrees in engineering and mathematics. I was also nominated for an Emmy award for my writing on Robot Chicken.
5. What type of people should read your book?
Students studying for the SAT. Parents of students studying for the SAT. People who know students studying for the SAT. Adults will enjoy reading all of the comedic questions in the book as well, but the book wasn’t written explicitly for them and I imagine the word SAT would scare most of them off anyway. 
7. Advice for Teens or Parents of Teens
First, if you don’t have a ton of money to drop on classes and tutoring, don’t worry about it. Many students (including myself) have aced these kinds of standardized tests without going through expensive classes and tutoring. There are many good books out there and that’s all you need. And because books cost only $10 to $20 each, you can afford to buy a couple of them and still save hundreds and thousands of dollars in test prep costs. Buy The Official SAT Study Guide for its eight full practice tests and take a look at the other books to see which ones help you in the areas you need most. And of course buy The Laugh Out Loud Guide to give you that comedy edge. Review the material and then work through many practice tests until you’re happy with your score.
Second, if you are paying for classes or tutoring and a company tells you they have the “secrets” to “beat” the SAT, then run. Get as far away as possible from them. Don’t be taken in by satisfaction guarantees either. Most guarantees only provide more free classes that didn’t work for you the first time. Or they place many barriers in front of you to make sure they never have to give you any money back.
[...]
10. How can we purchase your book? Learn more about you? Do you have a blog?
The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $12.99) can be purchased at Barnes and Noble and other fine bookstores, and on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0740777106?ie=UTF8&tag=charhorn-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0740777106
The website for the book is located at http://www.laughoutloudguide.com.
You can also find my comics website and blog at http://www.yayrobot.com.
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SAT Advice — buying multiple books can save thousands in test prep
By charles | May 4, 2009
If you don’t have a ton of money to drop on SAT classes and tutoring, don’t worry about it. Many students (including myself) have aced these kinds of standardized tests without going through expensive classes and tutoring. There are many good books out there and that’s all you need. And because books cost only $10 to $20 each, you can afford to buy a couple of them and you’ll still be saving hundreds and thousands of dollars in test prep costs. Remember, each book has its strengths and weaknesses. Buy The Official SAT Study Guide for its eight full practice tests and take a look at the other books to see which ones help you in the areas you need most. And of course buy The Laugh Out Loud Guide to give you that Comedy Edge. Review the material and then work through many practice tests until you’re happy with your score. Good luck!
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The Laugh Out Loud Guide now on Myspace
By charles | April 28, 2009
The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! is now on Myspace.
Won’t you please be our Myspace friend?
http://www.myspace.com/laughoutloudguide
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Looking for a speaker?
By charles | March 25, 2009
Hey folks, if your school or group is looking for a speaker to give a talk and Q+A on the SAT exam, please contact me. I have prepared an entertaining and informative talk on the subject.
Looking forward to it!
-Charles
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Adult Swim bump
By charles | March 7, 2009
If anyone wants to see the Adult Swim bump plugging my book, here it is. Pretty cool, huh?
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