Visit the Virginia SOL Bookstore at Virginiasol.com to find books and materials to help you prepare for the English SOL test. Choose the bookstore link that is on the home page. Choose the "English" option, which will take you to the available materials. For example, The Princeton Review's book "Cracking the Virginia Sol: Eoc English; Reading, Literature, and Research" may help students begin to think like the people who created the tests. The material includes two simulated exams and sample test questions with explanations for each solution.
Books for younger children who will be taking the SOL include "Reader Rabbit Reading" and "Grammar for All." "Grammar for All" is accompanied by a CD Rom to help with test preparation.
Prepare for the English portion of the Virginia SOL Exam by taking practice tests. Practice tests are available on the Virginia SOL website. Practice exams are broken down by grade so students could simply click on their grade and be given the opportunity to choose a practice exam. Exams are available for all curriculums. For English, students can choose English SOL practice exams in Writing, English-Zone or Grammar, Guide to Grammar and Writing, or Read Story and Answer Questions. For example, the writing portion of the online test gives students a short essay to read. Then they are asked 40 multiple-choice questions about whether changes should be made to certain sentences.
Keep materials from your English classes that teachers hand out throughout the year. This includes graded tests, quizzes, hand-outs and reports. Even if your class has completed the assignments and has moved on to new material, hold on to these important papers. This way, you will have material that will likely be on the English SOL from which you can study. Review the material periodically throughout the school year to avoid the need to cram all the information in right before the Virginia English SOL exam.