SAT 7

CONTENT OVERVIEW

Sentence Completion

Passage-Based Strategies

Short

Long

Paired-Passage Strategies

The Essay

Identifying Sentence Errors

Improving Sentences/Paragraphs

SENTENCE COMPLETION 2 types of questions

Vocabulary in context Essentially given a definition and asked to find the

appropriate word The sentence will act as a definition, example or a

synonym of the correct answer

Logic Based Questions Not just the definition, but the relationship of the word

to the sentence Requires that you understand which word best fits according to

it’s relationship to the other words in the sentence.

Compare and contrast Cause and effect

SENTENCE COMPLETION STRATEGIES

Context Clues (definition hint)SynonymsAntonyms

Word “Charge”

Word Parts

WORD CHARGE

Refers to a Positive (+) or a Negative (-) connotation

Insidious- vivacious- Diabolical- effervescent-

“Disconsolate”

What DO you know about this word?

WORD ROOTS, PREFIXES, AND SUFFIXES

My neighbor is both ________ and ________; he keeps to himself and has great fear of anyone who isn't from our town.

a) callous...predisposedb) misanthropic...tolerantc) insular...xenophobicd) ignorant...biasede) prejudiced…obstinate

CONTEXT CLUES FOR THE WIN Type 1: Vocabulary in context

Definition In other words Such as For example

Type 2: Logic Based Questions Contrast

But Although Rather than However

Cause and Effect Because As a result Since Therefore

CONTRAST

The student spent no time planning his essay, resulting in a ______ of a unconnected ideas, rather than _____ argument in support of a thesis.

What is the relationship between “spent no time planning his essay” and the first blank?

What is the relationship between “unconnected ideas” and the second blank

CAUSE AND EFFECT

If/then relationship If A is true, B is true

We will face the idea of old age with____ as long as we believe that it invariably brings poverty, isolation, and illness.

Where is your context clue illustrates the cause and effect relationship in this sentence?

CONCLUSION

You do not have to know the meaning/definition of all of the options.

You have to know what strategies to use

OR

You have to be able to find clues hidden in the question or in the answers

PAIRED PASSAGES

Include fiction and nonfiction Majority will be nonfiction

Topics include Natural science: scientific discovery, theory, or

controversy Social studies: history, politics, economics Humanities: artist, music, philosophy

But don’t worry: You are not expected to draw from outside knowledge. Everything you need to know will be in the passages themselves.

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

Vocabulary in context However: the vocabulary is going to fit in the

context of the passage Not stand alone

Extended Reasoning Ask you to draw conclusions from or evaluate

info from passage Ask about overall theme, message, purpose,

attitude, sometimes even “tone” of the writer Include words like “probably, apparently, seems,

suggests, the author implies”

TYPES OF QUESTIONS CONTINUED…

Literal comprehension

Information that is DIRECTLY presented from the textExample: Find the place in the text where a particular detail is discussed.“line 1, 2, or 3”

Recognize different interpretations of the same fact or idea

FACTS, ASSUMPTIONS, AND INFERENCES

Facts Statements known to be true

A foot has 12 inches

Assumptions Suppositions or propositions that author makes to

reach their conclusions Not proven fact “According to the author...”

Inferences Conclusions you reach based on what has been said in

a passage This requires you to read between the lines

TYPES OF PASSAGES

Short 100-150 wordsApproximately 2-3 questions

Long400-850 wordsApproximately 8-13 questions

Paired PassagesTwo passagesRequire you to make connections

STRATEGIES

Short Passages Read the questions first

Long Passages Take notes

Paired Passages Read Passage 1, answer Passage 1 questions Read Passage 2, answer Passage 2 questions Lastly, answer questions about BOTH passages

(these are always last)

THE ESSAY

First part of the SAT Timed: 25 minutes Prompt topic will be “general”

No specific academic knowledge is necessary Draw from what you have learned, read,

observed Freedom of writing style

Narrative Expository Persuasive Argumentative

WRITING EXPECTATIONS

Strong development of ideas

Ability to connect to audience

Language use

Organization

Evidence/Support

STRATEGIES

How WELL you write is more important than how MUCH you write

Writing more than a paragraph, but be concise

Watch your handwriting If illegible, you may receive a zero

Stay on topic

Outline for 5 minutes

GRADING

The essay is graded “Holistically” Two readers score the essay out of 6 Combine scores to a total of 12 points

Essays that are off topic will receive a zero

IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS Tests your knowledge of

Grammar

Parts of a sentence

Usage

Agreement

Word Choice

“idioms” using the best word

Sometimes includes the exceptions of our speech.

E.g. “Go”, “Gone”, “Went”

MOST COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

Subject/Verb agreement

Parallelism

Placement of modifiers

Use of relative clauses

GRAMMAR USAGE

Now that we have identified the grammar, lets look at our grammar USAGE

All of our grammar must Agree. Qualitatively and Quantitatively Same amount of subjects to verbs Same tense (past, present, progressive)

“I go”…”I like to go to the movies” “She went”…..”She went to the movies last

night” “They were”….”They were at the movies

together”

PARALLELISM

Parallelism: Puts the contents of a sentence into a recognizable patter. Makes your sentence easier to understand

Balance a word with a word, phrase with a phrase, clause with a clause

Similar Types of words; adjectives, prepositional phrases, noun clauses,

IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS

Utilize the information about improving individual sentences

Wordiness: using unnecessary words and phrases OR adding empty expressions to a sentence.

Empty Expressions: are redundant (repetitive) and do not add anything to your sentence

“two in number”, “if you know what I mean”

Adding Descriptive words

ADDING DESCRIPTIVE WORDS

Be careful: You are not adding words just for the sake of making the sentence longer!

Adding words to CLARIFY and/or DESCRIBE.

Clarify: Making clear the context or the meaning of the sentence (who, what, where, when, why)

Describe: Using meaningful adjectives that contribute to the sentences meaning/objective.

CONTENT OVERVIEWReference Pages and Chapters (SAT BOOK)

Sentence Completion

Passage-Based Strategies

Short

Long

Paired-Passage Strategies

The Essay

Identifying Sentence Errors

Improving Sentences/Paragraphs