1. Preparing for the PSAT/NMSQT

2. Students receive one point for each correct answer (regardless of difficulty). For incorrect answers to multiple-choice questions, a quarter (1/4) of a point is deducted. Nothing is deducted for unanswered questions. Next, the raw score is converted to a score on the PSAT/NMSQT scale of 20 to 80. This statistical procedure, called equating, adjusts for differences in difficulty between various forms, or editions, of the test.

3. Tips Take the practice test in the Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT.Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT Don't feel you have to answer every question. Work steadily -- don't waste time on hard questions. You can always go back to them later. You can earn an above-average score by getting only half the questions right and omitting the rest. Read all the answer choices before marking your answer sheet. Do your scratchwork in the test book. Check your answer sheet regularly to make sure you're in the right place. Try educated guessing when you can eliminate at least one answer to a multiple-choice question. Take a calculator.calculator THIS IS A TIMED TEST

4. Critical Reading 1. Sentence Completion A discerning publishing agent can ------- promising material from a mass of submissions, separating the good from the bad. (A) supplant (B) dramatize (C) finagle (D) winnow (E) overhaul Passage Based Reading

5. Writing Skills 2. Identifying Sentence Errors Find the error

6. 3. Improving Sentences (a is always the same as the underlined portion) Hearing that the Statue of Liberty did not have a pedestal, a campaign was begun by Joseph Pulitzer to raise money for the construction of one. (A) a campaign was begun by Joseph Pulitzer to raise money (B) a campaign to raise money was initiated by Joseph Pulitzer (C) money was raised in a campaign by Joseph Pulitzer (D) Joseph Pulitzer began a campaign to raise money (E) Joseph Pulitzer had campaigned to raise money

7. 4. Improving Paragraphs (1) Every year we hear more and more people complaining about the extended commercialism of the winter holiday season. (2) Every year stores put out decorations and holiday merchandise earlier and earlier. (3) Yet every year retailers complain that sales are not what they should be. (4) When will retailers learn? (5) The public knows how to keep its own schedule. (6) When we do not buy holiday gifts far in advance, shoppers are saying that they do not want to think about the winter holidays too early. Question: which of the following is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence 6 (reproduced below) ? When we do not buy holiday gifts far in advance, shoppers are saying that they do not want to think about the winter holidays too early. (A) When we do not buy holiday gifts far in advance, shoppers (B) When shoppers do not buy holiday gifts far in advance, they (C) In fact, shoppers' holiday gifts are not bought far in advance; they (D) Consequently, by our not buying these far in advance, shoppers (E) In contrast, when we do not do so, it is because shoppers

8. http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ psat/prep.html

9. PSAT Score PSAT/NMSQT scores are reported on a scale of 20 to 80. In 2010, the average score for eleventh graders was about 47 in Critical Reading, 49 in Mathematics, and 45 in Writing Skills. Highest total score is 240

10. Answers 1.D 2.A 3.D 4.B