SAT PREP CLASS READING & WRITING SECTIONS CLASS 1- TUESDAY MARCH 4TH 2014 INTRODUCTION TO SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION SENTENCE COMPLETION PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION

INTRODUCTION TO SAT SECTIONS TYPE OF QUESTIONS # OF QUESTIONS TIME CRITICAL sentence completion 19 70 mins. total READING passage-based reading 48 (Two 25 min. sections & One 20 min. section) WRITING identifying sentence errors 18 60 mins. total improving sentences 25 (One 25 min. essay, one improving paragraphs 6 25 min. MC & one 10 essay writing 1 min. MC) ** YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY NEED SEVERAL #2 PENCILS FOR THE SAT- YOU MAY NOT COMPLETE ANYTHING ON THE TEST IN INK!**

CRITICAL READING SENTENCE COMPLETION: PASSAGE-BASED READING: THERE ARE 19 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS THAT TEST YOUR VOCABULARY & YOUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND FAIRLY COMPLEX SENTENCES PASSAGE-BASED READING: THERE ARE 48 QUESTIONS THAT ARE BASED ON PASSAGES THAT RANGE FROM 100-850 WORDS. THE CONTENT OF THE PASSAGES IS DRAWN FROM HUMANITIES, LITERARY FICTION, SOCIAL STUDIES & NATURAL SCIENCES.

TIPS FOR COMPLETING CRITICAL READING SECTION Work on sentence completion questions FIRST! Mark your test booklet Complete the ones you can easily & mark the ones you’re unsure of so that when you go back, they’re easy to find. Difficulty of sentence completion increases as you move through the set Use process of elimination- eliminate choice you know are wrong, even if you’re not sure which is right Consider related words, phrases, roots, prefixes & suffixes

SENTENCE COMPLETION TYPES OF QUESTIONS: VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT- YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW WORDS ARE USED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SENTENCE EX: Ravens appear to behave_______, actively helping one another find food. (A) mysteriously (B) warily (C) aggressively (D) cooperatively (E) defensively EX: Both ________ and ________, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money (A) vociferous.. Generous (B) garrulous.. Stingy (C) effusive.. Frugal (D) taciturn.. Miserly (E) reticent.. munificent

SENTENCE COMPLETION TYPES OF QUESTIONS LOGIC- BASED QUESTIONS REQUIRE YOU KNOW THE MEANING OF WORDS , HOW THEY ARE USED IN CONTEXT & UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC OF COMPLICATED SENTENCES. EX: After observing several vicious, territorial fights, Jane Goodall had to revise her earlier opinion that these particular primates were always _________ animals. (A) ignorant (B) inquisitive (C) responsive (D) cruel (E) peaceful

APPROACHES TO SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS BEGIN BY READING SENTENCES USING “BLANK” FOR ___________ THE BLANKS TRY TO DETERMINE STANDARD DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS OF WORDS IN THE SENTENCE & THE ANSWERS KEEP IN MIND INTRODCUTORY & TRANSITIONAL WORDS ARE IMPORTANT BUT ALTHOUGH HOWEVER YET EVEN THOUGH BE AWARE THAT THE MOST CHALLENGING SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS CONTAIN NEGATIVES, WHICH CAN MAKE FOLLOWING LOGIC DIFFICULT

APPROACHES TO SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS REMEMBER TO CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER CHECK YOUR SENTENCE BY READING IT WITH YOUR SELECTED ANSWER TO SEE IF IT MAKES SENSE ASK YOURSELF WHAT SORT OF WORDS SHOULD FILL THE BLANKS BEFORE LOOKING AT YOUR CHOICES, THEN LOOK FOR ONE(S) THAT ARE SIMILAR WITH TWO-BLANK QUESTIONS, TRY ELIMINATING SOME ANSWERS BASED ON ONE BLANK

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 1. A judgment made before all the facts are known must be called________ (A) harsh (B) deliberate (C) sensible (D) premature (E) fair 2. Despite their _________ proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is _________ and human in scale, not remote and larger than life. (A) monumental.. accessible (B) focused.. prolonged (C) vast.. ancient (D) realistic.. extraneous (E) narrow.. overwhelming

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 3. The research is so _______ that it leaves no part of the issue unexamined. (A) comprehensive (B) rewarding (C) sporadic (D) economical (E) problematic 4. A dictatorship _______ its citizens to be docile and finds it expedient to make outcasts of those who do not________. (A) forces.. rebel (B) expects.. disobeys (C) requires.. conform (D) allows.. withdraws (E) forbids.. agree

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 5. Alice Walker’s prize- winning novel exemplifies the strength of first-person narratives; the protagonist tells her own story so effectively that any additional commentary would be ____________. (A) subjective (B) eloquent (C) superfluous (D) incontrovertible (E) impervious 6. The Supreme Court’s reversal of its previous ruling on the issue of state’s rights _________ its reputation for _________ (A) sustained.. infallibility (B) compromised.. consistency (C) bolstered.. doggedness (D) aggravated.. inflexibility (E) dispelled.. vacillation

ANSWERS D A C B

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 1. In many cases, the formerly ________ origins of diseases have now been identified through modern scientific techniques. (A) insightful (B) mysterious (C) cruel (D) notable (E) useful 2. Freeing embedded fossils from rock has become less ________ for paleontologists, who now have tiny vibrating drills capable of working with great speed and delicacy. (A) exploratory (B) conclusive (C) tedious (D) respected (E) demeaning

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 3. Many people find Stanley Jordan’s music not only entertaining, but also __________; listening to it helps them to relax and to ________ the tensions they feel at the end of a trying day. (A) soothing.. heighten (B) therapeutic.. alleviate (C) sweet.. underscore (D) exhausting.. relieve (E) interesting.. activate 4. Marine biologist Sylvia Earle makes a career out of expanding the limits of deep-sea mobility, making hitherto impossible tasks ________ through the new technology designed by her company. (A) famous (B) feasible (C) fantastic (D) controversial (E) captivating

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 5. Two anomalies regarding her character are apparent; she is unfailingly _________ yet bursting with ambition, and she is truly _________but unable to evoke reciprocal warmth in those with whom she works. (A) aspiring.. generous (B) mercenary.. impartial (C) impulsive.. resolute (D) persistent.. reserved (E) humble.. compassionate 6. In many parts of East Africa at that time, wild animals were so ________ that it was almost impossible for a photographer to approach close enough to film them. (A) rare (B) large (C) wary (D) numerous (E) unsightly

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 7. The unflattering reviews that his latest recording received were ________ by his fans, who believe that everything he performs is a triumph of artistic _________. (A) dismissed.. creativity (B) hailed.. responsibility (C) suppressed.. self-promotion (D) accepted.. genius (E) regretted.. pretension 8. The board members, accustomed to the luxury of being chauffeured to corporate meetings in company limousines, were predictably_______ when they learned this service has been ________ (A) satisfied.. annulled (B) stymied.. extended (C) displeased.. upheld (D) disgruntled.. suspended (E) concerned.. provided

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 9. Misrepresentative graphs and drawings _______ the real data and encourage readers to accept _______ arguments. (A) obscure.. legitimate (B) distort.. spurious (C) illustrate.. controversial (D) complement.. unresolved (E) replace.. esteemed 10. Conservative historians who represent a traditional account as _________ because of its age may be guilty of taking on trust what they should have ________ in a conscientious fashion. (A) ancient.. established (B) false.. reiterated (C) mythical.. fabricated (D) accurate.. examined (E) suspicious..challenged

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 11. The art of Milet Andrejevic often presents us with an idyllic vision that is subtly _______ by more sinister elements, as if suggesting the _______ beauty of our surroundings. (A) enhanced.. pristine (B) invaded.. flawed (C) altered.. unmarred (D) redeemed.. hallowed (E) devastated.. Bland 12. State commissioner Ming Hsu expected that her commission on International Trade would not merely ______ the future effects of foreign competition on local businesses, but would also offer practical strategies for resisting such competition. (A) counteract (B) intensify (C) imagine (D) forecast (E) excuse

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 13. Since many teachers today draw on material from a variety of sources, disciplines, and ideologies for their lessons, their approach could best be called________. (A) eclectic (B) simplistic (C) invidious (D) impromptu (E) dogmatic 14. Unprecedented turmoil in the usually thriving nation has made formerly ________ investors leery of any further involvement. (A) pessimistic (B) cautious (C) clandestine (D) reticent (E) sanguine

PRACTICE SENTENCE COMPLETION 15. Despite its apparent _________, much of early Greek philosophical thought was actually marked by a kind of unconscious dogmatism that led to _________ assertions. (A) liberality.. doctrinaire (B) independence.. autonomous (C) intransigence.. authoritative (D) fundamentalism.. arrogant (E) legitimacy.. ambiguous

ANSWERS B C E A D