Review for the ACT and SAT Verbal Sections

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

By Jack L. Carter

Abstract

Sense Impressions

Red

Color

Car

Vehicle

Transportation

The Student’s Transportation is a red car.

Line of Generality

Order

Concept: Sentences are defined by order. The type of sentence in a paragraph is defined by the Line of Generality

The ringing bell announced the end of class.

The bell rings for the end of class.

Senior rings arrived this morning.

Adjective

Verb

Noun

Problem: Fill in the Blank

Concepts

•General or Specific•Descriptor, Subject, Objective, or Action•Clue Words in Sentence•How to test which words to eliminate•Part of a word may indicate best choice•Specific is often better than General, given a choice

E

C

B

Problem: Related Pairs

Important Concepts

•Order of the words is crucial!!!

•Order is often in the form of General and

Specific

•At issue is the RELATIONSHIP of both

words.

•Try to eliminate as many answers as

possible before you chose

E

Concept: Drapery is made from fabric; therefore, drapery is more general

Right Order; wrong relationship

Wrong Order; wrong relationshipWrong Order; wrong relationshipRight Order; wrong relationship

Concept: Pineapple is a kind of fruit; therefore, Pineapple is more SPECIFIC.

Right Order; wrong relationshipRight Order; wrong relationship

Right Order; wrong relationship

Right Order; wrong relationship

C

Another Important Concept

NEGATION OR REVERSAL:

ONE WORD IS A REVERSAL OR NEGATION OF THE OTHER

Concept: A bungler LACKS finesse; therefore, bungler is GENERAL; finesse is SPECIFIC attribute of bungler.

Correct order; no negationCorrect order; no negation

Correct order; no negationCorrect order; no relationship

C Correct order; negation

Concept: •One answer is always the best wrong answer.•The best wrong answer comes from a misreading of a word

Concept: Travail could be a descriptor for work, meaning difficult work. Notice how easy it would be to substitute TRAVEL for TRAVAIL. Work is GENERAL; travail specific.

Same Level; no relationship

Same Level; descriptor of travelNegation; same level

Kind of; relationshipSame level; reason for

B

Interpretation of Passage

Issues•Introductory Material is IMPORTANT.•Questions as for both

•STATED MATERIAL•Answer can be found in text

•IMPLIED MATERIAL•Reader must INFER or find a logical reason for one of the answers based on information given.

•Interpretation looks at different aspects•General overall meanings or attitudes•Specific meanings or attitudes•Meaning of key words or concepts

At issue, equality of theory of development.

Look for reversals and negations of initial idea.

Negation

Negation

Conclusion or summary Expansion

Concept: point of view is whole rather than a part. Therefore, answer cannot exclude parts of passage.

Incomplete

Possible Answer

Incomplete

Too General

C

Specific Part in relatinship to whole

Too General

Too General

Inaccurate

Incomplete

B

Negation plus patterns: from which inference or reason

Too General

Too General

Too Specific

Too Specific

B

Reference to interpretation of specific passage

Too General

One-sided; wrong side for question

Too General

Contradicts assertions in article

C

Specific part of passage: calls for an inference however

Too GeneralMale side

Too GeneralToo General

C

Draw a conclusion but based on specific passage in text.

Negation

Incomplete; too general

Irrelevant; too specific

Too SpecificToo Specific

A

Sentence Completion

ISSUES:•Best answer is required, not perfect answer; therefore, best might be obscure•Check for key words that indicate

•Level of Generality•Direction of passage: positive or negative•Reversal in passage, which may change choice

•Word chosen for an answer must fit all of the

sentence and not just part

Same level; no reversalSame level; no reversal

Same level; no reversal

Same level; no reversalD Same; reversal

Concept: a positive result grew from the contest; therefore, the two words must be positive and not be a reversal.

Positive; no reversal

Different level; reversalreversalreversalreversal

A

Concept: Whole sentence must be taken into consideration. Consider Answer A and Answer E. While they mean approximately the same thing, one does not reflect the whole sentence.

Levels ok, but direction

Reversal; wrong direction

Reversal; incorrect

Same level; wrong ideaRelationship; correct ideaE

Concept: Process of elimination works best when a word is unusual or unknown or used in an unexpected manner.

Blending is a positive action in this case.

Inter--go between; not saw as join or blend

Ex means against

Anti means against

Imitate means alike, not part ofD

Further Concepts:•Parts of Object

•Whole object•Part of object

•Function of a material object•Function of whole object•Function of a part of the object

•Attitude •Towards a thing•Towards a person•General attitude

•Causal Issues

Concept: Part of object relationship Another Part

Function Object

Part Part

Part Whole

Material Abstract

Part PartE

Relationship: Hinge holds up a door

Rare type: Answer is in same order and same level, but opposite concept

adversity

unlucky Negative situation

superb Exemplary

Ordinary Unusual

divine courteous

changingunchanging

despairing unfortunate

Positive situation

Attitude Situation

A

Comparison Reading Question

Writing Skills Questions

Issues:•Coherence: the order of the words in the sentence.•Organization: the Order of Sentences in a Paragraph•Mechanical Skills

•Punctuation•Shifts in Point of View

•Person•Number•Tense•Mood•Voice

Writing Skills Questions

Issues Continued:•Misuse of parts of speech in various parts of the sentence•The parts of the sentence•Pronoun Reference•Effective of Sentence

•Clear •Use of specific words to describe•Distinguish between GENERAL AND SPECIFIC•Avoids trite phrases especially such phrases as

•There is•It is•This is

Following is incomplete because of time limitations.

Concept: Incorrect Point of View

Shift in TENSE:

Spelling

Infinitive: to gather

Wordy or imprecise: need coordinate: and

Shift in Point of View: Number

Some are Correct!

Shift in Point of View: Tense

Shift in Point of View: Mood

Agreement: Subject and Verb

Vague; too general; empty words

Reference: Agreement in Number

Infinitive

Verb

Mood

Adjective

Present participle

C

A

Some are correct!!!

Parallelism

Parallelism

Qualifies Sentence 2 with details.

Major Grammatical Error: Comma Fault

Comparison and Contrast: Contrast

Point of View: Shift in Person

A

The End