SAT PREP

Agenda

• Sign up at the door with your email to receive electronic copy of full package

• Intro

• SATs: the basics

• Overview of the three sections

• Study Tips

OVERVIEW SEE HANDOUT

WRITING

Part 1: Essay

• Weight: 33% of writing section

• 25 minutes total

• Always the first section of exam

Suggested Time Strategy

• 3 minutes to think about topic

• Write for 20 minutes

• Use 2 minutes at the end to check over everything (if you don’t have time to check everything over, check the first and last sentences)

Suggested Writing Strategy

• Decide how many paragraphs you are able to write within time

• Clearly develop position in first paragraph (“thesis”)

• Use at least 1 personal example (e.g. personal experience) and 1 general example (e.g. in the news, a book, etc.)

• There is no “point proof explanation”, as long as it flows and makes sense holistically

• Use humour, be creative, etc. (just don’t be racist…)

Always link your supporting arguments back to the question

Tips for the conclusion

• DON’T BE REDUNDANT

• BE CREATIVE

• DON’T INTRODUCE NEW IDEAS

Sample question (from

October 2012 test)

You are given a box with text that is supposed to “lead you in the right direction”. You can take ideas from this text but you can also choose to ignore it:

“The idea of caring about only the people of one's own country seems outdated. Some people still defend this attitude, claiming that if we are going to expend resources to help people, we should help those of our own country first. But national boundaries are meaningless lines that shift over time. There is no reason why a citizen of one country should not feel just as responsible for the well-being of people in other countries as for the well-being of those in his or her own country.”

Sample question (from

October 2012 test)

What your essay should focus on is answering the question that comes after the text:

“ASSIGNMENT: Should we care just as much about people in other countries as we do about people in our own country?”

Sample question (from

October 2012 test)

The sentence that follows the question is the same for EVERY TEST & EVERY QUESTION. Remember what these words say and don’t waste time on the test reading it:

“Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.”

You try!

The idea of caring about only the people of one's own country seems outdated. Some people still defend this attitude, claiming that if we are going to expend resources to help people, we should help those of our own country first. But national boundaries are meaningless lines that shift over time. There is no reason why a citizen of one country should not feel just as responsible for the well-being of people in other countries as for the well-being of those in his or her own country.

ASSIGNMENT: Should we care just as much about people in other countries as we do about people in our own country?

NOTE

Don’t stress about not doing well on the essay!

It could only hurt your performance on the rest of the exam.

Part 2: Multiple Choice

2 sections:

• 25 minutes

• 10 minutes (always the last section)

3 types:

• Identify sentence errors

• Sentence correction (improving sentences)

• Editing in context (improving paragraphs)

Identifying Sentence Errors

• Reread the sentence

• There are many sentences with NO errors (option E), so don’t overthink it

• You must circle one of the underlined words or phrases, or circle “No Error”

Sentence Corrections

• Option A is “no change”, i.e. the sentence should be kept the way it is

• Option B,C,D,E give you alternate sentences

• ALWAYS GO WITH THE MOST SIMPLE ONE• The most complicated ones are usually wrong• THE ENTIRE PHRASE HAS TO BE UNDERLINED

TO BE ‘WRONG’• ALWAYS AVOID PASSIVE TENSE

Paragraph Correction

• You will be given a paragraph to read, and questions will ask you to correct sentences in the paragraph

• (Same as Sentence Correction)

• Be wary of context

Common Mistakes

ME vs. I

• Abby and I went to the store. CORRECT

• Abby and me went to the store. INCORRECT

• He came with Abby and me to the store. CORRECT

• He came with Abby and I to the store. INCORRECT

^ In these cases, take out the name and see if the sentence makes sense with just “I” or “me” in it if it does, then it is correct

Common Mistakes

Comparing the Same Objects

•  Alice’s tree is taller than Jimmy.

• Alice’s tree is taller than Jimmy’s

• Alice’s tree is taller than that of Jimmy.

NEGATION IS ALWAYS SINGULAR

• Neither Alice or Jimmy passed the exam.

• Neither Alice nor Jimmy passed the exam.

• Either Alice or Jimmy passed the exam.

Common Mistakes

MAKE SURE THE TENSES AGREE

• Neither Alice nor Jimmy are smart.

• Neither Alice nor Jimmy is smart.

MAKE SURE THE NUMBERS AGREE

• Alice thinks that Jimmy did not like to grow trees

• Alice thinks that Jimmy does not like to grow trees.

Common Mistakes

Cont’d…

• Alice and Alicia think that she cannot grow a tree

• Alice and Alicia think that they cannot grow a tree

• The suspect in question has escaped. They would have gotten to the border by today.

• The suspect in question has escaped. He would have gotten to the border by today.

Common Mistakes

And obviously…

• I walk

• You walk

• She/he walks

• They walk

You try!

• (pdf)

• Sentence correction: pg. 45 (5 min)

• Identifying Errors: pg. 22 (5 min)

CRITICAL READING

Part 1: Sentence Completion

3 sections:

• 25 minutes

• 25 minutes

• 20 minutes

Fill-in-the-blanks

• You will need extensive vocabulary for this (flashcards)

• The only way you’re going to get a good score in this section is if you know what the words mean

• CollegeBoard likes to use words that have somewhat similar meanings so guessing will be difficult

Part 1: Sentence Completion

Strategy

• Determine if the word in the blank is POSITIVE or NEGATIVE

E.g. “Alice was so _____ that she slapped Jimmy”; “happy” or “pleased” can obviously be eliminated)

• For double blanks, BOTH words must fit

Decide whether the two words are similar or opposite

Part 1: Sentence Completion

Part 2: Reading Comprehension

4 types:

• 1 short passage + 1 short passage

• 2 short passages combined

• 1 long passage

• 2 long passages combined

Part 2: Reading Comprehension

• In-text analysis: avoid extreme statements

• Only choose when text EXPLICITLY makes this statement

• Most of the time, statements that can QUALIFY and allow FLEXIBILITY are safer

Part 2: Reading Comprehension

For double passages:

• Read the first passage then answer the first few questions then continue to second passage

• When comparing two passages…• Option must contain correct facts about

both passages

Part 2: Reading Comprehension

For all passages:

• UNDERLINE important words or phrases (i.e. the ones that reflect the main character’s personality, actions, etc.)

FUN FACT

If you get a text analysis question about a racial minority (or any race at all), the answer will be something positive because CollegeBoard doesn’t want to offend anyone.  

• E.g. Passage 1 depicts Asians as:

• a) hardworking

• b) unnecessarily overstressed

• c) anal and uptight 

…you can be sure that the answer will be a) without even looking at the text

You try!

• (Pdf)

• Sentence completion pg. 15

• Reading comprehension pg. 16

STUDY TIPS

GOOD LUCK!