SAT I Verbal Review

1. SAT I Verbal Review Alan Reinstein Wednesdays--Newton South—3:15-5:15 p.m. 1/29—Overall Intro + Critical Reading (mult. choice) 2/5—Writing Skills (multiple choice) 2/12—Essay section [2/19—no class—WINTER VACATION] 2/26—All together—Essay writing and more practice questions Text: The Official SAT Study Guide CollegeBoard SAT

2. Test Info • MARCH 8MAY 3 • deadlines to register: • Feb 7 April 4 • Feb 24 << late reg. >> April 21 • Go to: www.collegeboard.com

3. Goals for the Course • Students are are introduced to the format and length of the test • Students view the types of multiple choice questions on the test • Students practice the essay and to receive feedback on a sample essay • Students practice the timing of the test—to practice working swiftly—with some strategies for quick and effective test-taking

4. SAT Format: 10 Sections 1 25-min Essay (always first section) 2 25-min Critical Reading (24 Questions) 1 20-min Critical Reading (19 Questions) 1 25-min Writing Skills (35 Questions) 3 Mathematics Sections (2 25-min, 1 20-min) 1 25-min Experimental/Variable Section 1 10-min Writing Skills (14 Questions) 2 10-min Breaks (after Sections 3 & 6) (4 hours, 5 minutes)

5. Always first: The Essay—25 minutes • Decide your viewpoint on topic • Vary sentence structure • Use precise, clear vocabulary • Leave time to review

6. Scoring Overview • Two readers will grade your essay in about two minutes, judging it as a whole. • Each reader gives it a score of 1 to 6. • Your essay subscore is sum of these two scores (2 to 12) • Your essay subscore counts as one third of your total writing score.

7. Critical Reading Sections • Two types of questions: • 1. Sentence completion: (19 questions) arranged in order of difficulty • 2. Reading comprehension: (48 questions) not in order of difficulty; follow organization of passage

9. Writing Skills Sections • Three types of questions: • 1. Improving sentences--(25 questions) find the error in the sentence • 2. Identifying sentence errors--(18 questions) select the most effective version of a sentence • 3. Improving paragraphs--(6 questions) correct the flaws in an essay

10. Writing Skills Sections

12. Tactics for the SAT • Setting Goals: • Take a test from prep book under true exam conditions & follow instructions to calculate your score

13. Tactics • Pacing Yourself • Know what you’re capable of (by doing practice tests) • Study the directions of all question types so you won’t have to read directions on day of test

14. Tactics • Should I guess on the SAT? • Guessing can increase your score • You get 1 point for every correct answer • You get .25 deducted for every wrong answer • Make educated guesses • Never guess wildly or without reading the question

15. Whole Test-taking Tactics: • Keep careful track of time • Don’t read the directions or look at sample questions • Answer the easy questions first • In Crit. Reading & writing, read each choice before choosing answer

16. Whole Test-taking Tactics: • Fill in answers on your answer sheet in blocks (until the last 3 minutes of section) • You are allowed to write in test booklet • No stray marks on answer sheet

17. Whole Test-taking Tactics: • Don’t change answer on last minute hunches or whimsical feelings • Don’t get bogged down on any one question; don’t rush! • You don’t have to answer every question to do well.

18. The Sentence Completion Question p. 31 • All three Critical Reading sections start with sentence completions. • Easy to Hard • Get to know the Directions now so you don’t have to read them during the test

19. Approaches to Sentence Completion Questions • Read the sentence carefully to get a feel for the meaning • Before you look at the choices, think of a word that makes sense • Be aware of contrast words

20. Sent. Compl. Tactics • With two-blank questions, try eliminating using one blank • Watch for contrast, support & cause/effect signals although, despite, furthermore, likewise, thus, consequently • Look for words that signal the unexpected abnormal, anomalous, curious, illogical, incongruous, ironic, paradoxical

21. Sample Questions (p37) • Do #1-6 (in 3 minutes)

22. Practice Questions (p44) • 1-15 (8 minutes)

23. Reading Comprehension: The Passage-based Question--p. 49Tactics • Read the Introduction to acquaint yourself with text. • Use the line references & make sure you go back to the correct spot in passage. • When possible, read passages with familiar subjects before unfamiliar ones.

24. Passage-based question Tactics • When faced with SHORT passages, read the questions first & see if you can answer the question by quickly skimming. • When faced with LONG passages, read passage first, then do questions.

25. Passage-based question Tactics • Don’t get bogged down on one question; skip it & then come back to it. • Learn to spot the major reading question types: • Main idea • Specific details • Inferences • Tone/attitude • Vocab in context • technique

26. Passage-based question Tactics • To find main idea, check the opening & summary sentences of each paragraph. • Familiarize yourself with important words in questions on technique or style: • Abstract, analogy, antithesis, argumentative, assertion, cite, concrete, evidence, explanatory, expository, generalization, narrative, persuasive, rhetorical, thesis.

27. Passage-based question Tactics • When asked to choose a title, watch out for choices that are too specific or too general. • When asked about a specific detail in passage, spot key words in question and scan passage to find them.

28. Practice Exercisespgs. 57-59 • Do Questions 1-8 in 8 min • [Do Questions 9-19 in 10 min]

29. Sample Test #1 • Section 2 (p.390) • Let’s read the directions together • 25 minutes-->24 questions