Critical Reading Section Sentence Completions

1. Critical Reading SectionSentence Completions Roger said the report was significant; Heather contradicted him, saying that all the information presented was ------- . (A) contemporary   (B) scintillating (C) objective   (D) irrevocable  (E) immaterial

2. Critical Reading SectionSentence Completions Roger said the report was significant; Heather contradicted him, saying that all the information presented was ------- . (A) contemporary   (B) scintillating (C) objective   (D) irrevocable   (E) immaterial Because Heather is contradicting Roger, the correct response is the word that is most nearly the opposite of "significant.“ Choice (E) is correct. "Immaterial" means inconsequential or irrelevant. Information that is immaterial is by definition not significant.

3. Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading • Excerpt from reading passage: After I left the room, I began to sift my impressions. Only the day before, an acquaintance had warned me to watch carefully for sleight-of-hand tricks, especially as the man had earlier been a stage conjuror.

4. Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading The “acquaintance” mentioned in line 2 can best be described as a (A) skeptic (B) hypocrite (C) hoaxer (D) confidant (E) mystic

5. Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading The “acquaintance” mentioned in line 2 can best be described as a (A) skeptic (B) hypocrite (C) hoaxer (D) confidant (E) mystic The acquaintance mentioned in line 2 warns the author to "watch carefully for sleight-of-hand tricks." Choice (A) is correct. In warning the author to watch out for tricks, the acquaintance is showing that he is skeptical about the telepathist's supposed powers.

6. Writing SectionImproving Sentences A few barges still move oil up to Hartford, but in the old days they had more traffic then. (A) but in the old days they had more traffic then (B) but in the old days traffic was heavier (C) but in the old days they had a lot more (D) whereas the traffic was a lot more in the old days (E) whereas then there was more traffic in the old days

7. Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors A few barges still move oil up to Hartford, but in the old days they had more traffic then. (A) but in the old days they had more traffic then (B) but in the old days traffic was heavier (C) but in the old days they had a lot more (D) whereas the traffic was a lot more in the old days (E) whereas then there was more traffic in the old days Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the errors of the original by eliminating both the unnecessary adverb, "then," and the vague pronoun, "they."

8. Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors The electronic computer is a technological triumph that scientists have developed,mastered, and then put it to constantlyincreasing use. No error. B C A D E

9. Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors The electronic computer is a technological triumph that scientists have developed,mastered, and then put it to constantlyincreasing use. No error. C B A E D The error in this sentence occurs at (B), where an unnecessary pronoun is used. The object of the verb "have . . . put" (like the object of the verbs "have developed" and "have . . . mastered") is the relative pronoun "that," which refers to "technological triumph." The pronoun "it" is therefore unnecessarily inserted after "put."

10. Writing SectionImproving Paragraphs (1) The last century was a time of great technological progress. (2) Life is more convenient, comfortable, and efficient today than ever before. (3) Yet this has created new concerns. Which of the following versions of sentence 3 (reproduced below) is most effective? Yet this has created new concerns. (A) Although this has created new concerns. (B) Yet this progress has created new concerns. (C) Yet these have created new concerns. (D) Yet this has created new concerns to worry about. (E) New concerns have been created.

11. Writing SectionImproving Paragraphs (1) The last century was a time of great technological progress. (2) Life is more convenient, comfortable, and efficient today than ever before. (3) Yet this has created new concerns. Which of the following versions of sentence 3 (reproduced below) is most effective? Yet this has created new concerns. (A) Although this has created new concerns. (B) Yet this progress has created new concerns. (C) Yet these have created new concerns. (D) Yet this has created new concerns to worry about. (E) New concerns have been created. Choice (B) is correct. The vague pronoun "this" is replaced by "this progress," which clearly refers to the progress mentioned in sentence 1.

12. Sentence Completion… Hoping to ------ the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ------ to both labor and management. • Example • (A) enforce..useful • (B) end..divisive • (C) overcome..unattractive • (D) extend..satisfactory • (E) resolve..acceptable

13. Sentence Completion 1. Formerly ---- as a "dumb blond," Marilyn Monroe is now ---- as having been an intelligent, sensitive woman. (A) sensationalized ... romanticized(B) sabotaged ... described(C) denigrated ... lauded(D) recognized ... remarked upon(E) romanticized ... redeemed

14. Identifying Sentence Errors Choose the letter that corresponds to the incorrect part of the sentence. If there are no errors, choose (E). Both Janet and Tiffany want to be a veterinarian and work in zoos when they grow up. (A) Both(B) a veterinarian(C) in zoos(D) they grow up(E) No error.

15. Passage Based Reading

16. Latin Root Practice

17. Greek Root Practice

18. Vocabulary Flashcards

19. PSAT Words

20. Scoring thePSAT

21. How is the PSAT scored? • Multiple-choice questions: 1 point for each correct; 1/4 point deducted for each incorrect • Math grid-ins: 1 point for each correct; 0 points for each incorrect (nothing deducted) • 0 points for omitted questions (nothing added, nothing deducted)

22. How is the PSAT scored? • Scores are reported on a scale of 20–80 for each section: critical reading, math, and writing skills. • For juniors, 47–50 is about average; for sophomores, 43–46 is about average.

23. Getting ready to take the PSAT/SAT Long-term and short-term preparation

24. Short-term Test Preparation • Students should: • take the full-length practice test in the Official Student Guide and get comfortable with the test format. Take time to score it, to better understand the scoring process. • Visit www.collegeboard.com/psat for additional practice test items • Sign up to receive the SAT Question of the Day at www.collegeboard.com • Become familiar with the types of test questions, the directions, and test format

25. Question of the Day

26. Test-Readiness Strategies • Learn the directions beforehand • Read all the answer choices • Do scratch work in the test book • Work steadily • If you skip a question, be sure to note it in the test book, and leave it blank on the answer sheet. Return to it if you have time. • Remember: students don’t have to answer every question to score well

27. Tips and strategies Sentence Completions • Some PSAT sentence completions have two blanks rather than one. If you can guess the meaning of one blank, but not the other, scan the answer choices, looking for the word you’ve guessed. Eliminate the answer choices that don’t include it or a near-synonym, and then guess from what remains. Critical Reading • Look for the main idea of each paragraph. Remember the concept of the "topic sentence"? Your English teacher may have taught you to include one in every paragraph you write. PSAT paragraphs often contain such a sentence that summarizes the central point of the paragraph. When you find one, underline it.

28. Test-readiness Strategies • In most sections, the questions are arranged from easy to more difficult (except for passage-based reading in critical reading section and improving paragraphs in writing skills section) • Wild guessing is discouraged, but students should make educated guesses.

29. Tips to Takeaway • Don’t spend too much time on any single question. Move around in a section, answering the questions you know you can do easily and saving the hard ones for last. • If you can eliminate at least one wrong answer choice, you should guess. • Be careful transferring answers. • Think about the question before you look at the answers.

30. To learn more…visitwww.collegeboard.com

31. Sources of Information • http://www.college-scholarships.com/100college.htm. • http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/. • http://www.fastaid.com • www.ncaaclearinghouse.org. • http://www.hsf.net/ • http://www.testpreppractice.net/PSAT/psat-words-list.html • www.fastweb.com • www.scholarships.com • www.collegeboard.com • www.act.org/ • www.petersons.com/ • http://www.vocabulary.co.il/psat_vocabulary/