Learn the Language of the SAT

Every standardized test has its own rules, its own language. The SAT is no different. To understand the language of a test, is to know how to attack each question type. To understand the language of the SAT is to be prepared and avoid the trick answer. In my next series of posts, I will address the language of the SAT for each topic: Math, Critical Reading and Writing........

The Voice and the Tone of a Passage

Voice and Tone are two similar but subtly different concepts in critical reading. Learning to "feel" the writer through his or her voice is an important SAT Critical Reading skill. Many times a student will answer questions about a passage incorrectly because he or she will incorporate his or her world view into the passage. Hint--Your opinion does not count! The questions will start off with language such as "According to the author......" Not "According to Jim Smith.....

Once again Grammar Girl has an excellent discussion of voice and tone, please read or listen to the audio version by clicking here: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Your SAT Score Sucks Because.....Part 3

Because you hate to read. The only time you read is when a book is assigned to you in school. You never pick up a newspaper, magazine, short story. You never visit the library to take out a book for pleasure. During the summer you never bring reading material with you to the beach. During your downtime, you spend endless hours texting and video chatting.

Because you chose this "way of life" you lack worldly knowledge and word power. You lack the ability to "read between the lines"--ie. the ability to analyze what is implied; the ability to anticipate an argument; the ability to "feel" the author's inner voice. All these skills are useful in high school, college and in life.

The only way to acquire these important skills is to read--not because you are forced to do so, but because you are intrigued by all of the potential books can open your mind to. Start now! It's never too late.

Sentence Completion Clues

Of the 67 questions which make up the SAT Critical Reading Sections, 19 are sentence completions. Sentence completions represent about 30% of the total reading questions. After reviewing the March 2010 score reports of many of my students, I found that, for the most part, the sentence completion success rate was less than 50%.

I believe this poor showing can be easily corrected. First, answer all the easy sentence completions first. The easy questions show up in the beginning of the section. There are no tricks to the easy questions and the answers are straightforward.

As the sentences get harder, realize that many times there are several clues in the sentence itself which allows the student to find the correct answer. These clues are much more important than the answer choices. In the more difficult sentence completions,many times the answer choices are full of words the students do not understand. However, by learning how to identify certain key words and by recognizing how the sentence is constructed, students can eliminate many obvious wrong answers. Elimination increases the accuracy of picking the correct choice from only two or three remaining choices.

Reading Scores A Concern Nationwide

Judging from the comments I am getting from my students, reading is the subject they need to work on the most. As I read through the newspapers this morning, I am finding a slew of articles about the poor nationwide reading scores over the past 17 years. When these reading scores are compared with the math results, the comparisons are even more striking. Is it our culture? To much time spent on video games and texting? For an in depth analysis please click on this link from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/education/25reading.html

Reasons to Read the Newspaper

An article a day will help a student several ways:

• by making her aware of current events which allows for some timely essay topics
• by practicing reading, she learns to analyze details, and this results in an
• increase in word power, and an
• appreciation of good writing

Most students do not get their news from newspapers. But they should try. There is no downside to reading the New York Times. It may not be cool, but the benefits outweigh the perception

Develop a Love For Reading

Excerpt from zenhabits.net:

How to you discover the joy of reading? Well, start by finding amazing books, as I discussed above. If a book bores you, move on to another. Find a book with a main character you love, doing things that excite you or give you joy.
But beyond the book itself is everything else that surrounds you — where you sit, how quiet it is, how comfortable you are. You want the experience to be as pleasurable as possible. For some, that might be reading while taking a hot bath (reading in the shower is more difficult). For others, that might be with a hot cup of tea or coffee. For still others, it’s reading in the park, near a river or lake or ocean, on their front porch as the sun rises.
Whatever works for you, but make it something to look forward to.
Don’t force yourself to read — do it because it’s fun and enjoyable. If you treat it like a chore, it will feel like one. If you treat it like a treat, that’s what it will be. Make reading a voluntary thing, a hobby, a passion.
Learn to immerse yourself in the world of a book, and forget about the world around you. This is related to being in the moment, or finding the state of Flow — time seems to disappear, and nothing else exists but your book

Read This Summer!

Do not let your mind turn to mush this summer! If reading is your weak point on the SAT or ACT, make a pact to read at least one intelligent thing per day this summer! I will be posting one article each day which I think is worthy of your attention. The link to these articles will be posted on www.twitter.com/tutorsteve

How To Become A Better SAT Reader

Many of the major magazines have an essay in each issue. Time, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Magazine, etc. These essays are approximately the same length as the SAT's long reading passages. Take out a pen and mark up these essays. Underline any key phrases or quotations. Circle any vocabulary words you may not know and look up those words. Ask yourself the following questions: What is the authors point? Why did the author use this example? Does the article read as sad, funny, serious, sarcastic, tragic, or hopeful?

From these questions start to anticipate what questions the test makers would ask if given the passage in front of you, ie. figure out the main idea, vocabulary in context questions, inference questions, function questions, etc. When you put yourself in the shoes of the test makers, you become a better test taker.

Understanding the Structure of Reading Passages

Often an excerpt from a novel or a short story will serve as an SAT reading passage. Novels are narratives with dialogue. It is important for the reader to identify the fictional characters and keep track of who is saying what. It is also important for the reader to understand who the narrator is, what the narrator's tone is, and what each character's attitude and agenda is. Once the reader is able to master this, the questions which follow are easy to answer.

The other type of reading passage is the more classic reference piece, much like what one would read in a textbook or encyclopedia. This passage will read like a classic essay. It will have an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Figure out the author's thesis. Highlight the topic sentence of each body paragraph. Understand the examples used to prove the thesis. Be aware of the essay's tone and key words. The questions which follow will be easy to answer.

The Wizard of OZ as a source of SAT Vocabulary

Every time Easter and Passover approach I think of the Wizard of Oz. As a child, this classic always seemed to be on television during this time of year. Who knew that a careful review of the script would be replete with SAT vocabulary words? For instance consider the three following lines from the wizard:

'Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the earth, or slinks through slimy seas has a brain"

"You dare to come to me for a heart, do you? You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!"

"And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain - you billowing bale of bovine fodder!"

Just from these three lines, I was able to italicize 8 SAT words! How many do you know?
What is your favorite book or screenplay? Go back, reread them and find some good words to look up. Its a lot more fun than tedious memorization.

Long Reading Passages

The long reading passage aka The Gigantic Passage should not be feared. Sure, most SAT long passages are seemingly endless and boring. Sure some sport topics as ancient Greek poetry or the history of glass. Do not despair. As long and as boring as the passages are, there is a method which must be employed to successfully answer most of the 12 or 13 questions which usually follow approximately 90-115 lines of reading.

First, lightly skim the passage for no more than 3-4 minutes. Always read with your pencil. Circle or underline key words or themes. This will help the reader quickly locate important information which will facilitate answering the questions. In the case of dialogue, keep track of who is saying what--that's it.

Second, realize that the questions will be always be presented in orderly fashion. For example, the first question may direct the reader to lines 3-6, followed by a question regarding lines 10-12 and so on. Therefore, the reader is forced to re-read the passage once again anyway, so there is no need to panic if the passage was not easy to understand during the initial light skim.

There are more literal comprehension type questions in this part of the SAT. As a result, questions to the long passage are generally easier than other passage based reading questions. Time management and proper discipline are key components necessary to master long passages on the Critical Reading part of the SAT.

Examples of Answers that are Too Narrow

A main idea or global question on the passage based reading section of the SAT is by definition a broad based inquiry. Broad questions are correctly responded to with broad answers. When presented with a question such as "The primary purpose of the passage is to......"

The correct answer to this question cannot contain facts stated in just one specific part of the passage--such an answer may be true but too narrow to be the correct choice. The correct answer must be broad enough to encompass the entire thesis.

For an example of an incorrect answer that is too narrow in the Official Study Guide, see p. 405 #19, answer (A)

Examples of Extreme Language In Critical Reading

I took the following wrong answers from the Official SAT Study Guide:

p. 458 choice (D) They were universally admired by British women from every class of society

p. 467 choice (A) was exasperated that she allowed Waverly to embarrass her in public

p. 470 choice (B) criticize the human obsession with time

I noticed a common thread contained in the above answer choices--all had extreme language, ie. super positives or super negatives

Extreme language answers are often wrong because the subject matter of the passages is rarely radically one sided. When practicing passage based reading beware of extreme language in answer choices. Look for more moderate and reasonable language.

Try and locate all wrong answers which contain extreme language. This will help eliminate tempting choices and increase the odds of finding the correct answer.

Six Reasons Critical Reading Answers are Wrong

Do not be fooled! Knowing what not to do is almost as important as knowing what to do. Here are the six most frequent characteristics of incorrect critical reading answers:

1. The answer is too narrow;
2. The answer is too broad;
3. The answer is out of scope;
4. The answer has misused detail;
5. The answer is opposite of what is being asked;
6. The answer is too extreme.

We will examine each of these characteristics in coming posts.

Critical Reading--Paired Passage Strategy

The paired passage reading questions require the student to compare and contrast themes and ideas between two passages. The length of each passage will vary from a single paragraph to several paragraphs. It is important to tackle these questions with the following systematic approach:

1. Scan the questions without looking at the answer choices. Mark each question--1, 2 or B for Both;
2. Read the italics and the first passage first;
3. Answer only those questions pertaining to the first passage;
4. Read the second passage;
5. Answer only those questions pertaining to the second passage;
6. Finally answer those questions pertaining to both passages.

This approach allows the reader to focus on each passage, one at a time. It avoids the confusion of mixing up the main ideas and points of each passage.

Is the Internet to Blame for Poor Reading Scores?

There is a growing debate about the stagnating or even declining reading performance by students on standardized tests, particularly the SAT. Is the Internet the culprit? Does on line reading enhance or detract from the intellectual growth of a young mind? The New York Times examines this issue today. There is no right or wrong answer. There are plenty of opinions however. The debate is a matter of perspective. Students have their opinion, as do parents, educators and certain organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the entity which administers the SAT. Click on the title to this post to read this in- depth and fascinating article in the NY Times.

Words Can Have Several Meanings

Knowing that common words have several meanings is a valuable tool towards solving passage based reading vocabulary in context questions. For example the word mean can be used as follows: "Mommy was mean to me!" or "What does that word mean?" or "86 degrees is the mean temperature for NYC in the summertime" or "Danny plays a mean saxophone". See what I mean? No pun intended. Do not fall for the first definition that comes to mind. Read the passage and once you fully understand how a particular word is used in the sentence IN CONTEXT, then predict what you think the answer should be and then find that answer! The ability to master these questions will greatly bolster a student's SAT reading score.

These Two Types of SAT Questions Are Similar

Sentence Completions and Vocabulary in Context questions are both included in the Critical Reading Section. The techniques used to solve sentence completions are very similar to the approach a student must take toward Vocabulary in Context questions. In my previous post, I urged the student to try and predict in his or her own words how a sentence should be completed. Well, this is especially true with these two question types. Before predicting a Vocabulary in context question, go back to the reading passage and read around the indicated sentence, ie. read the sentence before the actual sentence, then read the sentence, then read the next sentence. Finally, before predicting, realize that most of the time the word in question will have several meanings and the answer will usually be a secondary or third meaning. More about how words have several meanings in my next post.

Do Not Look At the Answers!

This statement is especially true with respect to the sentence completion and passage based reading questions in the Critical Reading sections as well as the Writing multiple choice questions . Do not underestimate the power of prediction! Read the question only and try and predict what the answer should be. Then glance at the answers and find the answer which closely matches your prediction. Many times its as simple as that. Remember many answer choices on the SAT are designed to confuse you, lead you off track and ruin your concentration.

Put this method into practice-- without looking at the answer choices, focus on the particular grammatical rule by correcting the sentence yourself or figure out the vocabulary word which best completes the sentence This saves precious time and increases your accuracy. When doing practice tests, you may want to physically cover the answer choices with your hand to force yourself to gain confidence in your ability to predict. If you are unable to predict an answer, skip the question and come back to it later. Believe me, subconsciously your mind is still trying to process and figure out the answer even while you have moved on to other questions.