Sentence Completions

Before I start on today's SAT question, I want to take a moment to start a new tradition. The SAT Question of the Day helps to prepare you for multiple choice questions and, to some extent, the grid-ins, but it does not prepare you for the essay. I will attempt to post a link here each day to give you some background on the question of the day and to provide some examples you can memorize to use in your essay.

Link of the Day: 

http://www.diegorivera.com/
Click on "Gallery" or "Murals" to see some of Diego Rivera's artwork.

3/20 Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

The instructions for the Sentence Completions sections on the real SAT are longer, but they don't actually say anything more than this. Memorize these instructions, and you can save time on the SAT by not reading their directions! In addition, always remember to use the Knowsys Method and predict every answer.

Despite their ------ proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is ------ and human in scale, not remote and larger than life. 

The final phrase, "not remote and larger than life," suggests that the second blank will have a word meaning either "small" or "close." Take a look at the answer choices to narrow down your options.

A) monumental... accessible

B) focused... prolonged

C) vast... ancient

D) realistic... extraneous

E) narrow... overwhelming. 

Only accessible means "close." Look at the first blank to double-check. Murals are large, so you could use "large" as your prediction in the first blank. Fortunately, "large" is exactly what monumental means. The answer is A.

Despite their monumental proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is accessible and human in scale, not remote and larger than life.

Words tested in this SC:
monumental: large, grand, and imposing
accessible: easy to approach, reach, enter, or use
focused: concentrated
prolonged: lengthy in duration, extended
vast: very large or wide
ancient: of or in a time long past
realistic: expressed or represented as accurate
extraneous: not essential; extra
narrow: slim, slender; restrictive "a narrow interpretation"
overwhelming: overpowering, staggering; very great or intense.


On sat.collegeboard.org, 64% of responses were correct.


Need to build your SAT Vocab?  Visit www.myknowsys.com to check out the Knowsys Vocabulary Builder Program.