Friday, November 9, 2012

Sentence Completions

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

Always cover the answer choices so that they do not influence your thoughts as you examine the sentence.  Read the sentence carefully, looking for clues to predict the answer that belongs in the blank.  After you make your prediction, match it to the correct answer choice.  Eliminate answers that do not match.  Be sure to compare your prediction to all the answer choices, even if one seems to match perfectly. 

Those scholars who believe that the true author of the poem died in 1812 consider the authenticity of this particular manuscript ------- because it includes references to events that occurred in 1818.

What do sentence completion questions test?  They test both vocabulary and logic.  When you read this sentence, did anything seem odd about the dates that are mentioned?  Can an author who died in 1812 refer to events that happened in 1818?  It seems unlikely, and that is exactly what scholars are going to think about the authenticity of this version of the poem: it is unlikely.  Use the word “unlikely” as your prediction, and look down at your answer choices.

(A) ageless
(B) tenable
(C) suspect
(D) unique
(E) legitimate

(A)  Does ageless mean unlikely?  No.  Eliminate it.  (B) Does tenable mean unlikely?  No; it almost means likely.  (C) The word suspect has more than one meaning.  When suspect is used as an adjective, and all the answer choices are adjectives, it matches your prediction.  (D) Unique does not mean unlikely.  (E) Legitimate does not match your prediction and it is the opposite of what the scholars from the sentence will believe.

The correct answer is (C).

Words used in this SC:
Authenticity: genuineness
Ageless: continuing indefinitely
Tenable: capable of being justified or defended
Suspect: viewed with suspicion, doubtful
Unique: having no equal, unparalleled
Legitimate: valid

On sat.collegeboard.org, 55% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

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