Sentence Completions

Critical Reading: 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. 

                         

Cover the answers so that wrong answer choices do not mislead your thoughts as you carefully read the sentence.  Focus on one blank, the one that seems easier, and make a prediction for that blank.  Eliminate any answer that does not match your prediction.  Then use the same method for the second blank.

The architect wanted to ------- his own initial vision and design but recognized the importance of ------- requests from his client; in the end, he had to make several concessions.

Look at the second blank because there are more contextual clues to help you find this blank.  The last portion of the sentence tells you that the architect had to make concessions.  In order to make concessions, he first had to recognize the importance of conceding to requests from his clients, which means he accepted or approved them.  Use these words as your prediction and look down at your answer choices.

(A)   maintain . . accommodating

(B)   develop . . submitting

(C)   protect . . excluding

(D)   refuse . . incorporating

(E)    preserve . . disregarding

(A) The word accommodating shows that he was willing to make changes.  Keep it.  (B)  The architect does not submit requests; the client does. Eliminate this choice.  (C)  "Excluding" is the opposite of your prediction.  Eliminate it.  (D)  If the architect incorporates his client’s requests, he accepts them and uses them to adapt his design.  Keep this option.   (E) "Disregarding" is the opposite of your prediction.  Eliminate it.

Now return to that first blank.  It is separate from the second part of the sentence by the word “but,” a word that indicates a contrast.  If the architect eventually has to make concessions or changes, a contrast to this idea would be that he wants to keep his initial vision and design without changes.  Use the word “keep” as your prediction and look down at the remaining choices.

(A) maintain . . accommodating

(D) refuse . . incorporating

(A) The word “maintain” matches the word “keep.”  Keep this answer choice.  (D)  It doesn’t make sense for the architect to refuse his own ideas; he wants to refuse the ideas of his client.  Eliminate this choice.

The correct answer is (A).

                                                         

Words used in this SC:

Concessions: changes as a result of yielded privilege or power

Maintain: keep up, preserve

Accommodating:

Develop: change, progress

Submitting: yielding authority

Protect: keep safe, defend

Excluding: shutting out

Refuse: reject

Incorporating: including

Preserve: protect, maintain

Disregarding: ignoring

On sat.collegeboard.org, 77% of the responses were correct.

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