Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

Katniss Everdeen is currently one of the best recognized female characters by a female author. Here is a great article with a list of some of the all time greatest women writer-and-character pairings. Any of these characters and books would make a great literary "Excellent Example" for your SAT essay.

7/15 Sentence Completion

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

Always make a prediction before you look at the answers. Remember, 4 out of the 5 answers are wrong (so you don't want to waste time looking at wrong answers). Read the sentence carefully and look for clues to help you predict the correct answer. Then choose the answer that matches your prediction.

A true rebel, Leslie did what was _________ simply to demonstrate her inclination to defy taboos.

The sentence tells you that Leslie is a "true rebel" and that she does things that "demonstrate her inclination to defy taboos." That means that whatever she does must be rebellious and "defy taboos." It's difficult to predict an exact word for the blank, but you can still make a fairly specific prediction. Whatever Leslie does is "rebellious" or "counter-cultural" or "against the rules." Sometimes you won't be able to make an exact prediction. In those cases try to make as specific a prediction as possible. Now, take a look at the answers and look for the one that matches your prediction.

(A) intrepid

(B) monotonous

(C) customary

(D) arduous

(E) forbidden

Only (E) describes something that a rebel would do to "defy taboos." (A) and (D) could be tempting if you hadn't made a prediction (they both describe difficult or challenging actions but not rebellious ones). (B) and (C) are the exact opposite of what a rebel would do.

The correct Answer Choice is (E).

Words tested in this SC:

taboo: an inhibition or ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion

intrepid: fearless, bold, brave

monotonous: tedious, repetitious, lacking in variety

customary: agreeing with or established by custom

arduous: requiring much energy, testing powers of endurance

forbidden: not allowed, against the rules

On sat.collegeboard.org 71% of the responses were correct.

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