Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

Technology changes the way that people live their lives.  It changes the way that people interact with one another.  It also changes the college admission process.  Take a look at this article and think about how you are presenting yourself online.  A little thought now could help you avoid disappointment later.  And yes, this issue would make a good current event for an SAT essay because it touches on a wide variety of themes: goals, technology, fairness, change, and many others.  Just make sure that you do not get distracted and focus exclusively on this issue; use it as a current event to support the stance that you are taking on the question your essay prompt asks.

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. 

Always cover the answer choices before you read the sentence.  Read the sentence carefully, and use the clues in the sentence to predict a word to fill the blank.  Match your prediction to the correct answer choice, eliminating any answers that do not match.  Be sure to look at every choice before you select an answer.

The language of Anne Spencer’s poetry conveys an impression of ------- that can be misleading: just when a poem seems to be echoing routine feelings, the diction suddenly sharpens to embody fresh and unexpected ideas.

What is the first impression given about the poem after the colon?  The poem “seems to be echoing routine feelings.”  This is the misleading first impression that is followed by new ideas.  You need a word that means “echoing routine feelings.”  Use the word “unoriginal” as your prediction, and look down at your answer choices.

(A)   frivolity

(B)   triteness

(C)   diversity

(D)   lyricism

(E)    precision

Ask yourself whether each answer choice means “unoriginal.”  If it does not, eliminate it.  When you are unsure about the meaning of the word, think about whether it is positive or negative.  “Unoriginal” is a negative word.  There is only one answer choice that matches your prediction.

The correct answer is (B).

Words used in this SC:

Frivolity: silliness

Triteness: characterized as unoriginal, cliché, routine

Diversity: variety

Lyricism: musical qualities

Precision: exactness

On sat.collegeboard.org, 44% of the responses were correct.

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