Parallelism

Link of the Day

Pina Bausch is the subject of today’s SAT question.  If you enjoy dance or other forms of performance, you may want to consider using Pina Bausch as one of your historical figures for your SAT essay.  She would relate to any questions about creativity, originality, planning, highly accomplished people, and reasons for change.  Check out some information about this choreographer here.

Writing: Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Always read the entire sentence to yourself so that you can check the meaning and structure of the sentence as a whole.  Listen for errors as you read it.  Then, quickly check each of the underlined portions of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules. 

The German choreographer Pina Bausch Acreated dances Bthat incorporated everyday human gestures Cand alternating between highly stylized, precise movements and Dmore flowing, expressive ones. ENo error.

(A) When a verb is underlined, always check to make sure that it agrees with its subject.  This one does.  You could use “Pina Bausch created dances” as a complete sentence.  There is no error here.

(B) When do you use the word “that” and when do you use the word “which?”  Use the word “that” when the following words are vital to the meaning of the sentence.  The word “which” must have a comma before it, but there is no comma in this portion of the sentence, so the word “that” is correct.  Also, the word “incorporated” is past tense, matching the previous word, “created.”  There is no error here.

(C) This word follows a conjunction, “and,” so check the sentence for parallelism.  Pina Bausch’s dances incorporated one thing and alternating between two others.  Does that make sense?  No.  The word “alternating” must be changed to “alternated” in order to be parallel with the word “incorporated.”  Mark this error and quickly check the remaining choices.

(D) When you see a modifier that makes a comparison, such as the word “more,” make sure that the correct number of things are being compared.  In this case there are two things involved, precise movements and more flowing movements, so you need the word more rather than the word most.  The modifier more is also placed as close as possible to the word it modifies, “flowing,” just as it should be.  There is no error here.

(E) This cannot be the answer because you already marked an error.

The correct answer is (C).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

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

Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

If, like many students, you have tests and projects standing between you and a winter break, don’t stress out!  Too much stress can negatively impact your efforts to study.  Take a look at this list of tips to clear your mind.

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. 

Do not look at the answers until you have read the sentence carefully and predicted a word to fill the blank.  Once you have a prediction, match it to the correct answer and use it to quickly eliminate any answers that do not match.  Look at all of the answer choices, even if the first one seems to fit.

The party guests were enthralled by the host's ------- anecdotes, which were full of engaging and provocative details.

There are two types of sentence completion questions: vocab-based and logic-based.  You know that this one is a straightforward vocabulary question because the definition of the omitted word is in the sentence.  Your task is to find a word that means “full of engaging and provocative details.”  Predict a word such as “interesting” and look down at the answer choices.

(A) piquant

(B) obtrusive

(C) insipid

(D) discursive

(E) forthright

(A) Does piquant mean interesting?  If you do not know anything about the word, keep it.  (B) Does obtrusive mean interesting?  No, but obtrusive sounds like a negative word.  Eliminate it if you think you may have heard it in a negative context before.  Remember, the guests were enthralled by the stories – the answer must be positive!  (C) This word also seems negative, but you are looking for a positive word.  This word is actually the opposite of your prediction.  (D) Discursive sounds kind of like the words discourse or discuss.  This probably has something to do with speech, but it doesn’t sound particularly good, so go ahead and eliminate it.  (E) You can be “forthright” without being interesting, so eliminate this choice.

The correct answer is (A).

Words used in this SC:

Enthralled: charmed or captivated

Anecdotes: short stories, often humorous

Piquant: engaging, stimulating, interesting

Obtrusive: protruding, noticeable in a displeasing way

Insipid: flavorless, boring

Discursive: rambling

Forthright: straightforward, direct

On sat.collegeboard.org, 52% of the responses were correct.

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

Triangles

Geometry: Triangles

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

Approach all math questions the same way so that you can be confident in your method.  Start by reading the question carefully and making a note of the bottom line – the answer that you must find.  Then, assess your options and choose the most efficient method to attack the problem.  When you have found an answer, loop back to make sure that it is your bottom line.

In the triangles above, 3(y – x) =

Bottom Line: 3(y – x) = ?  (Don’t solve for x or y and think that you are finished!)

Assess your Options:  The wonderful thing about geometry questions is that there is often more than one way to get to an answer.  The tricky thing is that using some geometry rules will take longer than others.  For example, you could use the rule that all degrees in a triangle add up to 180 degrees.  Then you would write out an equation to solve for the missing variables in each triangle.  This is the method used on collegeboard.org.  However, if you have special triangles memorized, you can save a lot of time.

Attack the Problem:  The first triangle is a right isosceles triangle.  You know this because it has one right angle, and the other two angles are equal.  This is a special triangle that is very common, so you should memorize the fact that its angles measure 45, 45, and 90 degrees.  The x is equal to 45.

Now look at the second triangle.  It is an equilateral triangle.  You know this because all three angles are equal.  You should memorize the fact that all the angles in an equilateral triangle equal 60 degrees.  The y is equal to 60.

Now that you know what the x and y are, plug these numbers into your equation.

3(y – x) =

3(60 – 45) = 45

Loop Back:  You solved for your bottom line, so you are ready to look at the answer choices.

(A) 15

(B) 30

(C) 45

(D) 60

(E) 105

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

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

Verb Tense

Link of the Day

You can learn a lot about the priorities of others by looking at where they spend their money.  The same is true of nations.  Look at this article about UK aid to third world nations.  Is the aid a good thing?  Think about this question as someone who must share the planet with others, then think about this question from the perspective of someone on a tight budget.  This current event touches some tough issues regarding morality and responsibility.  Think about the broad themes involved and note the details that would help you use this as an excellent example on an SAT essay.

Writing: Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Remember that your goal is to create a clear and precise sentence.

The most famous case of scientific suppression remains that of Galileo, who in 1633 was forced by the Roman Catholic Church to disavow his finding that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

When you read this sentence the first time, do you see any errors?  There are many things that you can change about this sentence, but there are no errors.  The meaning of the sentence  is clear.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) remains that of Galileo, who in 1633 was forced by the Roman Catholic Church to disavow

(B) remained that of Galileo, who in 1633 was forced by the Roman Catholic Church to disavow

(C) remaining that of Galileo, forced by the Roman Catholic Church in 1633 to disavow

(D) will remain that of Galileo, who is forced by the Roman Catholic Church in 1633 to disavow

(E) has remained that of Galileo, who in 1633 is forced by the Roman Catholic Church to disavow

(A)  You did not find any errors in the original sentence, so keep this as an option.

(B)  Changing the tense of the present tense verb “remains” changes the meaning of the sentence.  Right now this is the most famous case of its kind, so using the past tense “remained” is not appropriate.  Eliminate this answer.

(C)  The Knowsys rule is to avoid unnecessary “–ing” verb endings.  You already know that the verb “remains” works in this sentence, so do not be tempted to add “–ing.”  Additionally, this answer choice creates problems with the sentence structure.  Eliminate it.

(D)   How do you know that something will always remain the most famous case of its kind?  You don’t know.  The future tense is not appropriate in this sentence, so you can eliminate this choice.

(E)  This time look at the part of the sentence that says “who in 1633 is forced.”  The forcing clearly happened in the past, so this portion of the sentence should read “was forced.”  Note: this logic can also eliminate choice (D).

The correct answer is (A).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 57% of the responses were correct.

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

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. 

Never look at the answer choices before reading the sentence; they will only distract you.  Instead, read the sentence carefully.  If there are two blanks, focus on the easier one.  Make a prediction for that blank and eliminate any answer choice that does not match.  Then do the same with the remaining blank.

Budget cuts prompted the town's officials to cancel the annual parade, but the subsequent ------- from residents was so great that the event was -------.

Look at the first blank.  Parades are fun community events, so how would people react to hearing that one is canceled?  They would be disappointed or upset.  Predict a word such as “disappointed” and look down at your answer choices.

(A) amazement . . shortened

(B) support . . altered

(C) disapproval . . eradicated

(D) outcry . . reinstated

(E) negligence . . upgraded

(A) People are usually amazed at something good.  Your prediction is negative.  Eliminate this choice.  (B) This is the opposite of your prediction.  Eliminate this choice.  (C) This matches your prediction.  Keep it.  (D) Disappointed or upset people raise an outcry, so this matches your prediction.  Keep it.  (E)  If you don’t know this word, think about whether it seems positive or negative.  It is a negative word, so keep it.

Now look at the second blank.  Officials try to keep people happy.  If people are disappointed that an event is canceled, officials are going to try to put it back on the calendar.  Predict a word such as “restored.”  If a single word does not come to mind, you can always just use “put back” as your prediction.  Look at your remaining answer choices.

(C) disapproval . . eradicated

(D) outcry . . reinstated

(E) negligence . . upgraded

Bottom of Form

(C) If you don’t know what this word means, keep it.  However, does eradicate have the same root as erase?  Hint:  it does.  (D) This matches your prediction.  Remember that the Latin prefix “re-“ means again, and the officials want to have the parade again.  (E) Can you upgrade something that does not exist?  No.  The parade was canceled, so this answer does not make sense.  Eliminate it.  If you want to guess an answer, pick what you know over what you do not know.

The correct answer is (D).

Words used in this SC:

Annual: happening every year

Subsequent: following

Altered: changed

Eradicated: eliminated, destroyed

Outcry: protest

Reinstated: restored, brought back

Negligence: not using appropriate care or attention

On sat.collegeboard.org, 73% of the responses were correct.

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

Writing Equations

Link of the Day

New things can be exciting, but also scary.  Several years ago, Y2K (the year 2000) frightened many people.  Now people are worried about the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec 21, 2012.  Take a look at this article to see how people are reacting to rumors about the end of the world.  How could you use this current event on an SAT essay?  It would easily relate to questions about whether the world is getting better, how people understand themselves and those in authority, feelings and rationality, and many other topics.  Make sure to pick out specific details to mention in your essay if you choose this as one of your current event examples!

Algebra: Writing Equations

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

Always read math problems carefully so that you don’t miss an important piece of information.  Identify the bottom line, and assess your options for reaching it.  Choose the most efficient method to attack the problem.  Many problems have multiple steps, so be sure to loop back and make sure that you solved for the bottom line.

The stopping distance of a car is the number of feet that the car travels after the driver starts applying the brakes. The stopping distance of a certain car is directly proportional to the square of the speed of the car, in miles per hour, at the time the brakes are first applied. If the car’s stopping distance for an initial speed of 20 miles per hour is 17 feet, what is its stopping distance for an initial speed of 40 miles per hour?

Bottom Line: d (distance) = ?

Assess your Options:  You have to decide how to use the information in this problem; in other words, you need to write an equation.  Plugging in the answer choices will take a lot of guess work.  Instead, carefully work through each piece of information that you are given.

Attack the Problem:  You have probably worked with distance, rate, and time before.  One formula that is often used in Knowsys classes is distance = rate × time.  This problem is asking you to write a similar equation.  The problem says: “The stopping distance of a certain car is directly proportional to the square of the speed of the car, in miles per hour, at the time the brakes are first applied.”  In other words, you know that distance is (“is” means “equals” in math) directly proportional to something.  Now pay particular attention to the part that says “directly proportional.”  This phrase just means that when the distance gets bigger, so does the other side of your equation.  For that to happen, you need another constant number on the other side of the equation.  Your distance is equal to some constant number times speed squared.  Your formula should look like this:

distance = constant number × speed²

Now that you have written an equation to show what is happening in this problem, you are ready to look at the next piece of information.  Plug in the first situation in which an initial speed of 20 miles per hour results in a distance of 17 feet.

d = c × s²
17 = c × 20²

Now you can solve for c by isolating the variable.  Use your calculator when it will be faster than mental math.

17 = c × 400  (divide each side by 400)
.0425 = c

Now you have enough information to find your bottom line. Plug in the second situation in which the car is going 40 miles per hour and solve for the distance.

d = c × s²
d = .0425 × 40²
d = .0425 × 1600
d = 68

Loop Back:  You solved for the stopping distance of a car traveling 40 mph, just as the question asked.  You are ready to look at your answer choices.

(A)  34 feet
(B)  51 feet
(C)  60 feet
(D)  68 feet
(E)  85 feet

The correct answer is (D).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 39% of the responses were correct.

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

Pronouns

Writing: Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E.

Read the whole sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then check each portion of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  If you think that you have found an error, mark it and quickly check the remaining underlined portions of the sentence.

Most states Ahave various levels of football competition in Btheir high schools so that schools with Csimilar numbers of students compete only against Dthem. ENo error

(A)  Check for subject and verb agreement.  The word “states” is plural, so you need the word “have” and not the word “has.”  There is no error here.

(B)  The word “their” is actually a possessive pronoun.  Where is the antecedent; what does it refer back to?  It refers to the states, and it is plural just like the word “states.”  If you tried to insert the word “its” in here, you would be introducing an error because “its” is singular.  There is no error here.

(C)  The word “similar” modifies the word “numbers.”  The modifier is placed as close as possible to the word it is modifying, so there is no error here.

(D)  Once again, you have a pronoun.  What does the word “them” refer back to?  By now it could refer to a number of nouns, “states,” “high schools” or “schools.”  Pronouns should only refer to one antecedent.  More than one antecedent will make the sentence impossible to interpret.  The word “them” must be changed to “one another” or “each other.” Mark this error.

(E)  This answer choice cannot be correct because you already identified an error.

On sat.collegeboard.org, 57% of the responses were correct.

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