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 up your answer choices until you have made a prediction about the words that must fill the blanks.  Use your prediction to eliminate all of the answer choices that are incorrect.

Since the explanations offered are ------- to the exposition, it would be unfair to treat them as ------- parts of the studies under consideration.

If you read a sentence and you have no idea what it is saying, try paraphrasing it:  Since the explanations are one thing, it would be unfair to treat them as another thing.  From this paraphrase, you can see that you are setting up a contrast.  The first blank must be the opposite of the second blank.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) tangential . . subsidiary

(B) irrelevant . . superfluous

(C) referable . . correspondent

(D) incidental . . essential

(E) crucial . . immutable

(A)   Tangential is a Knowsys vocabulary word.  You can also think of how this word is used in math: something that touches but does not cross into the center of a shape.  The other word, subsidiary, contains the Latin root “sub” which means below. These words are synonyms; both of them mean that something is not central to the main theme or is less important than it.  Eliminate this choice. 

(B)  The Latin root “ir” means not, so the first word is “not relevant.”  The second word contains “super,” meaning “over,” and “fluous” meaning “flowing.”  Both irrelevant and overflowing information is excessive or more than you need.   These words are synonyms, not antonyms.  Eliminate this choice. 

(C)  You know what it means to refer to something, and you know that “correspondent” refers to a relationship between two things that are the same in math.  Both of these things mean relating to another, so they are synonyms rather than opposites.  Eliminate this choice. 

(D)  An incident is something that just happens to happen or be mentioned, while something essential must be included.  These words are opposite, so they match your prediction.  Keep this answer choice. 

(E)  The word immutable includes the Latin root “mut,” meaning to change.  Something that is crucial might or might not be changeable, it is just important.  These words have no clear relation.  Eliminate this choice.

The correct answer is (D).

Words used in this SC:

Exposition: a written statement meant to explain something

Tangential: slightly related

Subsidiary: subordinate or secondary

Irrelevant: not applicable or pertinent

Superfluous: unnecessary or needless

Referable: relating to something

Correspondent: in agreement or conformity with something else

Incidental: loosely associated with something

Essential: necessary or of high importance, crucial

Crucial: essential, indispensable

Immutable: unchangeable

On sat.collegeboard.org, 45% of the responses were correct.

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

Rates

Arithmetic: Rates

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

Use the same process for every math problem so that you are not intimidated by any question.  (1) Read the question carefully.  (2) Identify the bottom line – what is the question asking?  (3) Take the time to assess your options – which methods can you use to solve this problem most efficiently?  (4) Attack the problem and work though it logically.  (5) Loop back to make sure that your answer matches the bottom line – did you complete every step of the problem?

A train traveling 60 miles per hour for 1 hour covers the same distance as a train traveling 30 miles per hour for how many hours?

Bottom line: Make a quick note that you are solving for hours: hrs = ?

Assess Your Options:  You could try to use logic for this problem by thinking that if a train goes more slowly, it must take longer to go the same distance as it did at a faster speed.  Unfortunately, logic will not eliminate all of your answer choices.  Use the distance formula to solve this problem.

Attack the problem:  The distance formula is distance is equal to rate(speed) times time:  D = R × T.  Start with the first train and multiply the rate (60 m/hr) by the time (1 hr) to get the distance:

60 × 1 = 60

The first train traveled 60 miles.  You know that both trains traveled the same distance, so plug in 60 as the distance for the second train. You also know that the rate is 30 and the time is unknown.  That should look like:

30 × T = 60

30T = 60

T = 2

Note:  If you are good at balancing equations, there is an even faster way to do this problem.  Look at the distance equation:  D = R × T.  If the distance for a problem stays the same, but you increase the speed (rate), then you must decrease the time by the reciprocal of the speed increase.  That keeps the equation balanced.  Ex:  If you double the speed, you must halve the time.  In this particular problem you halve the speed (from 60 to 30), so you must double the time.  2 × 1 hour = 2 hours.  This reciprocal rule will always work!

Loop Back:  You solved for the time of the second train, which is already in hours, so you are ready to look at your answer choices!

(A) 3

(B) 2

(C) 1

(D) 

(E) 

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 78% of the responses were correct.

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

Sentence Structure

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 entire sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then evaluate the underlined portion using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first error that you find to eliminate wrong answer choices. 

The North American continent, first colonized by people from Siberia, crossing the now sunken land bridge between Siberia and Alaska about 15,000 years ago.

Something is clearly wrong with this sentence.  Can you identify the main subject and verb? The subject is North America, but there is no main verb!  As it is written, the sentence seems to say that the continent was “crossing” a land bridge – a nonsensical statement.  The people crossed the bridge.  This sentence is a fragment.  To fix it, you need to add a verb.  Verbs often come right after the subject, so the sentence should say something like “The North American continent was first colonized.”  There is another issue with this sentence, but use the first error that you see to quickly eliminate any answer choices that do not fix this problem. 

(A) The North American continent, first colonized by people from Siberia, crossing

(B) People from Siberia first colonized the North American continent, who crossed

(C) First colonized by people from Siberia was the North American continent, they crossed

(D) First colonized by people from Siberia, who crossed the North American continent,

(E) The North American continent was first colonized by people from Siberia, who crossed

You probably noticed right away that only two choices use the word “was”: (C) and (E).  Of those two choices, only (E) puts the “was” where you predicted it would go.  If you are not always able to identify how to fix the errors that you find, don’t worry; you can also eliminate each other answer choice based on specific flaws.

(A) You know this sentence is a fragment because (A) always matches the original sentence.  Eliminate it without looking at it.

(B) In this case, “people” has become the subject of the sentence.  When the subject of the sentence is people, you do not need the pronoun “who” to link “crossing” to people – it is already understood.  Eliminate this choice.

(C)  In this sentence the subject follows the verb: “was” comes before “continent.”  Your Knowsys handbook tells you to avoid these constructions whenever possible.  This sentence is also a comma splice, which means that there are two complete sentences incorrectly joined by a comma.  Eliminate it.

(D)  This answer changes the intended meaning of the original sentence.  Now people are crossing North America instead of the land bridge, and they are colonizing the land bridge instead of colonizing North America.  Eliminate this choice.

(E) This sentence has a main subject followed by a main verb.  That verb is not “people,” so the sentence has further been clarified by explaining that it is the people “who” crossed the bridge.

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 71% 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. 

Cover your answers so that you can focus on reading the question carefully and predict an answer to fill the blank.  Once you have a prediction, you can easily eliminate answer choices that do not match your prediction in meaning.  Be sure to look at all 5 answer choices, even if the first answer that you see seems to match exactly.

Because he was ------- in the face of danger, the explorer won the government’s highest award for conspicuous bravery.

This sentence is great because it gives you a word to fill the blank.  Someone who is given an award for bravery will be “brave” in the face of danger.  Sentences that use simple vocabulary and seem to give away the answer like this will often have more difficult vocabulary in the answer choices.  Look at each word separately and don’t confuse yourself by bouncing back and forth between answers.

(A) virile

(B) heedless

(C) dauntless

(D) callow

(E) timorous

(A)  Does virile mean brave?  In Latin the prefix “vir” means man, so this answer is supposed to distract you if you associate manliness with bravery.  Think about it this way: is a man necessarily brave? No.  Eliminate this choice.  (B)  You may be more familiar with the word “heed” than the word “heedless,” as in “heed my warning.”  Someone who is heedless would not heed a warning, which sounds more foolish than brave.  Eliminate this choice.  (C)  The related word “daunting” can give you a clue to this word’s meaning.   A daunting task is frightening and intimidating.  If someone is dauntless, they would be the opposite: brave and inspiring.  This choice matches perfectly.  Keep it and quickly check the other choices.  (D) Even if you do not know the word “callow,” you can probably tell that this is not a positive word.  “Brave” is a very positive prediction, so you can eliminate this choice.  (E) The Latin root “tim” means to be afraid.  You probably know the word “timid.”  This is the opposite of your prediction; eliminate it.  Note:  don’t confuse timorousness with temerity: the second actually means daring or recklessness.  In this case there is a big difference between an “i” and an “e.”

The correct answer is (C).

Words used in this SC:

Conspicuous: obvious or attracting attention

Virile: possessing manly characteristics or strength

Heedless: unaware or careless

Dauntless: fearless and bold

Callow: immature or inexperienced, juvenile

Timorous: fearful, timid

On sat.collegeboard.org, 62% of the responses were correct.

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

Percents

Link of the Day

One of the best ways to improve your SAT essay score is to begin looking for links between ideas.  Even though you don’t know what the SAT essay will be about, it will be broad enough to relate to news articles and books that you are reading now.  Practice looking for themes in this article about Iranian hostages who were just recently released.  You should be able to list the themes: family, politics, government, individuals, beliefs, and many more.  As soon as you see an essay question relating to any of these themes, you can use the facts from this article as an excellent example in support of your thesis.  If you choose to use this as one of your 5 prepared current events, make a list of all the facts you can use.

Arithmetic: Percents

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

Always read math questions carefully so that you can absorb all the information and avoid mistakes.  Identify the bottom line, what the question is asking you to find, and assess your options for reaching that bottom line.  Choose the most efficient method to attack the problem.  When you have an answer, loop back to verify that the answer matches the bottom line and you have finished all the steps in the problem.

If p percent of 75 is greater than 75, which of the following must be true?

Bottom Line: p = ?

Assess your Options:  It is often tempting to look down at the answer choices before you need them, but they could mislead you since most of them are wrong!.  You could take numbers that fit each answer choice and see if they give you a number greater than 75.  However, by applying what you know about percents, you can solve the problem much faster than you can by trying out 5 different numbers.

Attack the Problem:  There are a number of ways to think about percentages: as percents, decimals, numbers out of a hundred, parts of wholes….  The list continues.  Here is one of the fastest ways to think about the problem:

If you have one hundred percent of something, you have all of it.  So 100% of 75 is going to be 75.  If you want a result that is greater than 75, you are going to need more than 100% of 75.  Therefore, p must be bigger than 100.

Or, if you normally think about percents in terms of decimals, you know that 50% of something is .5.  In order to get a decimal from a percent, you had to move the decimal twice to the left.  So with 100%: 75 × 1.00 = 75.  Try writing an inequality to find the decimal that you would need in order to get a number bigger than 75: 75p > 75.  The p represents the unknown percent of 75 (remember, "of" means multiplication in math).  If you solve the inequality, you get p > 1.  Then you have to move the decimal back in order to get a percent: p > 100.  Your percent must be bigger than 100%.  This method takes much longer than the first one, but it proves that the first method is correct.  The testers realize that students are not used to working with percentages greater than 100, so it is a good idea to review how these work before the test!

Loop back:  You know what p must be greater than, so look down at your answer choices.

(A) p > 100

(B) p < 75

(C) p = 75

(D) p < 25

(E) p = 25

The correct answer is (A).

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

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

Idioms

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 original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then quickly check each underlined portion against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  If you find an error, mark it, but be sure to check all of the choices.

ALong been isolated Bfrom the outside world and perched Chigh in the Tibetan Himalayas, Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, Dan autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China. ENo error

(A) If the phrase “long been” sounds odd to you, you are on the right track.  The word “been” is unnecessary because it is followed by the alternative and better verb “isolated.”  Eliminate it.  Note: the word "been" requires some variation of the phrase "have been."  Mark this error and quickly check the other answer choices.

(B)  The preposition “from” is idiomatically correct to explain what something is isolated from or set apart from.  There is no error here.

(C)  It is idiomatically correct to use the phrase “high in the mountains,” so there is no error here.

(D) The correct article, "an," is used before a word beginning with a vowel.  That word is also singular (a single region).  The modifier “autonomous” is placed as close as possible to the word it modifies, “region.”  There is no error here.

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

The correct answer is (A).

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

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

Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

Are people still capable of original ideas that result in new discoveries?  Before you answer, take a look at this article about how scientists were able to lure a giant squid out of impenetrable depths in the ocean.  Which details might be relevant if you wanted to use this as a current event for an SAT essay?

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 up your answer choices until you have read the sentence carefully and predicted an answer for the easier blank.  Your prediction can be anything from a vague idea to an exact word.  Eliminate any answer choice that does not match the meaning of your prediction.  Then make a prediction for the other blank and eliminate any choice that does not match that prediction.

Understandably, it is the ------- among theater critics who become most incensed when producers insist on ------- celebrated classic plays.

This sentence may not seem to have a lot of meat on it the first time that you read it.  You will need to think clearly and logically to fill in the blanks correctly.  Focus on the second blank because there is more detail associated with it.  Paraphrase the words leading up to it and after it:  Some critics get angry when producers do something to celebrated classic plays.  You are looking for a word that could “understandably” make someone upset or offend them.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) strategists . . discussing

(B) mediators . . staging

(C) conformists . . praising

(D) traditionalists . . recognizing

(E) purists . . reinterpreting

(A)  Merely discussing something is not offensive.  Eliminate this choice.  (B)  The word staging is neutral, but maybe there is an objection that these plays are being staged instead of other kinds of plays.  Keep this choice until you can definitely eliminate it.  (C)  The plays are already described as “celebrated,” so you already know that they are often praised.  Praising something that is often praised is unlikely to offend people.  Eliminate this choice.  (D)  Again, a celebrated play is by definition recognized, and it does not make sense to take offense if someone recognizes it.  Eliminate this choice.  (E)  If something is celebrated as it is but someone comes along and changes it, people are likely to be offended.  Keep this choice.

Now look at the first blank.  You need a kind of person who would become upset.  Look down at your remaining answer choices.

(B) mediators . . staging

(E) purists . . reinterpreting

(B)  Mediators are in the middle, they are the ones who try to calm people at both ends of the spectrum down.  They are likely to be part of a solution to a disagreement, not the people who are upset.  Eliminate this choice.  (E)  Purists would have a definite opinion and refuse to compromise their beliefs. They would easily become upset if any aspect of a play was changed.  This matches your prediction.

The correct answer is (E).

Words used in this SC:

Incensed: 1) perfumed with incense or 2) enraged, inflamed with wrath

Celebrated: renowned, well-known

Strategists: experts in strategy, often in warfare

Mediators: negotiators between two parties seeking agreement

Staging: putting on a play

Conformists: people who don’t question group standards

Traditionalists: people who like the original or established way of doing something

Recognizing: 1) identifying or 2) acknowledging

Purists: people who insist on strict adherence to a belief or style

Reinterpreting: interpreting again, looking at something a new way, performing it a new way

On sat.collegeboard.org, 59% of the responses were correct.

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