Critical Reading Part 1: Sentence Completion

1. Critical Reading Part 1:Sentence Completion

2. Statistic • The 19 Sentence Completions count for about ¼ of your Verbal score.

3. About SAT Words 2 Types Type 1: Almost-normal words Words that you would encounter in the course of doing your homework, listening to articulate people, or watching TV Example: If you saw the movie The Wizard of Oz, you heard the word pusillanimous.

4. About SAT Words Type 2: Decodable words Unusual words that they don’t expect you to know offhand but that you can figure out if you are clever. Example: The word decodable is a decodable word You can decode it like this: “de” = take out; reverse “code” = words or symbols with secret meanings + “able” = capable of being Decodable = capable of being taken out of its secret meaning

5. Strategies • You should follow a basic thought pattern whenever you attack a sentence completion question • Some of these thought patterns can be used together or arranged in different orders. You need to find what pattern(s) work best for you.

6. Strategy 1: Insert Your Own Word • Read the sentence 1st • Skip over the blanks – just get a feel for how the sentence is set up • Read the sentence again guessing what YOU think the missing word(s) should be • The word doesn’t have to be a “fancy” word.

7. Strategy 1: Practice • Susan did not resent the arduous work, for she believed that every ___ that demands thought, attention, and independent judgment ___ the quality of daily life. • task … heightens • profession … belittles • hobby … undercuts • folly … exalts • diversion … disrupts If you are unfamiliar with a word in the sentence, examine the context and make an intelligent guess. The sentence suggests that arduous work might be resented, for a special point is made that Susan did not resent it. What kind of work might be resented? Hard work is a good guess. Even if you didn’t determine the meaning exactly, you could still figure out that arduous work might be considered unpleasant.

8. Strategy 2: Use Your Foreign Language Skills • Many of the roots you’ll encounter in SAT words come from Latin. • Spanish, French, and Italian also come from Latin and have retained much of it in their modern forms. • So, if you don’t recognize a word, you should try to remember if you know a similar word in another language.

9. Strategy 3: Use Positive and Negative Clues Look at the word cantankerous. Say it to yourself. Can you guess whether it’s positive or negative?

10. Often words that sound harsh have a negative meaning while smooth-sounding words tend to have a positive meaning. • If cantankerous sounded negative to you, you were right. It means “disagreeable” or “difficult to deal with”

11. You can also use prefixes and roots to help determine a word’s charge.

12. Not all SAT words sound positive or negative; some sound neutral. But if you can define the charge, you can probably eliminate some answer choices on that basis alone.

13. When you determine whether the word(s) is a “negative” or a “positive” one, write a “+” or a “-” in the blank to remind yourself what type of word(s) you are looking for. • Write a +/- sign next to each of the answer choices. • Find the same +/- pattern in the answer choices and see if any of them fit your general idea of what the answer should be • Plug in the answer that looks best and see if it makes sense, BUT LOOK AT ALL OF THE ANSWER CHOICES

14. Strategy 4: ZAP Wrong Answers

15. Don’t Be Tempted By Distracters

16. EXAMPLE “I don’t recommend the movie; it was long and _____.” What word would you put in the blank? dull, boring, monotonous (Negative words that explain this statement)

17. EXAMPLE “I strongly recommend the movie because it is _____.” What word would you put in the blank? exciting, thrilling, stirring, electrifying (positive words that explain this statement)

18. She insulted Irving’s appearance by saying, “Your face is _____.” A. cheerful B. beautiful C. handsome D. charming E. a wart-ridden, misshapen mass of snotty goo

19. Key Words and Groups of Words • The SAT writers can’t use just any sentence and leave out any word. They have to give you enough information to make the correct choices inarguably correct and the wrong choice inarguably wrong.

20. For example The general feeling in the high school was ___. A. confident B. confused C. serious D. gloomy E. uncertain In this example, all 5 of the choices could be correct. Now let’s take a look at an improved version.

21. The general feeling in the high school was ____, since everyone expects to win the big game. A. confident B. confused C. serious D. gloomy E. uncertain • The additional words tell us that the general feeling in the high school was confident. None of the other choices describe this feeling.

22. Two-Blank Questions • Do the second blank first

23. Until Florence Nightingale made nursing _____, it was considered a _____ profession. A. scientific … painstaking B. essential … dangerous C. noble … lofty D. patriotic … worthy E. respectable…degrading

24. Practice The critic liked nothing about the movie; she called the plot ___ and the acting ___. • dreary … inspiring • trite … dazzling • exhilarating … enthralling • stirring … unprofessional • tedious … amateurish

25. Practice No one is neutral about Davis; he inspires either uncritical ___ from his supporters or profound ___ from his opponents. A. adulation . . . antipathy B. enthusiasm . . . exuberance C. apathy . . . revulsion D. condemnation . . . veneration E. disgust . . . aversion

26. LOOK AT ALL OF THE ANSWER CHOICES!

27. Definitional Sentences

28. Definitional Sentences • In definitional sentences, the key word or group of words is a definition or explanation. Therefore, the answer is the word that is defined or explained in the sentence.

29. Definitional Sentences: Example Prehistoric hunters worked _____; they helped one another capture mammoths and other big game animals. A. warily B. quietly C. cooperatively D. clandestinely E. passively The key groups of words provides a good definition of cooperative behavior, so the answer is (C).

30. Definitional Sentences:Practice These criticisms are ___, and not directed against anyone in particular. A. specific B. impersonal C. inaccurate D. cowardly E. crafty

31. Definitional Sentences:Practice 2. Studying to become a doctor can be ___, in that it often requires long hours of hard work. A. arduous B. effortless C. irregular D. elusive E. extravagant

32. Definitional Sentences:Practice 3. The Southern Stingray is ___ animal that generally avoids humans as much as possible. A. a gregarious B. a dangerous C. a nocturnal D. an apathetic E. a shy

33. Definitional Sentences:Practice • 4. Lauren is a ___ person who has always been willing to help those in need. A. generous B. clumsy C. graceful D. attractive E. selfish

34. Definitional Sentences:Practice 5. The philanthropist refused to identify his name and thus remained ___. A. adventurous B. notorious C. boisterous D. oblivious E. anonymous

35. Definitional Sentences:Practice 6. The queen and her more ___ counselors wished to avoid the war. A. belligerent B. reckless C. aggressive D. pacifistic E. bellicose

36. Definitional Sentences:Practice 7. The play’s organization is ___; that is, each scene is presented in the order of its occurrence. A. dramatic B. minimal C. controversial D. chronological E. confusing

37. Definitional Sentences:Practice 8. Their mutual teasing seemed ___, since the two neighbors enjoyed poking fun at each other. A. aimless B. bitter C. friendly D. insincere E. original

38. Definitional Sentences:Practice 9. Although she had no prior experience as a ___, Lauren nevertheless impressed company officials with her uncanny ability to find common sense solutions to difficult human relations problems. A. consultant B. tourist C. entertainer D. customer E. procrastinator

39. Synonym Sentences

40. Synonym Sentences • The signal word signals that you are looking for an answer that supports or continues a thought. • The answer is often a synonym or closely related word

41. Synonym Sentences:Key Words • and • also • additionally • since • moreover • as well as • furthermore • indeed

42. Synonym Sentences:Example Both ___ and ___, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money. A. vociferous … generous B. garrulous … stingy C. effusive … frugal D. taciturn … miserly E. reticent … munificent In this sentence, you are looking for two words that describe Wilson. One of the words has to mean that he “seldom spoke” and the other that he “never spent money.” The correct answer is “taciturn … miserly.” Taciturn means “shy, unwilling to talk.” Miserly means “like a miser, extremely stingy.”

43. Synonym Sentences:Example Both ___ and ___, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money. A. vociferous … generous B. garrulous … stingy C. effusive … frugal D. taciturn … miserly D. reticent … munificent In this sentence, you are looking for two words that describe Wilson. One of the words has to mean that he “seldom spoke” and the other that he “never spent money.” The correct answer is “taciturn … miserly.” Taciturn means “shy, unwilling to talk.” Miserly means “like a miser, extremely stingy.”

44. Synonym Sentences:Practice • Churchill urged an uncompromising and ___ attitude with Hitler, rather than the policy of appeasement advocated by Neville Chamberlain. A. flexible B. resolute C. desperate D. docile E. obedient

45. Synonym Sentences:Practice • 2. The long drought left the once fertile fields barren and ___. A. luxuriant B. productive C. soggy D. arid E. lush

46. Synonym Sentences:Practice 3. Outgoing and ___ by nature, Ursula became even more gregarious at the company party. A. affable B. reclusive C. solitary D. belligerent E. deceptive

47. Synonym Sentences:Practice 4. Theatergoers across America fell in love with the play’s charming and ___ heroine. A. bland B. vivacious C. lethargic D. merciless E. erratic

48. Synonym Sentences:Practice 5. Since the king believed his prime minister to be both ___ and trustworthy, he refused to consider the possibility that his advisor could be a traitor. A. perfidious B. deceitful C. seditious D. steadfast E. elusive

49. Synonym Sentences:Practice 6. In temperament they were radically different: the older man was quiet and ___; the younger was ___ and uninhibited. A. reserved . . . raucous B. aloof . . . restrained C. harsh . . . restless D. taciturn . . . laconic E. agitated . . . noisy

50. Contrast Sentences