Quirk of the Day

1. Quirk of the Day

2. CRITICAL READING

3. Sentence Completion Information, Tips, and Technique

4. simple question, simple answer; hard question, hard answer Remember that the questions are in order of difficulty. So… • The earlier questions will have easier answers • The later questions will have more difficult answers

5. Watch out for traps For the easier questions: • Test makers will often throw in an answer word that is more difficult that you won’t know, don’t waste time over it. If there is an answer that makes sense go with it. For more difficult questions: • The opposite will happen for harder questions. Test makers will throw in easy answer words to throw you off. Just because you know it the word doesn’t mean it’s the correct answer.

6. Example 2. The teacher accused me of ____ because my essay was so similar to that of another student. A. procrastination B. plagiarism C. celerity D. confusion E. decorum The answer you know is plagiarism; however, the word celerity is a difficult word that you probably don’t know the definition to. Don’t fall for it.

7. Example 8. Although alarmed by the ____ , Professor Symes had no reason to doubt the ____ of his student's results, for this student was nothing if not reliable. A. conclusions - folly B. deductions - impudence C. implications - veracity D. errors - truth E. inferences - invalidity Answer D is too easy for it to be correct for question 12.

8. How do you prepare? • Build vocabulary is the best way to prepare for this section. • Diligence and regularity will certainly be to your advantage, indolence will give you it’s due reward… nothing. • Research tells us that the human mind needs up to 11 experiences with one new word before we master it.  A short and last minute study of SAT related words is not the answer to doing well.  In fact, those students who typically score well are those who read.  They read the newspaper; they read novels; they read articles online; they read and read, so it is not unusual to find that their experience with words in general is strong. 

9. If you do not read voraciously, progressing slowly but surely is the best approach, which you may achieve in two ways (a) study from SAT related words lists but only give yourself twenty at a time; do not approach these from an alphabetical sequence; instead pick a few here and there until the list is complete; (b) discipline yourself to stop at unrelated words and study them in context; create your own sentence after defining the word and keep a notebook filled with these finds • A newspaper is another great way to build words since you may read short articles that allow you to practice this approach.  Above all, be patient with your vocabulary growth.  It will not come overnight and you cannot expect it to. It is recommend spending 30 minutes multiple times a week for two to three months, starting with the assigned vocabulary lists, then progressing through the comprehensive 5000 SAT vocabulary words. There is also an iPhone or iPod app available with flashcards.

10. Don’t get caught in time traps • Do not get caught by time traps- frustrated and confused.  It does not make sense to struggle on any ONE question when the likelihood of answering the question accurately is low- it's the reason it stopped you in the first place. Do not sacrifice time on one question, blowing your shot at answering others correctly.  The SAT test maker loves the student who wastes time- they punish him/her for the misdeed.  Remember the hard questions are worth the same amount of points as the easy questions.  If you are going to miss questions, let it be the hard questions, but do not risk getting easy questions correct by wasting time on hard questions that you may or may not get right.  Be exact and disciplined in your strategy! 

11. Pacing and time Moving through the SAT sentence completion questions quickly and accurately is critical for scoring well on this section.  In total there are 19 of these questions, meaning that they may have a dramatic impact on your score if you get most of them correct.  You must move more quickly on these questions than the reading comprehension questions.  In fact, the more quickly you move through these questions, the more time you may bank to the SAT reading comprehension section.  Most students, if not all students, need as much time as they can get when encountering the reading comprehension questions, so any time that you can save by working quickly on sentence completion questions is time that you may be able to spend reading and thinking more critically and carefully on the reading based passages.

12. What are good time measurements?  The faster students will be able to move through 8 sentence completion questions in 3:30-4:00 minutes.  The fastest students will move through the first 8 questions in under 2:30 minutes.  They are able to move through the first questions in 10-15 seconds, using more time on questions that are double word blanks that require plugging and playing the word to check for accuracy.  You do not want any one question to kill your time.  If you need to omit the question, then do so, but do not spend too much time on any one question; this means that you do not want to exceed a budget of 6-7 minutes on these questions since too much time on these questions knocks you out of the possibility for gaining points in the reader based passages- some that will undeniably be easy and add to your score. 

13. The Final Question There are no tricks to these questions; they often require raw mastery of complex vocabulary words.  In order to gain accuracy on these questions, you really have to put in the work on vocabulary development.  This entails that you put a lot of energy for the chance at small amounts of success.  The last questions 7 and 8 within an 8 sequence, question 5 within a 5 sequence, and question 6 within a 6 sequence do not come easy nor should you expect them to.  They are composed of words that truly reflect the advanced high school student.  If you put in the vocabulary work, you have a fighting chance.  Read through these questions and let the word choices determine you will omit it.  If you are only able to omit one word, leaving 4 possibilities, omit the question.  If you are only able to eliminate two, it’s worth taking the gamble.  Try to use your intuition of sound as your final bet for guessing.  But, if anything, do not let these questions steal your time.  You are better off getting to the SAT reading based passages more quickly.  If you know you have not put in the vocabulary work, these questions will only throw your pacing off.

14. Sample Questions

15. 1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ; however, he died an outsider treated with ____ by the scientific establishment. A. unsupported - approval B. dismissed - contempt C. accepted - approbation D. unchallenged - disdain E. unrivalled - reverence

16. Correct Answer:D unchallenged - disdain Explanation: Clue: ‘however’ indicates a contradictory statement, and therefore we need opposite ideas in the two halves of the sentence.So, Wegener’s theory is unchallenged (everyone accepts it); however he was treated with disdain (contempt).Also the word ‘outsider’ in the sentence indicates that the second blank will have to be a negative word.(approbation = approval; reverence = respect)

17. 2. The revolution in art has not lost its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as ever. A. trudges B. meanders C. edges D. ambles E. rages

18. Correct Answer: E rages Explanation: Clue: ‘as ever’ indicates that things have not changed, so the two halves of the sentence need to say similar things.So, if the revolution has not lost its steam, it will be going on as strongly as before. Therefore rages is the best word.Also the word ‘fiercely’ indicates that we need a strong word.(trudges = walks as though tired; meanders = wanders; ambles = walks aimlessly)

19. 3. Each occupation has its own ____ ; bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following. A. merits B. disadvantages C. rewards D. jargon E. problems

20. Correct Answer: D jargon Explanation: Clue: The second half of the sentence is talking about language, and it is amplifying what has been said before the semicolon. Therefore, the first blank needs to be about language and ‘jargon’ is specialized language used in a profession.

21. 4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members. A. garrulous B. equivocal C. taciturn D. arrogant E. gregarious

22. Correct Answer:C taciturn Explanation: Clue: He ‘spoke very little’ and so he uses few words.Therefore, taciturn is the best word.(garrulous = talkative; equivocal = ambiguous; gregarious = sociable)

23. 5. Biological clocks are of such ____ adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ____ them. A. clear - avoid B. meager - evolve C. significant - eschew D. obvious - possess E. ambivalent - develop

24. Correct Answer:D obvious - possess Explanation: Clue: The sentence structure suggests that if biological clocks are a great advantage, then most organisms would possess them. [Or, if they are not an advantage, then organisms will not have them.]Therefore, the obvious value, leads us to expect that organisms possess them.(meager = small, slight; eschew = shun, avoid; ambivalent = ambiguous)

25. 6. The peasants were the least ____ of all people, bound by tradition and ____ by superstitions. A. free - fettered B. enfranchised - rejected C. enthralled - tied D. pinioned - limited E. conventional - encumbered

26. Correct Answer:A free - fettered  Explanation: Clue: the part after the comma expands on what has been stated. Also note the word ‘least’, which here means ‘not’.Therefore, the peasants were least free, because they were fettered (restricted or bound) by superstition.(enfranchised = given voting rights; enthralled = fascinated; pinioned = tied down; encumbered = burdened)

27. 7. Many people at that time believed that spices help preserve food; however, Hall found that many marketed spices were ____ bacteria, molds and yeasts. A. devoid of B. teeming with C. improved by D. destroyed by E. active against

28. Correct Answer:B teeming with Explanation: Clue: ‘However’ indicates that the first part of the sentence is contradicted by the second.Therefore, if people once believed that spices preserved food, then the person mentioned found that spices did not preserve food, and in fact the spices were teeming (full of) bacteria etc. that could destroy the food.

29. 8. If there is nothing to absorb the energy of sound waves, they travel on ____ , but their intensity ____ as they travel further from their source. A. erratically - mitigates B. eternally - alleviates C. forever - increases D. steadily - stabilizes E. indefinitely - diminishes

30. Correct Answer: E indefinitely - diminishes Explanation: Clue: ‘but’ indicates something contradictory.So, if the waves are not absorbed they travel on indefinitely (apparently for ever), but the intensity gets less (diminishes) as they travel away.Remember, the sentence has to make the best sense, so saying that sound intensity increases as the waves travel is counter to common sense.(erratically = not constantly; alleviates = makes less severe)

31. 9. The two artists differed markedly in their temperaments; Palmer was reserved and courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful. A. phlegmatic B. choleric C. constrained D. tractable E. stoic

32. Correct Answer:B choleric Explanation: Clue: Since both ‘differ’ we need opposites.So, since ‘reserved’ and courteous’ are both good words, we need a ‘bad’ word for the blank. Choleric means easily angered and so would be a good opposite to restrained.(phlegmatic = calm, imperturbable; constrained = restrained; tractable = easily lead, docile; stoic = having fortitude)

33. 10. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms where emphasis on British-American literature has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country. A. eradicated - unanimity B. encouraged - aspirations C. stifled - diversity D. thwarted - uniformity E. inculcated - divide

34. Correct Answer: C stifled - diversity  Explanation: Clue: Try to understand the overall meaning here. The emphasis on one type of literature (British-American) has not reflected the differences (diversity) in our country, which is multicultural. And so the flexibility in our culture has been reduced or suppressed (stifled).(eradicated = wiped out; unanimity = consensus, agreement; aspirations = hopes; thwarted = prevented, inculcate = instill)

35. 11. The conclusion of his argument, while ____ , is far from ____ . A. stimulating - interesting B. worthwhile - valueless C. esoteric - obscure D. germane - relevant E. abstruse - incomprehensible

36. Correct Answer: E abstruse - incomprehensible Explanation: Clue: ‘far from’ indicates the need for an opposite.So, while the conclusion is abstruse (obscure, difficult to comprehend), it is not totally incomprehensible.(esoteric = obscure; germane = relevant)

37. 12. In the Middle Ages, the ____ of the great cathedrals did not enter into the architects' plans; almost invariably a cathedral was positioned haphazardly in ____ surroundings. A. situation - incongruous B. location - apt C. ambience - salubrious D. durability - convenient E. majesty - grandiose

38. Correct Answer:A situation - incongruous Explanation: Clue: The semicolon indicates that the second part of the sentence expands on the first part.So, the second part tells us we are talking about the position, or situation of a cathedral. And since the first part tells us that architects did not pay attention to situation, the cathedral was positioned randomly in odd (incongruous) surroundings.(incongruous = not matching, odd; apt = suitable; ambience = atmosphere, environment; grandiose = on a grand scale)