SAT Prep Black Book by Mike Barrett - Writing and Language Section
Hidden answer choice patterns of the SAT Writing and Language section
Hidden answer choice patterns of the SAT Writing and Language section:
1. Hidden Pattern 1: Wrong answers tend to imitate elements of right answers.
a. Sometimes phrases from the correct answer are repeated in some of the incorrect
answers, so as to trick you.
b. You can often get an idea of which elements of an answer choice are likely to be correct
by seeing which ones are repeated more often throughout the answer choice.
c. You should read these sorts of questions through a vertical scan.
d. Identify the common characteristics they have and what differs them.
i. If you know something is wrong and it is repeated in various answer choices, you
know for a fact that all of those answer choices are wrong too.
2. Hidden pattern 2: Functionally identical answer choices:
a. You will find many questions in which two or three of the choices are basically the same,
in the context of the question.
i. Because there can only be one correct answer for every SAT question, if you find
two or three choices that are effectively the same, then they must all be wrong,
since they can't all be right.
b. Can sometimes be related to the concept of redundancies.
c. For example:
i. The underlined phrase from the passage is each year.
1. The next two answer choices to replace this are every year and per year,
and since both essentially express the same meaning, we know that both
of them must be wrong and that the answer choice is something different,
because if both of them could be the answer, then neither of them are,
obviously only under this context.
How to read passages on the SAT Writing and Language section
How to read passages on the SAT writing and language section:
1. How to read passages in the SAT W&L differs to the SAT Reading section because they are
structurally different.
2. Recommendation:
a. Start reading the passage from the very beginning (Including the title). Every time you
see a number with a square around it in the text, finish the sentence and then look to the
right of the text to find the question that corresponds to the numbered square
b. In most cases, you will be able to answer that question based on the text you have read so
far, you may sometimes need to read a little further, especially if a question involves one
of the following elements:
i. Parallelism
ii. Placing a set of sentences in the right order.
iii. Redundancy
iv. The option to include or exclude a phrase or sentence
v. Setting up a sentence or idea, or blurring the focus of a text.
vi. Transition words.
SAT Writing and Language Question Groups
Important tip:
1. Try to recognize which of the two major groups the question is concentrating on.
Reading comprehension questions:
1. The correct answer are either plainly demonstrating the concepts and relationships from the
prompt or the relevant text plainly demonstrating the concept described in the correct answer
choice.
2. Wrong answer will:
a. Directly contradict the relevant text
b. Confuse the relationships among concepts from the text.
c. Be largely irrelevant.
3. Best accomplishes X:
a. Asks you to choose which answer best accomplishes a goal of the autor, such as
providing an example that is similar to one in the text, or supporting the author's primary
claim.
i. The correct answer will always be the only one that plainly and directly
demonstrates the idea required by the prompt.
b. There is always one clear answer and three wrong answers.
i. The SAT will clearly show which one is the right answer.
1. An objective and clear reason
4. Transition words (and phrases)
a. They are words that indicate some type of relationship between the idea before the
transition and the idea after the transition.
i. Like:
1. Likewise
2. Therefore
3. However
4. For instance
5. Nevertheless
6. Furthermore
7. Previously
8. Although
b. The SAT likes to ask us to select the transition that reflects the appropriate connection
between the idea in the previous sentence and the idea in the sentence in question.
c. We always need to make sure that we choose the transition word that correctly
demonstrates the relationship between the previous sentence and the given sentence.
5. Sentence or paragraph placement:
a. Some questions will ask where a sentence or paragraph should be placed.
i. The CB wants sentences and paragraphs to appear in a sequence that makes them
refer to each other in a logical order, and that arranges events in a logical order.
b. If one sentence refers to something in another sentence, then the CB will want those
sentences to appear as close3lep32kek333k3kkkkrre to each other as possible.
6. Vocabulary in context: Some question
a. The questions will include an underlined word or phrase, and three alternative for that
word or phrase in the answer choice.
i. There wont be any punctuation involved, or different forms of the same word,
just four different words or phrases with somewhat similar meanings.
b. One word will clearly be a better choice than the other when you think carefully about the
meaning of each word and the sentence where it will be inserted.
i. It tends not to be unusual or exotic.
ii. You have to focus on its meaning and if it can properly convey the message of
the sentence as well as the previous word used.
c. Try to think in a precise way about what each relevant word actually means and what it can be used to describe.
d. Check the context, including the sentences before and after the before and after the one in
question, to see which key phrases you can find to determine your answer.
7. Figure:
a. Evalue the graph or table that is cited in the prompt and then we pick the answer choice
that reflects the data accurately.
8. Including or excluding a phrase or sentence:
a. Sometimes the question will tell you that the author is considering including or excluding
a phrase or sentence.
b. The prompt might refer to a sentence already in the passage and say the author is
considering deleting or keeping that sentence, or the prompt might present a new
sentence and ask whether the sentence should be added.
i. In either situation, you will se two answer choice that say the sentence should be
included in the text and two answer choice that say the sentence should not be
included in the text, and each choice will include a comment about the role of the
sentence in the text.
1. Three rules to help find the correct answer to this type of question.
c. The first rule: Plain, description of the sentence ́s role in the text:
i. First ignore the part of each answer choice that says whether the sentence should
be included in the text.
1. For the first rule, we will only focus on what each choice says about the
role of the sentence in the text.
ii. The relationship between the sentence and the rest of the text will be plainly and
literally restated or demonstrated by the correct answer.
1. Remember not to interpret anything when considering the comment, you
are just looking for choice that plainyl describe what the sentence or
phrase is doing, relying on the same principle of careful reading that we
will use throughout the SAT:
iii. Eliminate every wrong answer so as to have a clear correct answer.
d. The second rule: Follow all the other rules fro Reading comprehension questions on
this section:
i. If there are more than one sentence left, then we must follow all the broader
standard fo dieal sentences and paragraphs on the SAT writing and language test.
1. Do include relevant details and examples.
2. Do include introductions for ideas that appear in the net sentence
3. Do include a transition between ideas that are different
4. DO include a transition between paragraphs
5. Do include phrases that reflect relationships present in the text.
6. Do not include irrelevant ideas that are not obviously connected to the
text or do not get explained or discussed elsewhere.
e. The third rule: Don't contradict data
i. Any sentence that gets included in a passage must no contradict any figure or
data that appears in the passage.
ii. Including or excluding a figure:
1. A question of this type might ask you whether to include or exclude a
graph or other figure, rather than a sentence or phrase.
a. To answer this question you will need to pick the answer choice
that accurately describes the role of the figure in the passage, and
if more than one choice passes the test, then you should pick the
choice that says to include or exclude the figure for reasons that
are consistent with the broader rules of ideal sentence and
paragraphs on the SAT:
9. Grammar/Style/Punctuation questions:
a. These questions test yur ability to identify the form of a phrase or sentence that follows
the SAT rules for written American English.
b. Concepts like: proper verb conjugations, the proper use of punctuation, the formation of
possessives, and so on.
c. They also sometimes offer us more than one answer choice that is grammatically
acceptable, and require us to indicate which one sounds the most appropriate according to
the SAT:
d. You will typically be able to identify these grammar/questions because of the following:
i. The question won't have a separate prompt - it is just a list of answer choices.
ii. The first answer will be No Change
e. To ace this section, one must learn the college board's standards for style/grammar, and
punctuation, and get familiar with the way the college board tests those standards in real
SAT practice questions.
SAT Writing and Language Training
Two main parts within this section:
1. Reading comprehension questions
2. Grammar/Style/Punctuation questions
The big secret of reading comprehension questions:
1. Each question has one clear, definite, right answer and three clear, definite, wrong answers.
2. We can always find the right answer through a plain, literal reading of the text, with no literary
interpretation or judgement calls.
There are some differences between the reading section on the one hand, and the reading
comprehension questions on the writing and language section on the other hand.
1. Demonstration vs restatement:
a. The questions in the W&L section are generally more dependent on literal demonstration,
rather than on restatement.
i. You will still have both demonstration and testament, just more demonstration.
2. Restatement:
a. Refers to the idea of two different phrases using synonymous wording to express the
same idea, often with parallel structures.
b. The sentences have to somehow restate each other, it expresses the same idea but with
different words.
3. Demonstration:
a. Refers to a situation in which one phrase provides an example of a situation described in
another phrase.
b. A part of the passage demonstrates the idea from the answer choice.
i. The two phrases are not synonymous restatements of each other.
c. The sentence and the answer choice don't express precisely the same idea, but the
sentence demonstrates the idea from the answer choice by providing an example of it.
d. The answer choice describes the sentence accurately and literally in a way that is not
open to interpretation.
4. More sub-types with specific rules.
The big secret of Grammar/Style/Punctuation questions:
1. These questions follow the rules that the College Board has decided they should follow.
2. You should not try to to identify the answer choice by what sounds best to you.
a. The College Board does not care what seems right to you.
3. When you are faced with a Grammar/Style/Punctuation question, you should immediately ask
yourself which answer satisfies the College Boards rules and patterns for that type of question.
4. The SAT Reading section only rewards a literal reading of each text.
5. The College Board has some strict rules regarding the proper usage of grammar and punctuation.
6. The SAT itself will never require us to know the name of a grammatical concept in order to
answer a question correctly.
Special technique: Considering parallelism when answering writing and language questions
Special technique: Considering parallelism when answering writing and language questions
1. The term parallelism is actually useful on these questions, if used in the proper context and right
way.
2. Parallelism is the idea of looking at the text surrounding the underlined portion when we are
trying to find clues about what to do with the underlined portion.
a. This helps because the test sometimes uses ideal style and punctuation in the part of the
passage that is near the part we are being asked to fix.
3. Helps when various answers are grammatically acceptable and you do not know which one to
choose.
4. Look at the verb forms, adjectives, superlatives, comparatives, adverbs, nouns, any style or
grammatical structure that can help you determine what the answer of the structure should be.
5. This technique can not be used on every question.
a. You can use this technique in situations where more than one answer choice seems
equally good.
6. This technique can help us to determine something like the appropriate form of adverb, or even
the right punctuation for a phrase.
a. As long as something in the surrounding text is similar and there is an answer choice to
match it.
The general process of answering SAT writing and Language questions
The general process of answering SAT writing and Language questions:
1. Read the passage until you come to a part of the passage that corresponds to a question.
a. The questions will appear to the right of the passage, and they will correspond to a
number in a box that will appear in or immediately after the passage.
b. When you come to a question, finish the sentence you are on, then stop reading the
passage and shift your attention to the question.
2. Carefully read the Prompt (if there is one) and the answer choices, and determine which
type of question it is. Consider doing a vertical scan to make sure you note the similarities
and differences among the answer choices.
a. Not all question will have a prompt.
b. SOme will only offer four answer choices as possible versions of an underlined portion of
the text.
c. Read the prompt if there is one, and carefully read the answer choice.
d. Determine whether you are dealing with a grammar/style/punctuation question or a
reading comprehension question.
e. Consider doing a vertical scan to get a stronger idea of the possibilities being presented in
the answer choices, and the mistakes the CB thinks an untrained test taker is likely to
make.
3. a) For grammar/style/punctuation questions, look for any of the relevant issues we discussed
in the Grammar/style/punctuation tool box.
a. Look at the words in the underlined portion, and see how they relate to the other words in
the surrounding text.
i. Do pronouns agree in number with the words they relate to?
ii. Are verbs in the right number and tense?
iii. Are possessives formed correctly?
iv. Are periods, commas, colons and semicolons in the right place?
b. Consider all the answer choices.
i. Are any choices functionally equivalent in the context of the passage, and
therefore both wrong?
ii. Do some elements in the answer choices appear more often than others?
4. 3B: For reading comprehension questions, look for any of the relevant issues we discussed
in the section on reading comprehension question types.
a. Find the answer choice that directly demonstrates or reflects the concepts and
relationships in the prompt, answer choices, and/or passage.
5. Find the right answer, or eliminate three wrong answers.
a. Sometimes you can immediately see which concept the question is testing, and you can
tell that a particular answer choice is correct.
b. You eliminate answers based on the concepts learned for each type of questions.
i. For example:
1. The verb in an answer choice might be in the wrong tense.
2. The answer choice might have a common in the wrong place.
3. On a reading comprehension question, you might be able to see that an
answer choice differs from the passage in a way that is unacceptable for
that question type.
c. Make sure to consider all the answer choices and identify the one correct choice that
follows the rules and patterns of the SAT W&L section, and the three wring choices that
break those rules and patterns.
6. Take a second look to reconsider the question, the answer choice, and the passage.
a. Once an answer is chosen, take another look at the question, answer choices, and passage
to make sure you have not overlooked or misread anything.
i. For example:
1. Did you miss an intervening phrase between a subject and its verb?
2. Did you refer back to the wrong sentence in a paragraph?
b. Stay sharp.
7. Mark your answer choice and move on.
a. Once you have come to a solution and have double checked it, mark your choice and
move on.
SAT Writing and language quick summary Pg. 461:
The intervening phrase/The college board´s unique phrasing:
The intervening phrase:
1. The SAT will use a few different tactics to trick you into not noticing that a verb is conjugated
incorrectly.
a. ONE OF THESE TACTICS IS THE INTERVENING PHRASE.
i. The intervening phrase is a phrase that the SAT sticks between a noun and its
verb.
1. They do this, in hopes that you will think the verb should agree with a
word in the intervening phrase, instead of agreeing with the main noun
that actually does the action of the verb.
ii. To solve these, you must identify and mentally remove the intervening phrase,
then identify the noun that is connected to the verb, and choose the right
conjugation of the verb.
iii. The intervening phrase can also cause problems when verb conjugations are not
directly involved.
1. Always watch out for the punctuation after seeing these kinds of
situations.
iv. Many intervening phrases appear in comma sandwiches.
b. It can be very helpful to ignore these intervening phrases and focus on the core
relationships in the sentence to make sure the appropriate words agree with one another,
and that punctuation is used in ways that the CB accepts.
The college board ́s unique phrasing:
1. Set up
a. The CB uses the phrase set up to mean, essentially, ́ ́introduce ́ ́ or ́begin
discussing ̈ ́.
2. Blur the focus
a. Blurring the focus of a paragraph or passage means introducing an idea that is not
present in the rest of the paragraph or passage.
Tool box - Grammar/Style/Punctuation
Unwritten test design rules for the SAT writing and language section
Unwritten test design rules for the SAT writing and language section
1. Global test design rules that apply to these questions.
Rule 1: Shorter is better, all else being equal.
1. Shorter is better, all else being equal.
a. Example:
i. (Wrong answer): If I were the one who had the choice about going, I would
choose to stay home.
ii. (Right answer):
1. If it were up to me, I would stay home.
2. There is not anything grammatically wrong with the long sentence, but the SAT prefers the
shorter more direct answer.
a. Like the one about nine months later on Test 10.
Rule 2: Do not make trouble:
1. When the questions require us to consider grammar/style, and/or punctuation:
2. The answer choice must fix the mistakes in the underlined portion of the passage and while doing
so avoid creating new mistakes.
a. The correct answer choice can not just fix the original mistake; it must not have nor
create any mistakes.
3. To avoid making these mistakes, you have got to read every single answer choice in the passage.
Rule 3: No special consideration for NO CHANGE
1. Do not be afraid to select NO CHANGE on a question if you think the original version of the
phrase is correct according to the rules and patterns of the SAT W&L section.
2. DO not worry if you have chosen NO CHANGE too many times, or too few times.
3. The NO CHANGE answer choice is no trick and should always be considered a legitimate option.
a. Sometimes it may be the answer more often or sometimes less often, treat as any other
possible option.
Comments
Post a Comment