Junior English Prep for PSAT
Preparing for the PSAT and Preparing to be Adept with the English Language
Three good resources to assist you when studying:
1. www.collegeboard.com/psat
2. http://www.PHSchool.com
log in and find your text book online
Find REFERENCES
click on Literary Terms Handbook
click on Reading Terms Handbook
3. The 1000 Most Common SAT Words
There will be Five Sections of the PSAT:
Two Critical Reading Sections (2 x 25 minutes each)
One Writing Skills Section (30 minutes)
Two Mathematical Sections (2 x 25 minutes)
Students need to:
Know the most common parts of words and how these parts change word meaning:
 prefixes
 suffixes
 roots
Determine a word’s meaning from context…What is context?
Know Punctuation
 colon
 semicolon
 commas
Recognize and Understand the Implications of Transitional Words and Phrases
 connecting similar ideas – also, and, for example, furthermore, in addition, in other words, likewise, moreover
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connecting dissimilar ideas – although, but, despite, except, however, in contrast, instead, nevertheless, nor,
not, on the other hand, yet
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connecting cause and effect relationships – as a result, because, consequently, hence, in order to, therefore,
thus
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conditional connectors – if, when
Junior English Prep for PSAT
Identify an Author’s Purpose and Message
 main idea
 to entertain
 to persuade
 to inform
 to persuade/convince
Understand that words make sense in two ways
1. connotation –implied meaning
(For example: When is “going for a ride” more than going for a ride?)
2. denotation – explicit meaning, dictionary definition
Identify an Author’s Attitude or Tone
 caustic
 didactic
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irreverent
humorous
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pensive
satirical
Rhetorical strategies are how an author/writer achieves the effect of their writing upon the reader.
Rhetorical strategies are another way of saying, “How do the words work?”
Look for the following rhetorical strategies:
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examples
figurative language
extended metaphor
allusions
imagery
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irony
overstatement
understatement
hyperbole
comic diction
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diction
quotations
rhetorical question
word repetition
Infer/Making inferences, a.k.a. “Reading Between the Lines”
 recognize the author’s underlying assumptions or “where they are coming from”
 understand how two ideas (or more) relate to one another
 evaluate the limits of an argument
 what is being said without saying it explicitly
There will be the following types of English questions on the PSAT:
 Sentence Completion Questions
 Passage-Based Reading Questions