Preparing for the Critical Reading and
Writing Skills on the PSAT
September 30, 2012 through October 11, 2012
D. Sibley, September 2012
PSAT Test Format
taken from Barron’s PSAT/ NMSQT, 2012
• The PSAT/NMSQT is preparation for the SAT, and is
generally given in October. It differs from the SAT in that it
is shorter (2hours and 10 mins.).
• Sec. 1- Critical Reading 25 mins.
24 questions
• 8 sentence completion
• 4 short-reading comprehension
• 12 long-passage reading comprehension
• 1 min break
• Sec. 2-Math
25 mins.
20 questions
• 20 multiple choice
• 20 questions
• 1 min. break
D. Sibley, September 2012
Passive vs. Active Reading
Passive
• Leisure reading
• Skimming for ideas
Active
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Reading for content
Engaging with the text
Using prior knowledge
Taking Notes
D. Sibley, September 2012
Active Reading
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Preview the reading material
Estimate the length and level of difficulty
Clarify your purpose for reading
Activate prior knowledge
Rhetorical
Triangle and Reader
Response Theory
D. Sibley, September 2012
PSAT/NMSQT Test Format
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Sec. 3- Critical Reading
25 mins.
24 questions
5 sentence completions
4 short-paragraph reading comprehension
15 long-passage reading comprehension
5 min. break
Sec. 4- Math
25 mins.
18 questions
8 multiple-choice
10 student-produced response (grid-in)
1 Min. break
Section 5- Writing Skills
30 mins.
39 questions
20 improving sentences
14 identifying sentence errors
5 improving paragraphs
D. Sibley, September 2012
Using Context Clues to Help Define
Words and Phrases and Build Your
Vocabulary
Let’s look at the Types of Context
Clues
D. Sibley, September 2012
Definition Context Clues
• You will see questions on the PSAT that may ask you for
the meaning of a word and the passage may contain a
definition of the word you are being asked to define.
For example:
• “A distinctive perspective is central to the discipline of
sociology, which is defined as the scientific study of
human social activity.”
• “Words take on meaning from their context, that is,
they are used in conjunction with other words in the
sentence and surrounding sentences.”
• “Like terms are terms that have the same variables
with the same exponents.”
D. Sibley, September 2012
An Example Context Clue
• You may encounter a question that asks for
the meaning of a word, and several examples
of the word are included in the passage to
help lead you to a definition:
• “Macionis helps us understand the term
subculture. Teenagers, Polish-Americans, the
homeless, and “southerners” are all examples
of subcultures.”
D. Sibley, September 2012
An Explanation Context Clue
• Some passages may include an explanation of
the term to help you define the term.
• “The psychologist set up the experiment to
test the rat’s adaptability; he wished to see
how well the rat adjusted to the changing
conditions it had to face.”
D. Sibley, September 2012
An Opposite Term Context
• You may find the opposite meaning of a term
included in the passage that may help you define
the term:
• “ In general, people emigrate to from countries
where they have limited prospects for earning a
living, and they migrate to countries where they
believe that economic opportunity awaits them.”
• Most birds of prey hunt by day; owls; however,
are nocturnal.”
D. Sibley, September 2012
A Punctuation Context Clue
• Sometimes, writers use punctuation marks
(dashes, colons, parentheses, or commas) in a
passage to lead readers to the definition of a
term.
• “A composer often provides a marking for
tempo, or overall speed, to help convey the
character of a composition.”
• “In a sense, there is no single cause for war,
but a myriad.”
D. Sibley, September 2012
Using Parts of the Word to Help Define
It
• We add prefixes and suffixes to root words to change word
meanings, or make new words.
• When you are taking the PSAT, you can look at the root
word to help you determine the meaning of a word, if the
passage does not include context clues
For example, lets look at the word perihelion
• Peri from the Greek meaning near and helios from the
Greek meaning the sun, so the perihelion is the point in the
orbit of a planet, asteroid or comet where it is nearest to
the sun. (taken from Wikipedia)
***Obtain a list of common root words, suffixes, and prefixes.
D. Sibley, September 2012
Using the Dictionary to Help Build
Vocabulary
• You may be required to define a term that does not
include context clues in the passage and cannot be
defined by looking at its root word, prefix, nor suffix.
• It is important to get a list of words commonly used on
the PSAT/SAT (high-frequency words) and learn their
definitions. You can go to www.collegeboard.com to
get words and their definitions daily, or you can obtain
a list from the website.
• I would suggest putting the words and their definitions
on flashcards the old-fashioned way, or create
electronic flashcards, and make a game of it!!!
D. Sibley, September 2012