Sentence Completion Tips
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Joe Bloggs, the average student (who hasn’t
had the infinite wisdom of Mr. Ambrose
bestowed upon him) would do it this way:
◦ Read the sentence five times.
◦ Plug in a different option each time.
◦ Pick the one that “sounds right.”
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This method is flawed for a few reasons:
◦ You are wasting precious time, which needs to be
saved for the reading passages.
◦ More than one answer can wind up “sounding
right.”
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Try this…
In the following sentences, what word do you
think should go in the blank?
◦ Susan was ________________ when the formula,
which had worked just yesterday, failed to produce
the expected result.
◦ Although she was never considered pretty as a
child, Margaret grew up to be a ___________ adult.
◦ Once a cheerful person, the years of fruitless
struggle against government waste made him a
very ______________ man.
1.
2.
3.
Cover the answer choices with your hand.
This will ensure that you don’t do what Joe
does, which is to read the sentence five
times, trying one of the answer choices each
time.
Speak for yourself: Read the sentence, and
write your own word in the blank.
Uncover the words, and pick the word that
is a synonym for the word you wrote. When
in doubt, narrow down using connotations.
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Every sentence has some clue in it. Look for
the clue, and it will help you to determine the
word that goes in the blank.
What is the clue in the following sentences?
◦ Susan was _______________ when the formula, which
had worked just yesterday, failed to produce the
expect result.
◦ The park was so ________________ that the children
could play in it for hours without getting bored.
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John made some _____________ comments
about Marcus’s artwork.
(A) Intelligent
(B) Critical
(C) Interesting
(D) Dry
(E) Appreciative
There is no clue here! Any of these answers
would work! On the PSAT, there is always
one right answer and one right answer only.
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John made some ____________ comments
about Marcus’s artwork, which John thought
was fantastic.
(A) Intelligent
(B) Critical
(C) Interesting
(D) Dry
(E) Appreciative
Now you have a clue!
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And
Since
So
Therefore
Because
In fact
Same-Direction Triggers
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But
However
Yet
Although/Though
In contrast
Rather
Opposite-Direction Triggers
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What follows the colon or semicolon will be
an explanation or further description of
something that came before.
◦ John’s friend was rather _______________: He spoke
unless he was forced to.
◦ So you want to figure out what is a work that
implies “spoken only when forced to.”
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This is an “opposite-direction” trigger.
It draws a contrast between what used to be
true and what is true today.
Once a cheerful person, the years of fruitless
struggle against government waste made him
a very ___________ man.
So we need to find a word that is the opposite
of cheerful.
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Many feature films are criticized for their
____________ content, even though television
news is more often the medium that depicts
violent events in excessive.
What word would you use to fill the blank?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Discretionary
Graphic
Dramatic
Artistic
Honest
Which word means the same as the word
you suggested? When in doubt, consider
the connotations.
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Unlike her award-winning first book,
Roberta’s new volume can only be considered
a ____________ effort.
What word would you use to fill the blank?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Significant
Mediocre
Whimsical
Feasible
Laudable
Which word means the same as the word
you suggested? When in doubt, consider
the connotations.
The scientific community was ____________
when a living specimen of the coelacanth,
which ichthyologists had feared was
____________, was discovered by deep-sea
fishermen.
Fill in the blanks with your own words!
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
perplexed…common
overjoyed…dangerous
unconcerned…exterminated
astounded…extinct
dismayed…alive
Which ones match up with your words?
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If you get stuck, figure out the relationship
between blanks.
The author is reliably _____________; every
book he writes is more _____________ than
one before.
The semicolon suggests that what comes in
the second half of the sentence is an
example/explanation/illustration of what is in
the first half.
So the two words should be somewhat
synonymous.
The author is reliably ________________; every
book he writes is more _____________ than the
one before.
(A) dull…inspired
(B) exceptional…hackneyed
(C) artistic…informed
(D) imaginative…creative
(E) original…lackluster
Eliminate the opposites.
Check out the options that remain.
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Cover the answer choices with your hand.
Insert your own word.
Look at the answer choices; pick the word
that is the closest to your word.
Use process of elimination to narrow down.
Pay attention to clues and trigger words.
Consider the connotation of the word that
goes in the blank – positive, negative, etc.
On a two-blank question, just do one blank
at a time.