Bell Ringer
rr

Clear everything off of your desks, except
for your SAT notes and something to write
with.
Bell Ringer

Pick up a science handout from the front
and work on it with your group.
THE SAT - YOU CAN DO IT!
Today, we’ll talk about the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
comparing TAKS to SAT
preparing for the SAT
during the SAT
scoring the SAT
A SAMPLE critical
reading section
6. A SAMPLE writing
section.
THIS ARROW MEANS THAT YOU NEED
YOU NEED TO WRITE THIS DOWN, IT
WILL BE ON THE QUIZ!
TAKS vs. SAT TEST
TAKS
The SAT is a
SAT
completely different
beast!
TAKS
WRITING
&
SAT
SECTIONS!!!!!
•Any approach will do
•Not timed
•NARRATIVE!!
•Assesses conventions
•Off topic, illegible or
other language = 0
•May use dictionary
or thesaurus
•Implicitly addressing
prompt acceptable
•Focused/coherent
•Prompt is an
imperative
sentence
writing
•Well organized
•Timed
•Lends itself to
persuasive/analytical
May not use dictionary
or thesaurus
• Requires support
from
readings
(BOOKS)
observations,
studies (HISTORY),
and/or
experiences
Preparing for the SAT

Get Vocab Prep from Ms. Rodgers
Work On Your Writing
 Read a Challenging Book


Become familiar with the structure of
the test—including strategies for
approaching each type of question.
During the SAT:

Keep track of time.
Don’t try to cheat. Other people will
have DIFFERENT TESTS.




Skip questions you don’t know
—answer the easy & medium ones first!!!
Make educated guesses, but don’t answer questions
about which you haven’t a clue on the SAT! In SAT
scoring, you receive a point for each correct answer and
lose a fraction of a point for each incorrect answer.
(NOTE—the ACT does not penalize for random
guessing—no points are deducted for wrong answers.)
Things You Should Know
THE SAT
Critical
Reading
CR 200 - 800
Math
M 200 - 800
Writing
W 200 – 800
Will include 2 subscores:
Essay 2-12
(1/3 of writing score)
Multiple-choice
(2/3 of writing score)
Top score – 2400
One Section will be unscored. Do not try to guess
which.
More about the SAT


The SAT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X3
oFZ-wD18
The SAT is a piece of the puzzle in your
college application
LET’S READ AND DISCUSS!!!
Discuss these sample questions with your
neighbor, and choose your answer…..
Read
and
Discuss
First Section: Critical Reading
The first kind of question: SENTENCE COMPLETION.
1> Desiring to -------- a players’ strike and work
stoppage, NBA commissioner David Stern proposed a
compromise he felt would be ---------- to both players
and owners.
a) enforce…agreeable
b) avoid…amenable
c) encourage…attractive
d) forestall…divisive
e) extend…satisfactory
Critical Reading Sentence
Completion Tips
SAT SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTION TIPS
Consider the standard dictionary definitions of words in the sentence. The SAT
folks do not use non-standard definitions.
Eliminate answers you know to be incorrect. Cross them out in your test booklet.
Notice the introductory and transitional words in the sentences.
Consider tone and pay attention to punctuation.
Figure out words of your own which might fit in the blanks, then look at the
answer choices for synonyms. Don’t fall in “love” with an answer: be sure it
fits.
For two-blank questions, figure out one blank at a time! This will help you
eliminate answers.
More Critical Reading
PRACTICE SAT SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
Directions: Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted.
Beneath the sentence are words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or set of words
that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
1. The association agreed to ------- one of its
members when she was discovered to have -----an infraction of the association rules.
a) discipline…prevented
b) denounce…impeded
c) censure…committed
d) honor…supported
e) promote…aided
More Critical Reading –
Characteristics of passages
READING PASSAGES
Do these passages very carefully. Take notes while you read and notice any
repeated words or phrases. Read like you are really interested in what the
article has to say!
Types of questions
Extended reasoning questions ask you to make logical inferences about what the writer means.
You may be asked to do the following:
Identify the writer’s main idea or purpose in writing
Correctly interpret a particular passage
Analyze the author’s tone or attitude in a specific section or in the whole passage
Analyze a related idea in a parallel or paired passage
Show understanding of these terms: facts, assumptions, inferences, logic, style, tone
Vocabulary questions ask you to consider the particular use of a word in the passage. Note: the
SAT folks often focus on words used outside their normal context!
Comprehension questions determine how accurately and literally you understand the passage
and its information.
Critical Reading - Passages
SAMPLE PASSAGE-BASED QUESTIONS
1
5
The first coherent school of American art, the Hudson River painters, helped to
shape the mythos of the American landscape. Beginning with the works of
Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) and evolving into
the Luminist and late Romantic schools, landscape painting was the prevalent
genre of 19th century American art.
With roots in European Romanticism and with correspondences to European
painters such as the Nazarenes and Caspar David Friedrich in Germany or John
Constable and Joseph Turner in England, the Hudson River painters,
nonetheless, set about to heed Emerson's call "to ignore the courtly Muses of
Europe" and define a distinct vision for American art.
1. In line 1, the word coherent in this context most nearly means
A. communal
B. invasive
C. disinterested
D. distinct
E. critical
Let’s check
out the
writing
section!
THE SAT WRITING SECTION
SAT WRITING PREP
1. Identifying sentence errors
2. Improving sentences
3. Improving paragraphs
The ESSAY is a 25 minute response to a prompt.
SAT Writing Section
IMPROVING SENTENCES!
Colonel Harlan Sanders opened his first fried chicken
restaurant and he was sixty-five years old then.
A. and he was sixty-five years old then
B. when he was sixty-five
C. at age sixty-five years old
D. upon the reaching of sixty-five years
E. at the time when he was sixty-five
SAT WRITING: IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS
SAMPLE
(1) Author J.K. Rowling famed of Harry Potter books was a single mother
living in Scotland when she wrote Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone.
(2) J. K. Rowling wrote the book on scraps of paper at a local café. (3)
Rowling to date has published six books in the Potter canon. (4) An
award from the Scottish Arts Council enabled her to finish the book.
1. In context, what is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence
1 (reproduced below)?
Author J.K. Rowling famed of Harry Potter books was a single mother living
in Scotland when she wrote Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone.
A. (As it is now.)
B. Harry Potter book writer J.K. Rowling, famed
C. J. K. Rowling, famed author of the Harry Potter books,
D. Author Ms. J. K. Rowling, writer of famed Harry Potter,
E. Harry Potter books’ famed writer J. K. Rowling
LAST BUT NOT LEAST……..
About
THE ESSAY
The first section of the SAT will ask you to write a short
essay in 25 minutes. You must respond to whatever
prompt the SAT folks provide. After the general
directions, you will see a short quotation or excerpt
related to the prompt. The actual prompt will be marked
“Assignment.” This is the question you are supposed to
answer, although you may allude to the excerpt in your
essay.
You will write your essay on the 3 pages of lined paper
provided. Write neatly without skipping lines, avoiding
wide margins. You will receive no more paper! Be sure
to stay within the margins, too, as the essay will be
scanned and sent electronically to graders.
The ROSE Strategy
“Support your position with reasoning
and examples taken from your reading,
studies, experience, or observations.”
R = Reading
O = Observations
S = Studies
E = Experience
Readings
The essay questions will ask you
to rely on readings,
observations, studies, and
experiences. Think of it as a
“ROSE” question….
Observations
Idea/Thesis
Statement
Studies
Experiences
SAMPLE ESSAY
Below is a sample essay topic.
There is a dignity associated with honest labor. What
person does not value himself in proportion to those
works which he or she attempts? True nobility rests in
the simple task, well done.
-adapted from T. Romulus, Ethics
Assignment: Does work define the person, or
does the person define the job? Plan and
write an essay in which you develop your
point of view on this issue. Support your
position with reasoning and examples taken
from your reading, studies, experience, or
observations.