SAT Success 2013 - 2014 Objectives • Understand the SAT • Learn the techniques for getting your best score • Practice the techniques Understanding the SAT • Content • Structure • Scoring Content • Critical Reading – Sentence Completions – Passage Based Reasoning • Math – 20 Questions – 18 Questions (multiple choice, grid-ins) – 16 Questions • Writing – Correcting Errors, Sentences, Paragraphs – Essay Structure • All questions are NOT created equal!! – Some are Easy – Some are Medium – Some are Hard How are the Questions Structured? • Every group of Math questions and every group of Sentence Completion questions can be divided into thirds by difficulty. For example: Easy 1234567 Medium 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Hard 15 16 17 18 19 20 6 How are the Questions Structured? Easy 1234567 Medium 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Hard 15 16 17 18 19 20 • On the easy third, the average person gets all the answers right. The answers that seem right to the average person are actually the right answers • On the medium third, the average person’s hunches are right only some of the time. • On the hard third, the average person’s hunches are almost always wrong 7 The Nature of SAT Questions Remember: All Questions are Not Created Equal!! Easy Medium Hard Another Perspective on SAT’s Hard Questions Scoring • The SAT is not scored like any test you’ve taken (from Kindergarten to present) – You are rewarded for “right” answers, but penalized for “wrong” answers So, the way you approach this test is different from any other test you’ve taken You try to get as many questions right as possible, as few questions wrong as possible, and omit the remainder of the questions 10 Scoring • You don’t have to answer all the questions on the Math portion of the SAT to get a good score: To get a score of 350 400 450 500 550 560 600 650 700 750 800 You Need (raw points) 5 10 17 24 30 31 35 42 47 50 54 11 Scoring • You don’t have to answer all the questions on the Critical Reading portion of the SAT to get a good score: To get a score of 350 400 450 500 550 560 600 650 700 750 800 You Need (raw points) 9 15 23 30 36 38 44 51 57 62 67 12 Scoring • You don’t have to answer all the questions on the Writing portion of the SAT to get a good score: To get a score of 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 You Need (raw points) 13 19 26 32 38 45 51 57 62 67 13 Techniques for Getting Your Best Scores 14 The BIG Technique: The Process of Elimination • Eliminating wrong answer choices 3. The capital of Afghanistan is (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) Paris Sydney Philadelphia Kabul Louisville Remember: Finishing the SAT is not the goal -- getting the right answers is! 15 Guessing Technique • If you can eliminate at least one wrong answer choice then you should consider guessing. For each right answer I’ll give you one Dollar - $1.00 = 1 raw point For each wrong answer, you give me a Quarter 1. Xxxx ____ xx___xxx. (A) ????? : ????? (B) ????? : ????? (C) ????? : ????? (D) ????? : ????? (E) ????? : ????? 2. Xxxx ____ xx___xxx. (A) ????? : ????? (B) ????? : ????? (C) ????? : ????? (D) ????? : ????? (E) ????? : ????? - $0.25 = 1/4 raw point 3. Xxxx ____ xx___xxx. (A) ????? : ????? (B) ????? : ????? (C) ????? : ????? (D) ????? : ????? (E) ????? : ????? 4. Xxxx ____ xx___xxx. (A) ????? : ????? (B) ????? : ????? (C) ????? : ????? (D) ????? : ????? (E) ????? : ????? 16 Sentence Completions: Technique for Getting Right Answers • One blank: – – – – – Cover up the answer choices Look for key words in the sentence Get a feel for the tone of the sentence (positive, negative) Write your own answer in the blank space before looking at the answer choices Uncover the answer choices one by one and deal with each in turn; circle possibilities, put a line through wrong choices • Two blanks – – – – – Cover up the answer choices Look for key words in the sentence Get a feel for the tone of the sentence (positive, negative) Write your own answers in the blank spaces before looking at the answer choices Uncover the answer choices one by one and deal with each in turn; circle possibilities, put a line through wrong choices – Try to eliminate 1st or 2nd word that doesn’t make sense 17 Sentence Completions: Technique for Getting Right Answers 1. While some dancers at the ball were as smooth as professionals, others were clearly still ---- in their movements. (A) graceful (B) able (C) agile (D) uncertain (E) despondent 3. A ---- theme in the author’s account of slavery is the degrading and ---- effect of the living conditions slaves were forced to endure. (A) recurrent . . soporific (B) pervasive . . dehumanizing (C) persistent . . innocuous (D) controversial . . demeaning (E) prominent . . alluring 2. Now that the factory has been ----, robots do most of the work. (A) accredited (B) isolated (C) fortified (D) inspected (E) automated 18 Critical Reading Passage Techniques • Read the italicized portion at the top • Go immediately to the questions and, where applicable, identify where the answers are found in the passage. • Read all of the first paragraph of the passage and the first two sentences of each succeeding paragraph • Read the entire last paragraph, especially the last sentence of the paragraph. • Use the Process of Elimination to answer the questions. (Remember: Easy – Medium – Hard) 19 Easy-Medium-Hard Questions in Critical Reading • The Critical Reading Passage questions are “all mixed up” in terms of their level of Difficulty. • Fortunately we know what the Easy, Medium, and Hard questions look like: – Easy – There are 2 types • Main Idea (“The primary purpose is . . . . “ “The main idea of the passage is . . . “) • Vocabulary in Context (As used in line 14, the word “romantic” most nearly means . . .”) – Medium – There are 2 types • Recognizing a paraphrase (Another way of saying something; a different way of saying the same thing. The correct answer will paraphrase a statement in the passage, not give a direct quote). • Attitude, Mood, Tone (The author’s attitude toward ___ can be described as ____”; “ The tone of the passage can be described as . . . . – Hard – There are 2 types • Inference – (“It can be inferred from the passage that. . .” , The author mentions _____ to show _____. . .”) • Comparison questions (How does the information presented in Passage 1 compare with the information presented by the author in Passage 2?) 20 Math Techniques for Getting Right Answers 80-90% of all SAT math problems can be solved using one of these 3 approaches: 1. Use the formulas in the Reference Information Box 1. Backsolving – Use the test answers Example: If 44 is the average (arithmetic mean) of x, x, x, 35, and 65 then x = (A) 40 (B) 42 Notice that the numbers are in numerical order (C) 44 (D) 48 (E) 50 3. Plugging In – Use your own answers Example: The sum of four consecutive positive even integers is z. In terms of z, what is the sum of the two middle integers? (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (z-12)/4 (z-6)/2 2z + 6 z/2 (z2 – 3z)/4 Notice the variables in the answer choices 21 Math Techniques 150o xo 100o xo xo xo xo r 4 yo 1 xo xo s yo 75o xo 3 1 22 Math Techniques 120o zo zo xo zo 23 Increasing Your Math Score By 50 Points! • Your approach to the section with the Grid-ins will help you boost your math score by 50 points • This section follows the rule of Easy, Medium and Hard, but in a slightly different way. Easy 1 2 3 9 10 11 12 Medium 4 5 6 13 14 15 Hard 7 8 16 17 18 24 Essay Technique • Take a sheet of 8 x 11 ½ paper and on one side list works of the literature read in high school, together with what the major themes of each book. Short story, or poem were. • On the reverse side of the paper, list 10 major life experiences (5 Good experiences and 5 Bad Experiences) and the lessons learned from each of these experiences. • These items will provide examples you can use on any SAT essay 25 Essay Technique The Structure of the Essay • Introductory Paragraph – Agree or Disagree with the Prompt – Give 2 reasons why you agree or disagree • Supporting Paragraph #1 – State the first reason why you agree or disagree with the prompt – Use 2 or 3 good examples to support your reason • Supporting Paragraph #2 – State the second reason why you agree or disagree with the prompt – Use 2 or 3 good examples to support your reason • Concluding Paragraph – Summarize by restating why you agree or disagree with the prompt and the two reasons you gave above 26 Practice the Techniques 27 Questions? 28