The sat in exam 7 ppsx

4. Don’t try any unusual or adventurous activity— save it, too, for another time! 5. Don’t allow yourself to get into an emotional exchange with anyone—a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a significant other. If someone starts something, remind him or her you are taking the SAT tomorrow and need to postpone the discus- sion so you can focus on the exam. Test Day On the day of the test, get up early enough to allow yourself extra time to get ready. Set your alarm and ask a family member or friend to make sure you are up. Eat a light, healthy breakfast, even if you usually don’t eat in the morning. If you don’t normally drink coffee, don’t do it today. If you do normally have cof- fee, have one cup. More than that may make you jittery today. If you plan to take snacks for the break, take something healthy. Nuts and raisins are a great source of long-lasting energy. Stay away from cookies and candy during the exam. Remember to take water. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the test site and avoid a last-minute rush. Plan to get to the test room ten to fifteen minutes early. Once the exam begins, keep an eye on the time. Remember not to spend too long on questions you don’t understand. Mark them (in your test booklet, not your answer sheet) so you can come back to them if there’s time. Check periodically (every five to ten ques- tions) to make sure you are transposing correctly. Look at the question number, and then check your answer sheet to see that you are marking the bubble by that question number. If you find yourself getting anxious during the test, remember to breathe. If you need to, take a minute or two to slip into your relaxation visualization or your visualization of success. You have worked hard to pre- pare for this day. You are ready. –SAT STUDY SKILLS AND STRATEGIES– 22 5658 SAT2006[02](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:41 PM Page 22  What to Expect in the Critical Reading Section The SAT has three critical reading sections: two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. There are three types of critical reading questions: sentence completions, passage-length critical reading questions, and paragraph-length critical reading questions. All of them are multiple-choice questions with five answer choices, a–e. There may be a fourth critical reading section. If so, it means that one of the four sections is an experimental, or equating, section. You cannot determine which is the equating section, however, so it is important to do your best on each section. Sentence Completions Sentence completion questions test your vocabulary and your ability to follow the logic of complicated sen- tences. Each of these questions has either one or two blanks within a single sentence. Often, the sentences are long and difficult to follow, but with practice, you can learn to master them. There will be approximately 19 of these questions. CHAPTER The SAT Critical Reading Section 3 23 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 23 SAT Critical Reading Section at a Glance The critical reading section of the SAT has 67 questions. There are three kinds of questions: Sentence Completions Questions test your vocabulary skills and ability to follow the logic of a sentence. Passage-Length Critical Reading Questions test your ability to understand the meaning of material in a long passage. Paragraph-Length Critical Reading Questions test your ability to understand and analyze material in a short (one paragraph) passage or two related passages. 24 Passage-Length Critical Reading These questions test your understanding of fairly long passages. The passages, typically 400–850 words in length, are drawn from texts in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. There are also a variety of writing styles, including narrative, expository, and persuasive. You will have to analyze the passages in advanced ways, making inferences from the authors’ statements, inter- preting rhetorical and stylistic devices, and/or selecting the correct meaning of one of the words used. Again, practice will make perfect—or nearly so. Paragraph-Length Critical Reading Paragraph-length critical reading passages will be 100–200 words long, followed by two to five questions each. You will also find at least one (or more) pair of related passages. Like long-passage questions, the ques- tions following short passages test your ability to under- stand college-level readings on a range of topics and styles. And again, you will be asked about a range of reading comprehension issues, from specific details to the author’s purpose or main idea, from the meaning of specific vocabulary words to inferences that can log- ically be drawn from the text.  The Power of Words If you have a good vocabulary, you’re in good shape for the SAT. All three kinds of critical reading questions test your knowledge of and ability to use words. If you don’t consider yourself a word person, don’t despair. The fact is, we are all word people. Words shape our perceptions of the world. Even math can be thought of as another language; it is explained through the use of words. No matter what kind of word power you already possess, your SAT critical reading score will improve dramatically as you increase your vocabulary. Other than reading this book, the single most productive thing you can do in studying for the SAT is to learn additional vocabulary. The best way to go about this is to read; check out LearningExpress’s Vocabulary and Spelling Success in 20 Minutes a Day, which makes it easy to boost your vocabulary and your critical reading test score. 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 24  Test for Success Another important way to increase your chances for SAT success is to become familiar with the test itself. This sec- tion focuses on the critical reading test questions. The following pretest will help you assess what your strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to the critical reading skills tested on the SAT. Take this test without studying ahead in this book. Don’t worry if you don’t do as well as you wanted; there’s no better way to focus your studies than by pinpointing the topics and question types you know well and those in which you need more practice. Use the answer sheet below to record your answers. –LEARNINGEXPRESS ANSWER SHEET– 25 ANSWER SHEET 1.abcde 2.abcde 3.abcde 4.abcde 5.abcde 6.abcde 7.abcde 8.abcde 9.abcde 10.abcde 11.abcde 12.abcde 13.abcde 14.abcde 15.abcde 16.abcde 17.abcde 18.abcde 19.abcde 20.abcde 21.abcde 22.abcde 23.abcde 24.abcde 25.abcde 26.abcde 27.abcde 28.abcde 29.abcde 30.abcde 31.abcde 32.abcde 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 25 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 26  Critical Reading Pretest There are 32 questions in this section. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Stop working at the end of 30 minutes and check your answers. Sentence Completions In each of the following sentences, one or two words have been omitted (indicated by a blank). Choose the word(s) from the answer choices provided that makes the most sense in the context of the sentence. 1. Although skinny as a rail, the young girl had a(n) appetite. a. eager b. demanding c. ravenous d. breathless e. primal 2. Because the rajah was sagacious, he ruled his subjects with a. rapacity b. ignorance c. compassion d. fortitude e. willfulness 3. Percival’s approach to life caused him to miss the kind of experience his more friv- olous peers enjoyed. a. careless cerebral b. unhealthy choleric c. busy understated d. amiable intense e. utilitarian ecstatic 4. Scientific knowledge is usually , often resulting from years of hard work by numerous investigators. a. ponderous b. implacable c. precarious d. cumulative e. egregious 5. Even though meals cause her digestive trouble, my grandmother insists on eating her food as as possible. a. piquant spicy b. foreign often c. astringent slowly d. cold quickly e. purgative daintily 6. Although conditions in Antarctica are quite , scientists and others who go there to work have managed to create a comfortable envi- ronment for themselves. a. audacious b. inimical c. felicitous d. incalculable e. oblivious 7. Because the king was heedful of , he ensured that his would survive him. a. posterity legacy b. venerability heir c. tradition sociopath d. empathy advisors e. artifice architect –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 27 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 27 . STRATEGIES– 22 5658 SAT2 006[02](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:41 PM Page 22  What to Expect in the Critical Reading Section The SAT has three critical reading sections: two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. There. improve dramatically as you increase your vocabulary. Other than reading this book, the single most productive thing you can do in studying for the SAT is to learn additional vocabulary. The best way to. to master them. There will be approximately 19 of these questions. CHAPTER The SAT Critical Reading Section 3 23 5658 SAT2 006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 23 SAT Critical Reading Section