| When your 'head is ready to explode'-is it because you have a bomb in your head or is it because you have pent up frustration. And while you figure that one out, tell me when you are preparing for the SAT you are _ _ _ _ _ apprehensive, uneasy, placid, overwrought or placated. |
|
The writing on the wall is pretty clear. The sentence completion requires a grasp of the vocabulary like none else. Now if you haven't read a book in your lifetime, then it was time probably last year to open those long word lists, but if you have, then a thorough practice is what you require before attempting the sentence completion. The funny part, is that the sentence completion which appears so difficult actually has the definition of the correct word choice answer is in the question itself For example: |
|
| Jaya was _ _ _ _ _ ; she was so happy that she aced the SATs. |
(A) Elucidated (B) Sardonic (C) Complacent (D) Ebullient (E) Flippant
The correct answer would be (D) Ebullient. Why? Because
"Ebullient" means cheerful and as we can see "she was so
happy" part of the question is the definition of ebullient.
|
|
What to do to improve sentence
completion Read, read, and read. It's hard to make up for a lifetime of not reading, but you can at least make a significant dent. Reading will improve your vocabulary and critical reading skills, especially if you are reading magazines and journals which are likely to be using these words. When going through those Vocabulary lists make sure that you have tried to make sentences with each word, defining usage and form. Use the words you are learning in conversations with your friends and family. |
|
There is no way you can learn up those hundreds of words and
definitely not much use if you are not going to know how to
use them. The strategies to use when attempting The way to crack it is to understand how the word is being used. Be pretty sure that the test writers, will deliberately choose a word with more than one meaning and the correct answer will NOT be the vocabulary word's primary meaning. Read the sentence first and determine if the blank(s) should contain words that have either positive or negative connotations. So even if you are unsure of the meaning of a word you can usually tell if the word has a negative or positive connotation. This is called paying attention to the TONE of the sentence. The sentence may have a positive or a negative tone and the answer choice must match that tone. Examples: The happy and _ _ _ _ _ _ young woman left without complaint. Feeling _ _ _ _ _ _ and angry, the teacher rejected his proposal. Circle any KEY words that may affect the meaning of the sentence while reading the SAT sentence completions. Words that can make a difference to the sentence are words like always, all, necessarily, never, none, partially, completely, more than, less than, fewer, best, worse, half, most, almost, completely, minimally as a result, because, consequently, hence, if, in order to, so, then, therefore. |
|
Also be careful of SYNONYM WORDS
like also, and, another, besides, for example, furthermore, in addition, in other words, moreover and ANTONYM WORDS like but, if, nor, although, nevertheless, despite, even though, in contrast, however, in spite of, instead, on the contrary, on the other hand, rather, still, yet, conversely Read the SAT sentence completions sentence again and PREDICT the word in the blank, using the tone, key words, and surrounding context clues to inform your prediction. |
|
If you can't think of an answer choice, let it be a blank.
CHECK your answer choice by
mouthing the sentence with your answer choice. If it doesn't
"sound" right, consider another choice. Also, don't think too much into a question. The obvious answer is usually the right one; if you have to twist an answer so it'll fit, it's not right. This is one of the things you'll 'get' after you see a lot of questions. SAT-takers generally think that the SAT sentence completion sections are relatively easy, but many students can be shocked to find out that these sections actually lower overall critical reading scores more than the passage-based sections. In fact attempt them earlier than the passage based questions. |
|
| My last _ _ _ _ _ _ to you before taking the test would be to not be _ _ _ _ _ _ (reckoning- loquacious, threat- pretentious, admonition- nonchalant, intimidation- adroit) and that if you can solve this one you are well on your way to acing the-test. |
