Ten minutes more study now can add points to your score later. Learning the logic involved will add points to your scores on many other evaluations and assessments.
1. Realize that you may be able to answer reading questions without knowing very much about the subject matter. Today’s question is a visual example. You do not have to know all of the information in this sentence or even the meaning of some of the words to get this answer.
2. USE TODAY’S QUESTION AS A PATTERN: Look at today’s question. This one is not considered to be extremely difficult. Over 80% of the people who tried this question were correct. That is a high percentage. This question makes a good pattern for learning to do this style of question with speed AND care.
Visualize the ‘story’ of the question.
Today’s question includes this sentence:
“Long been isolated from the outside world and perched high in the Tibetan Himalayas, Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China. “
Do you ‘see’ a village perched on snowy mountain peaks?
Visualize the pattern presented in the question and possible answers.
When you read, you are constantly predicting what you are about to read. The more often you know what to expect (in the way of the set patterns such as the style of the Q&A), the less your brain has to notice that part of the task. This clears brain capacity for solving the problem and marking the answer sheet accordingly.
Portions of that sentence are underlined and given a label from A-D. After the period, No Error is underlined and given the label ‘E.”
Look at the question on your screen in the College Board website.
Affirm and practice the parts you can know ahead: Style of the question.
The first thing I noticed when I looked at the sentence was that it was a multiple choice question designed around choosing which part of the sentence was written incorrectly. If I know the sentence is correctly written, I know to choose ‘E.’
I do not have to ‘learn’ this procedure while I am taking the test. This is the way you need to be to do well or to improve performance on a standardized test. Do not wait until you are taking the test to ‘learn’ how to do the different types of questions. This may take only seconds, but it is a procedure that diverts your brain from all the other clues you have to find the correct solution.
I do not have to pause to figure this out. I have seen this style of question over and over.
The second thing I notice immediately is that the word ‘been’ is unnecessary and awkward. This is one type of error that is presented in this particular style, with the underlined portions of the sentence labeled A,B,C,D,…and E for choosing to affirm there are no errors.
Some other types of errors presented in questions of this style are subject-verb agreement mistakes, misplaced modifiers, pronoun antecedent disagreement, incorrect word usage—and more.
A good way to practice this type of question is to make up some sentences and set the question up this way. Then, you will know how to look at the sentence quickly and find the error. Other ways to practice once you have the method down: On the College Board site, there are practice questions. Getting the correct solution immediately is the only way to study effectively.
The 2010 Princeton Review for the SAT will not only include practice questions, but the Review effectively reinforces the strategies offered by the College Board. The Review offers, too, supplementary strategies and targeted instruction in areas always covered on the SAT.
Know What You Know, and Check What You Know
I know the answer is ‘A,’ and I know this is the correct answer immediately. This is not just because I am an English teacher.
Even though I am confident, I quickly look over the other underlined portions. I do not want to miss a point because I rushed. I check the hint anyway, to make sure I am not straying from the purpose of the question. If I take a test, I want to get the ones correct that I know. If a test is timed, I need to pace myself to be sure to reach all the ones I know. Do not stay too long on the ones you do not know.
Know the Score
Answering this type of question correctly counts just as much on the SAT as answering a more difficult question correctly. Each correct answer is one point. If you start skipping questions, though, you MUST have a strategy to put an answer if you can eliminate some of the wrong answers or a way of keeping track of unanswered parts.
Decide ahead of time what to do about questions that you cannot solve.
REMEMBER: You have to answer the answer sheets in the correct spaces. When I am taking a standardized test with an answer sheet, I put a dot in a choice on every answer. Then, if I get time, I erase the ones I do not want to answer at all. But, first, I completely fill in the ones I DO want to answer. You cannot go back to sections of the answer sheet to do this when you are working on other sections of the test. On the SAT, every correct answer is one point.
Every incorrect answer subtracts ¼ (one-fourth) of a point from your score. If you can eliminate answers on a multiple choice, your probability of a correct answer goes up. Still, no portion of a point is taken off for no answer, so you have some penalty for incorrect answers. Of course, when you do not answer at all, you do not gain any points on your score.
Come back later for more about how to learn from this question about other answers. Also, we will do the same with Wednesday's question. So, now, go to the College Board site for the SAT, and do Wednesday's Question for the day. See you later! Enjoy your day.JudieCarol &Rocketcat
