Quick Way to ‘Get’ Today’s SAT Answer and to Apply to Other Q&A, using Critical Thinking!
Today’s SAT question for the day is one of my favorite types, so I will use this one to emphasize my main advice for strategy when you know the answer:
CHECK! I make mnemonics to remember what to check. You can note those in archived articles.
You capture the question asked; hit the one solution that fits the best; eliminate the others (when the question and answers are short, especially); check over the one you chose as the best fit; and Kiss the question goodbye—moving on with the correct spot neatly filled on the answer sheet.
Here, the word ‘best’ in the directions nudged me to realize there will be at least two pairs of words that appear to fit. One pair of words is the ‘best’ solution—generally from the tone or connotation of the words around the words to fill in.
As always, visualize the problem:
Here, I am visualizing a woman evaluating (Ms. Fergusson’s main criticism) a drawing or painting of an animal neither the artist nor the critic has ever seen (…criticism of the artist’s rendering of the ancient mammal’s physical appearance).
The clue is that the evaluator is mainly concerned that the image the artist is giving is unsupported by even a _______ (tiny bit?) of fossil evidence. This leads me to visualize this ‘teacher-type’ person frowning at the picture and thinking: The artist had no evidence at all, so this picture is purely ‘dreamed up’ by the artist.
The artist doesn’t even have a modicum (little bit) of fossil evidence so the picture is purely speculative (a guess).
Ms. Fergusson’s main criticism of the artist’s rendering of the ancient mammal’s physical appearance is that unsupported by even a ________ (modicum) of fossil evidence, the image is bound to be ___________(speculative).
The other one that ‘fits’ my criteria: particle and supplemented. But the modicum and speculative does it better. It is the best.
By the way, as standardized tests are all over the place; and teachers are always pressed to make you do ‘critical thinking,’ please realize that a critic is not always saying ‘bad’ things. Critical thinking is evaluative, interpretive, and analytic thinking. Critical comments can be positive—or at least informative. Have you ever wanted someone’s opinion about clothes or a hair style or even someone you are dating? That is asking for ‘criticism,’ even if negative.
More strategies: Read the directions anyway (even though you understand what to do). You can do so quickly, and reading the directions each time puts your brain into the ‘if, then’ sequence you need to be using for a two-part fill in the blank.
Connect to logic. This is the same type of reasoning to use in designing a computer program or in solving an Algebra problem (particularly, Boolean Algebra: if this is true, then this is true).
Notice in the directions that you are asked for the best answer. The word ‘best’ is in bold. This is often, even usually, a hint that at least two pairs of words will fit. One pair will be judged by the test writer to be the ‘best’ answer.
Strategy: As you read a sentence with two words or phrases to fill in, think of what type of words you would fill in each space. Look at the solutions . Choose the combination with the right meaning and tone in the first space and in the second space.judiethcarol&rocketcatmarch2010
