Rocketcat’s RACECAR STRATEGY IS ABOUT GETTING THE CORRECT ANSWER QUICKLY AND CONFIDENTLY. ROCKETCAR STRATEGY ON TODAY’S SAT QUESTION RESULTS IN THE CORRECT ANSWER MARKED IN WELL UNDER A MINUTE.
Rocketcat rarely misses the answer on a question in one of the several formats of the language arts questions. Today is an example of the way he solves these. He follows the strategy, and he has answered and checked in UNDER A MINUTE.
The following study and understanding for life will take you about five minutes to do.
You will practice the strategy below. Do the question for yourself on the www.collegeboard.com site. Come to this site, daily, and review past questions and strategies from the archives.
You can use the ROCKETCAT RACECAR c strategy to gain points on many test questions.
Notice the kinds of sentence errors to PREDICT you WILL see on the SAT and other standardized tests.
One key for your success is to know the correct forms to use.
Predict what is incorrect while simultaneously (at the same time) realizing that this is the way the SAT finds out if you know what you know about sentence errors.
Reading the title REMINDS (note the meaning –re minds—putting the information back into the part of your mind that you are using right now on the test) your brain.
1-From familiarity with the format by practicing in books such as the Princeton Review for the SAT or by practicing on the SAT College Board site, Rocket sees the type of question he loves—a reading and writing question.
2-Rocket immediately employs his patent Rocketcat RACECAR strategy:
• Start driving from the beginning upper corner, and speed forward left to right—reading the title: SENTENCE COMPLETION.
• Read the directions—Look for the error in underlined portions. To leave the sentence the way it is, the option is E. (This choice is different for some types of verbal questions.)
• Look at the underlined portions while speeding through the sentence from the left to the right (beginning to end)
• LOOK FOR AN ERROR THAT YOU KNOW WILL BE IN THIS FORMAT: errors in verb tense, errors in person (first, second, third—I,you, he,she,it for singular or we, you, they for plural), errors in punctuation (a comma splice, run-on sentence), errors in pronoun-antecedent (using ‘it’ when referring to a person, for example).
• WHEN YOU SEE THE ERROR, STOP AND MARK YOUR ANSWER SHEET.
• MOVE TO THE NEXT QUESTION IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FOUND AT LEAST ONE OTHER UNDERLINED PORTION YOU KNOW IS CORRECT.
(Rocketcat sees a dog running across a field out the window at this point. He comes back to his driving: He could have an accident if he does not do this speedy RACECAR strategy correctly.
VISUALIZING
Part of the reason Rocketcat speeds through these questions, in less than a minute, is that he uses the mind of an English teacher.
Part of the reason Rocketcat speeds through these questions, marks the answers, moves on with confidence is that Rocketcat takes the Rocketcat Racecar Strategy, invented by judiethcarol&Rocketcat, with him in the RACECAR through a question like this one.
If you are taking the SAT on May 1, you can look over the past articles on Rocket’s SAT website: www.coorocketschool.org (notice that .org is the ongoing SAT Q&A explanation blog). Rocket has other websites so stick with the ‘org’ one for SAT when in the last days before the test.
TODAY’S SENTENCE: ROCKET NEEDS TO VISUALIZE. HE HAS THE UNDERLINED PORTIONS IN CAPS HERE. They SHOUT visually to Rocketcat. Rocketcat is deaf. He is a visual learner.
Many types of dance music and jazz CALL FOR special instruments
‘CALL FOR’ is a little odd but not incorrect in any of the predictable ways
Many types of dance music and jazz CALL FOR special instruments, which INCLUDES (SCREEECH—This is the error! Special instruments which include is the correct form—This test is using an error of verb agreement in number (singular or plural), a favorite on the SAT. The number verb form is not correct. ThePLURAL instruments INCLUDE (plural form)
MARK your answer sheet for the B. answer.
Now, back up (Rocketcat RACECAR—check one on the backup—RACECAR reads the same in reverse and speeds in reverse, as well). Go back and make sure one more underlined portion is correct. This is to be sure you did not overlook something about the question.
Many types of dance music and jazz CALL FOR special instruments, which INCLUDE (as you correct this) the hi-hat, a pair of cymbals OPERATED BY a foot pedal…
There’s nothing wrong with “cymbals operated by a foot pedal.”
Now, you have checked two underlined portions other than the error you found. You’ve CHECKED this answer. KEEP MOVING ON THE TEST. When you have a different type of question to solve, you will be taking more time on that question and answer only—and, then, if your method is too long, you may need to choose an answer and move on. See the mathematics part of yesterday’s strategies (April 27 and April 28 together). Those math questions REQUIRE a little extra time—just to get the fairly simple answer. The SAT is determining if you can pace yourself.judiethcarolandrocketcatApril2832010c.
