Five minutes here every day will help you to learn how to move quickly AND accurately on the SAT and other standardized tests. Come here to visit daily after you complete the SAT Question for the day on the College Board Site: www.collegeboard.com Next SAT is May 1. http:www.coolrocketschool.org By judiethcarol&rocketcat
April 26th has a Q&A to test the RACECAR STRATEGY in a classic way.
Do the steps below. In less than three minutes, you will learn the strategy to gain points on the SAT and other standardized tests. You will also learn the rules of grammar you will use in other writing. To answer correctly, you use prediction.
The April 26th SAT Question for the day requires Rocketcat’s patent RACECAR STRATEGY to pace yourself well. You already know this style of directions. Read them anyway.
The strategy is to read straight through, reminding your brain of the sequence. You find and mark the correct answer. Then you look back to eliminate at least one incorrect answer to check it in the sentence..
RACECAR is a palindrome. You move forward with smooth and accurate speed. You mark your winning answer neatly. Then you speed backwards (palindrome) to eliminate one incorrect answer to check. Then move on!
The following describes the steps. At the end is today’s question with the correct answer.
1) Read the title: IMPROVE the sentence.
2) Read the directions. Read the directions, as given, straight through. You are looking for the BEST option to IMPROVE the sentence. You choose A. only if no option improves the sentence. On this type of Q&A, the first option does not change anything in the sentence.
3) Read the sentence looking for a predictable error in the underlined portion.
4) TWIST: The underlined portion in this sentence is correct, as is. The problem is in the comma before the underlined portion.
5) This sentence has a comma before the pronoun and verb. The UNDERLINED PORTION HAS TO BE CHANGED TO CORRECT THE COMMA SPLICE RIGHT BEFORE IT. This is a bit of a twist because the comma is NOT underlined. Even so, one of the answers will change the underlined portion so it is no longer a complete phrase.
Look at this again, please. Understanding how this is designed will gain points for you on the test. Understanding how this is designed will also help you to avoid comma splices in your writing. Here is what you are seeing on your first time reading the sentence:
The underlined portion has a pronoun. This pronoun is correct in form for the antecedent. The underlined portion has a verb. This verb is correct in form (tense, number) as well.
This correct underlined portion has to be changed to make the entire sentence correct because changing this part is your only option to avoid two sentences ‘spliced’ with a comma.
Now, you are looking for the change option that will correct a run on sentence error. This type of error is commonly called a comma splice. The comma is splicing (joining) two entire sentences. This is incorrect punctuation. You need a semi-colon, a conjunction (and, but…) with the comma, or a period and a new sentence.
You do not have the option to make a new sentence using the above punctuation corrections of the comma splice. You have to choose an option that will make this sentence correct with different words.
Here is how it looks on the test:
The finest quality raw silk comes from the commonly domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, it feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree.
A. Sentence stays as is. It feeds
B. Feeding (surely, something will be better)
C. They feed (still incorrect with the comma)
D. which feeds (This corrects the sentence. MARK IT ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET AND MOVE TO YOUR NEXT QUESTION. YOU HAVE ALREADY ELIMINATED MORE THAN ONE OR TWO INCORRECT ANSWERS.)judiethcarol&rocketcatApril2010c http:www.coolrocketschool.org
