SAT Writing section techniques, strategies & approaches: Difference between revisions

'''SAT Writing Section Techniques, Strategies & Approaches'''

* Note on abbreviations

** DC = "dependent clause"

** SV = "subject + verb"

** SVO = "subject + verb + object"

** SJ = subordinating conjunction

** CB = College Board

== Writing section overview ==

* SAT Writing Section Test Directions

*SAT Writing Test Structure

** students have 35 min. to answer 44 questions

*** = average of 8:45 min per passage

== BIG IDEAS ==

* use the test to answer itself

* read punctuation "out loud" to yourself" so as not to miss it

=== Passage titles ===

** titles express author intent

** titles are frequently a thesis statements (no other details are provided)  

** titles generally answer the last question on each passage (not always)

* difficulty level is based on the passage and not the questions

** there can be difficult questions on easy passages, but the bulk of "hard" questions will coincide with difficult passages

=== Parallelism ===  

* the SAT Writing test frequently measures "parallelism"

** if one verb is in the past, then (usually) the other verbs in the sentence must also maintain "parallel" tense, i.e. also be in the past tense

* ex.

* '''the correct answer B) was matches or is "parallel" to the verb "were" from "Children were entertained"'''

</div>

* subjects and verbs match singular vs. plural forms

** = a form of "parallel" structure (i.e, matching singular or plural subjects and verbs)

|}

</div>

* when making a comparison, we must compare similar, or parallel, things

** thus the grammar of comparisons must also be parallel

** the SAT Writing measures student ability to maintain parallel comparisons

* ex.:

* or

** "Looking at the results, it is clear that the students who did study hard performed better on the test than did students who did not study hard."

** note that question 19 correct answer "D) sets up correct reading of question no. 20

</div>

=== Practice ===

* note that A) ''In conclusion'' and B) ''Finally'' are synonymous, since both can't be right, they ar eboth wrong.  

* the correct answer is B) Finally as it expresses a correct chronology

=== Timed test ===

* all SAT sections are timed

* click EXPAND for an example

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

*** read it as, "John Stevens, ["comma"] a prominent researcher, ["comma"] said, ["comma"] "["quotation mark"] Look at me!["exclamation point"]"["close quotation mark"]

*** this help you to identify important punctuation in sentences that you may otherwise miss

* rules for usage

* rules for logic & chronology

== Parts of speech & rules ==

* identifying parts of speech will yield higher scores

* below sections will expand on word parts of speech and their associated rules and applications to the SAT Writing test

D) draped with festive red banners

</pre>

click EXPAND for additional eliminations and the correct answer:

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

</div>

</div>

== Adverb ==

* other adverbs include, very, much, more, many

* for the SAT Writing, note that '''however''' is an adverb and not a coordinating conjunction ("fanboys")

== Noun ==

* nouns = people, places things, act as subjects or objects

** proper nouns are capitalized

=== noun modifying another noun (attributive noun) ===

</div>

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

** ex.: "On my way to to the store, I saw my friend" v. "Going to the store, I saw my friend"

*** both express the same idea using different grammatical forms

== Punctuation ==

**** i.e., IC <=> , + <=> IC

=== Semicolon ===  

* eliminate semicolons if there are not ICs on both sides of the semicolon

=== comma ===

* commas create a pause

* note that many other languages have the possessive pronoun

** however, they lack the apostrophe indicator for nouns, thus instead of using the apostrophe to indicate possession ("the dog's toy") they structure the idea as "of" or "belonging to", as in, "the toy of the dog" or the toy that belongs to the dog"

=== apostrophes for contraction ===

* contractions are used for "to be" words to join the subject and the verb via the apostrophe, as in:

*** such use is informal and is mimicking the slurring of a noun with "is"  

*** note that since the 's causes confusion with the possessive form of the apostrophe, in written English, the subject-verb contraction is avoided

== Phrase ==

* phrases are used to add information to a sentence or modify one of its parts

** "In the afternoon..." = a prepositional phrase

=== gerund phrases ===

* gerunds  

* SAT Writing test generally does not test for gerunds, although they will appear in the text

* = verb phrases that act as an adjective

* participle = a verb that functions as an adjective, usually in the past tense or -ing form

* as an adjective:

** ex.: "Songs sung softly are soothing"

** ex.: "Smiling grandly, she won the choral competition"  

*** = unclear if she won the competition ''because'' she was "smiling grandly" or if she was "smiling grandly" ''when'' she won the tournament

=== prepositional phrase ===

* for SAT Writing identify prepositions in order to:

** to distinguish the subject of a sentence from other words that might be confused with the subject in wrong possible answers

** to get rid of unimportant information in order to better read the sentence and answer the question

click EXPAND for an example of ignoring prepositional phrases from [https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/sat-practice-test-9.pdf Practice Test 9 Writing question 5]:

* students can see look at these transition sentences the same way they do transition words (above), i.e.:

** does it provide a positive or negative transition?

** does it contrast or change the subject?

click expand for an example from [https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/sat-practice-test-8.pdf CB Writing practice test 8, question 10] on a transition topic sentence:

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

** not generally included on the SAT

* "idiomatic" = words, phrases or expresses that have no set rule and exist from common usage

** idiomatic is different from "informal" or colloquial (local, common) language

* By definition idiomatic words have no set rule

* HOWEVER, on the SAT Writing section, students can use elimination techniques to eliminate down to the correct idiomatic expression

* see this video for demonstration of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV7QK_ex0jQ&list=PLyC6Fj2OdXlpDypu0__dsv5y6EZS5NpmH&index=1&t=4s on elimination techniques with idiomatic & vocabulary questions (by Michael Bromley)]]

=== Modifiers usage ===

*** does the new sentence focus on the main idea?

*** avoid passive voice & subject -verb inversion (placing the subject after the verb)

== "Command of Evidence” questions: adding or deleting text ==

** then decide between "yes" or "no"

== Grammar and punctuation rules ==

* avoid repetition and unnecessary pronouns

* avoid [[#Emphasis shift]] errors