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

* SAT Writing Section Test Directions

** the test instructs students to answer questions based upon:

**** clear, concise and precise language

**** direct voice

**** word & [[syntax]] choices that focus on the main point and most effectively convey that idea

***** i.e., not wordy, not redundant, not passive voice, no unclear pronoun references

*** ''interpret graphs and apply to text corrections''

**** graphs in the Writing section are often purely textual (i.e, the information is in the graph and does not require inference)

== Quick start Writing Section strategies & approaches ==

** these will help answer "passage" and "conclusion" questions

** but it helps to eliminate such things as

** examples

**** make sure they are doing the same thing and if so eliminate (they don't always do the same thing)

** i.e, "Books about sailing is/ are fun"

*** "about sailing" is a preposition phrase, so the subject-verb matching is "books" and the plural "are"

** ex.: "The satellite ran out of fuel that it depended on to stay in orbit"  

*** = no punctuation or pauses because all the information is required for the sentence to make sense

** effect = noun

** affect = verb

** i.e. read "it's" as "it is" and "they're" as "they are"

** nouns can only possess nouns, so if a noun possesses a verb or a preposition, it is wrong

** note that some possible answers w/ possessives nouns are actually indirect and direct objects

*** i.e., "She gave her brother's presents" = she gave away the presents that belonged to her brother, as opposed to

** independent clause: a sentence part that has a subject + verb AND stands as a complete thought (i.e. could be a sentence by itself)

** dependent clause (or subordinate clause): a sentence part that has a subject + verb BUT does make a complete thought

== 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"'''

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* subjects and verbs match singular vs. plural forms

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

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* 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

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=== 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

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*** 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

* the Parts of Speech are generally considered:  

* 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

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click EXPAND for additional eliminations and the correct answer:

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== 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 ==

** proper nouns are capitalized

=== appositive: nouns as parenthetical or introductory phrases ===

* "appositive" is from Latin for "to put near"

* = nouns that explain another noun (or pronouns)

* appositives used parenthetically:

** "Steve, my little brother, hates Minecraft."

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== Verb ==

** “He went to the store, bought food, and returned home.”

=== subject-verb agreement ===

* for SAT Writing, maintain subject-verb agreement  

** i.e. singular subject = singular verb form

* identify the correct noun as subject, as test will try to confuse subject nouns from relative nouns

=== transitive v. intransitive verbs ===

* transitive verbs require an object:  

** https://www.theclassroom.com/identify-function-infinitive-sentence-2604.html

** https://www.dailywritingtips.com/grammar-review-1-particles-and-phrasal-verbs/

== 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

** which thereby matches to the singular, past tense A) was teeming

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* see:  

** [https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/dangling_modifiers_and_how_to_correct_them.htm dangling modifiers (owl.purdue.edu)]

* 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:

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** 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)]]

Click EXPAND for an example from CB Test 6, Writing question no. 21, on how to eliminate idiomatic possible answers using grammar rules:

|A) ||'''Burland'''|| '''advocated'''|| '''using'''|| '''soil'''|| '''extraction'''

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|B) ||'''Burland'''|| '''advocated'''|| '''to use '''|| '''soil'''|| '''extraction'''

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|C) ||'''Burland'''|| '''advocated'''|| '''the using'''|| '''of soil'''|| '''extraction'''

|D) ||'''Burland'''|| '''advocating'''|| '''to use'''|| '''soil'''|| '''extraction'''

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|}

* C) correctly uses noun "the using" (gerund) but incorrectly uses the preposition "of soil extraction" a modifier of "the using"

* D) incorrectly uses the verb "advocating" without the auxiliary verb "was"; otherwise it incorrectly does not create a complete independent clause

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=== Modifiers usage ===

* modifiers = words or phrases that change the meaning of other words or phrases

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

* Writing section vocabulary questions are never antonyms  

*** any adverbs?  

** is it part of the main clause or a subordinate clause?  

== Grammar and punctuation rules ==

* avoid repetition and unnecessary pronouns

* avoid [[#Emphasis shift]] errors