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"

* '''the shortest answer is usually correct (80/20% rule)'''

* '''if two possible answers are synonymous, they both are wrong'''

** 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)

** 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

== Quick start guides for punctuation & grammar rules ==

== 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

* '''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)

** 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."

* 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 logic & chronology

=== adverbs used to combine independent clauses ===

* especially "however," which cannot combine independent clauses

* misplaced or dangling modifier

=== object preposition mistaken for subject ===

=== parallelism mistakes ===

* comparison mismatch

* lists mismatch or inconsistency

== Parts of speech & rules ==

*** therefore we eliminate A) because "workers" do not possess "opportunities", they are being "offered them," so C)  

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== Pronoun ==

* "noun" = "word"

** therefore, pronoun = "for the word"

=== pronoun reference/ antecedent ===  

* pronouns are a reference to a previously (or sometimes later) stated noun or idea

** pronoun precedent (pronoun comes before the noun) to a subsequently stated noun (uncommon):

*** "It went well, but the test was still hard."

=== pronoun functions in Writing section questions ===

* in the Writing section, pronouns mark important distinctions for:

** dependent clauses

*** especially subordinate clauses ("..., which are ....") and relative clauses ("... that are...")

=== "any" and other pronouns with multiple parts of speech (not always a pronoun) ===

* pronouns can also be determiners, subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns that act distinctly

*** thus, "using" and "funds" are a modifying phrase to describe "project"

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=== personal v. relative pronoun ===

* personal pronoun  

**** "of whom" = prepositional phrase (adverbial as it modifies "are")

**** "whom" refers to "the players"

== 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:

* 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)]

** 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:

* 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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** 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