SAT Writing section techniques, strategies & approaches
SAT Writing Section Techniques, Strategies & Approaches
- article incomplete - under construction
- Note on abbreviations
- IC = "independent clause"
- DC = "dependent clause"
- SV = "Subject Verb"
- SVO = "Subject Verb Object"
- CB = College Board
- all practice tests referenced or excerpted here are from the [College Board Official Practice Test Suite]
Overview
- 4 passages, 35 minutes
- = 8.75 minutes per passage
- 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
General approach
- always practice on paper using booklet form
- unlike on the Reading section, for the Writing section, students are advised to review possible answers before reading the text
- speak punctuation to yourself while you read
- click EXPAND for an example
- when reading a sentence, such as "John Stevens, a prominent researcher, said, "Look at me!"
- 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
Formatting
- you will note that the Writing test will use page space in order to separate sentences or paragraphs across pages
Elimination strategies
- where possible, re-write A) NO CHANGE with the actual word
- look at possible wrong answers and identify
- how they are similar
- how they are different
- pair similar possible answers
- you will notice how possible answers tend to operate in pairs
- go for the low-hanging fruit first:
- = eliminate the easy or obvious wrong answers first
- now read the relevant sentence/s or phrase/s from the passage
- speak the punctuation so that you don't miss anything
- apply your grammar, usage, and logic rules
Identify & apply rules
- every question measures some skill, rule or logic
- by identifying the rule, students may eliminate more accurately
- rules for punctuation
- click EXPAND on elimination by punctuation rules
- get the low-hanging fruit first:
- identify a punctuation rule you know and eliminate the wrong possible answers
- ex., Practice Test 1, Writing Q3
[3] 'If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes.'
A) NO CHANGE << can pollute waterways, B) can pollute waterway's, C) could have polluted waterways, D) has polluted waterway’s,
- the easy elimination ("the low hanging fruit")
- A and C do not have the apostrophe indicating the possessive form
- B & D both have the apostrophe indicating the possessive form
- apply the possessive noun rule:
- nouns can only possess other nouns (
- only an adjective can separate a possessor noun from the possessed noun (no punctuation comes in between)
- therefore B & D must be wrong because the possessive noun "waterway's" is followed by a comma ("waterway's,") and a verb "depleting"
- rules for usage
- rules for logic & chronology
Parts of Speech
- identifying parts of speech will yield higher scores
- see this article for Parts of speech
Pronouns
Punctuation
- the purpose of punctuation is to mimic on paper verbal, or spoken, language
- ex., periods and commas mark spoken pauses between sentences and sentence parts
- however, for written language, punctuation provides additional guidance to a reader that does not exist in spoken language
- ex., semicolons are not differentiated from other forms of pause in spoken language
- ex., periods and commas mark spoken pauses between sentences and sentence parts
periods
- periods mark a full stop between complete sentences
- see Independent clause (IC) below for what constitutes a complete sentence
- eliminate periods in possible answers when there is not an IC on both sides of the period.
- the SAT will not ask to distinguish between use of other punctuation that separates independent clauses
- such as semicolons and commas (+ conjunction)
- periods separate complete sentences from each other as distinct thoughts
- i.e., IC << . >> IC
- semicolons juxtapose sentences for comparison
- i.e., IC >> ; << IC
- commas + conjunction combine sentences and ideas into a single thought, with each IC weighed equally
- i.e., IC <=> , + <=> IC
- periods separate complete sentences from each other as distinct thoughts
- such as semicolons and commas (+ conjunction)
semicolons
commas
Sentence structure
Independent clause
- "Independent Clause" (IC) is a complete sentence and thought
- IC contains SUBJECT VERB at a minimum (SV)
- IC usually contains SUBJECT VERB OBJECT (SVO)
- since SUBJECT VERB OBJECT form the core of a sentence there is no punctuation separating them, with the following exceptions:
- parenthetical information (commas, dashes and parentheses) can separate SVO from each other
- i.e., S (parenthetical info) V (parenthetical info) O
- lists of SVO
- click EXPAND for examples of parenthetical separation of S from V and O:
- parentheses: (parenthetical info) V (parenthetical info) O
- commas: S, parenthetical info, V, parenthetical info, O
- dashes: S -- parenthetical info -- V -- parenthetical info -- O
- ex. "Alex, an experienced pilot, landed the plane expertly."
- S= Alex V= landed O= plane
- other parenthetical punctuation:
- "Alex (an experienced pilot) landed the plane expertly."
- "Alex -- an experienced pilot -- landed the plane expertly."
- two commas, two dashes or two parentheses = parenthetical phrase
- ex. Alex, and experienced pilot, landed, for the second time that day, the plane expertly.
- this is an awkward sentence but using it here to demonstrate how commas can separate a SUBJECT VERB OBJECT if used parenthetically
- ex. Alex, and experienced pilot, landed, for the second time that day, the plane expertly.
- click EXPAND for example of SVO lists:
- S, S V O
- S, S and S V and V O
- S, S and S V, and V O
- S, S and S V, V and V O and O
- S, S and S V, V and V O, O and O
- note that with commas that separate a subject, verb, and/or object the final word in the list must not be separated from the related S V or O
- ex.
- "Alex, Nia, and Joan are all experienced pilots"
- "Alex, Nia, and Joan relied on, used, and proved their skills by landing their planes expertly"
Dependent clause
- "Dependent Clause" (DC) is not complete sentence and thought
- also called "subordinate clause"
- DC lacks either a SUBJECT or a VERB
- DC clauses are therefore attached to an IC that completes the clause as a complete sentence and/or thought
- DC clauses add information to but are not necessary for the IC to make sense
Click EXPAND for examples
- "Going to the store" = not a complete thought or sentence
- "Going to the store, I realized I left my wallet at home."
Dominant clause
- dominant clause is another name for an IC
- the dominant clause is that part of the sentence that makes the complete and most important, or "dominant" thought of the phrase
- i.e., the main clause or point of a sentence
- everything else is additional information
- for the SAT test, the "dominant clause" is that core idea of a sentence that is the focus of the sentence
- SAT tests measure emphasis shift
- emphasis shift measures if the correct form of the sentence "emphasizes" the core or main idea of the sentence
- passive voice de-emphasizes the dominant clause
- i.e. OBJECT VERB SUBJECT
- dominant clauses employ direct voice, i.e. SVO
Subordinate clause
- subordinate clause is another name for a DC
- subordinate clauses are usually those clauses that are formed by adding a subordinating conjunction
- more generally, subordinate clauses mark additional and not required or requisite information that is expressed in the dominant clause
Subordinating conjunction
- Subordinating conjunction "subordinates" an IC into a DC
- i.e, (SC) renders or turns an IC into a DC
- the reason is the the SC creates the need for additional information after the SVO
- ex. "I love baseball" = a complete sentence and thought
- by adding a SC to the sentence, it is no longer a complete thought:
- ex. "Since I love baseball"
- "Since" = SC and it "subordinates the IC "I love baseball" by creating the need for additional information in order to complete the thought:
- "Since I love baseball, I watch it every chance I get."
- See here list of and more on Subordinating conjunctions
Sentence placement
Transition words
- 1. ignore the transition word in the passage and re-write it next to A) NO CHANGE
- 2. translate the transition words into your own language
- see Transition words translations
- ex., "nevertheless" = "yeah, but" or "anyway"
- 3. identify if any two transition words are synonymous
- if both mean the same thing (are synonymous), they can't both be right, so eliminate
- ex., "However" and "Yet" = synonymous, so eliminate
- 4. identify if the transition word is generally positive or negative, i.e,
- click EXPAND to see table
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
expands | contrasts |
explains | contradicts |
restates | states an opposite |
adds information | offers alternative |
gives example | Says "yes... but" |
compares | |
draws a conclusion from | |
follows chronologically or creates a sequence |
- see also Transition words translations
- 5. NOW read the sentences
- don't summarize, simplify (to avoid misconstruing the meanings)
- ex. College Board practice test 6, Writing question 8
- click EXPAND to see transition sentences example from Test 6
"The research demonstrated a clear correlation between introducing phosphates and the growth of blue-green algae. [9] For example, legislators in Canada passed laws banning phosphates in laundry detergents, which had been entering the water supply"
- re-read as:
- Sentence 1: "The research demonstrated correlation between phosphates and blue-green algae."
- Sentence 2: "[____ ] legislators passed laws banning phosphates"
- re-read as:
- NOW assess the relationship between the two sentences WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE POSSIBLE ANSWERS
- Does sentence 2 support/expand, etc. (POSITIVE) or contrast/contradict, etc. (NEGATIVE) sentence 2?
- NOW anticipate the correct answer IN YOUR OWN WORDS
- eliminate
- click on EXPAND to see the anticipation
- Sentence 2: "[____ ] legislators passed laws banning phosphates"
- does what to:
- Sentence 1: "The research demonstrated correlation between phosphates and blue-green algae."
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
expands NO | contrasts NO |
explains NO | contradictsNO |
restates NO | states an oppositeNO |
adds information MAYBE | offers alternative DOES NOT CONTRADICT |
gives example NO | Says "yes... but" NO |
compares NO | |
draws a conclusion from NO | |
follows chronologically or creates a sequence MAYBE |
- NOW eliminate
- A) For example, << NO bc Sentence 2 does not give an example of Sentence 1
- B) Similarly, << NO bc Sentence 2 does not make a comparison to Sentence 1
- C) However, << NO bc Sentence 2 does not draw an opposite
- D) Subsequently, << YES bc Sentence logically follows chronologically Sentence 1
- NOW eliminate
Idiomatic words & usage
- "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 identify the correct idiomatic expression