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

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

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

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

Suggested approach:

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 words

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"

6. 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?

7. NOW anticipate the correct answer IN YOUR OWN WORDS

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

8. 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
- So the answer is D)

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