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Sat prep presentation
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- 2. Agenda • Sign upat the door with your email to receive electronic copy of full package • Intro • SATs: the basics • Overview of the three sections • Study Tips
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- 5. Part 1: Essay •Weight: 33% of writing section • 25 minutes total • Always the first section of exam
- 6. Suggested Time Strategy •3 minutes to think about topic • Write for 20 minutes • Use 2 minutes at the end to check over everything (if you don’t have time to check everything over, check the first and last sentences)
- 7. Suggested Writing Strategy •Decide how many paragraphs you are able to write within time • Clearly develop position in first paragraph (“thesis”) • Use at least 1 personal example (e.g. personal experience) and 1 general example (e.g. in the news, a book, etc.) • There is no “point proof explanation”, as long as it flows and makes sense holistically • Use humour, be creative, etc. (just don’t be racist…) Always link your supporting arguments back to the question
- 8. Tips for theconclusion • DON’T BE REDUNDANT • BE CREATIVE • DON’T INTRODUCE NEW IDEAS
- 9. Sample question (from October2012 test) You are given a box with text that is supposed to “lead you in the right direction”. You can take ideas from this text but you can also choose to ignore it: “The idea of caring about only the people of one's own country seems outdated. Some people still defend this attitude, claiming that if we are going to expend resources to help people, we should help those of our own country first. But national boundaries are meaningless lines that shift over time. There is no reason why a citizen of one country should not feel just as responsible for the well-being of people in other countries as for the well-being of those in his or her own country.”
- 10. Sample question (from October2012 test) What your essay should focus on is answering the question that comes after the text: “ASSIGNMENT: Should we care just as much about people in other countries as we do about people in our own country?”
- 11. Sample question (from October2012 test) The sentence that follows the question is the same for EVERY TEST & EVERY QUESTION. Remember what these words say and don’t waste time on the test reading it: “Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.”
- 12. You try! The ideaof caring about only the people of one's own country seems outdated. Some people still defend this attitude, claiming that if we are going to expend resources to help people, we should help those of our own country first. But national boundaries are meaningless lines that shift over time. There is no reason why a citizen of one country should not feel just as responsible for the well-being of people in other countries as for the well-being of those in his or her own country. ASSIGNMENT: Should we care just as much about people in other countries as we do about people in our own country?
- 13. NOTE Don’t stress aboutnot doing well on the essay! It could only hurt your performance on the rest of the exam.
- 14. Part 2: MultipleChoice 2 sections: • 25 minutes • 10 minutes (always the last section) 3 types: • Identify sentence errors • Sentence correction (improving sentences) • Editing in context (improving paragraphs)
- 15. Identifying Sentence Errors •Reread the sentence • There are many sentences with NO errors (option E), so don’t overthink it • You must circle one of the underlined words or phrases, or circle “No Error”
- 16. Sentence Corrections • OptionA is “no change”, i.e. the sentence should be kept the way it is • Option B,C,D,E give you alternate sentences • ALWAYS GO WITH THE MOST SIMPLE ONE • The most complicated ones are usually wrong • THE ENTIRE PHRASE HAS TO BE UNDERLINED TO BE ‘WRONG’ • ALWAYS AVOID PASSIVE TENSE
- 17. Paragraph Correction • Youwill be given a paragraph to read, and questions will ask you to correct sentences in the paragraph • (Same as Sentence Correction) • Be wary of context
- 18. Common Mistakes ME vs.I • Abby and I went to the store. CORRECT • Abby and me went to the store. INCORRECT • He came with Abby and me to the store. CORRECT • He came with Abby and I to the store. INCORRECT ^ In these cases, take out the name and see if the sentence makes sense with just “I” or “me” in it if it does, then it is correct
- 19. Common Mistakes Comparing theSame Objects • Alice’s tree is taller than Jimmy. • Alice’s tree is taller than Jimmy’s • Alice’s tree is taller than that of Jimmy. NEGATION IS ALWAYS SINGULAR • Neither Alice or Jimmy passed the exam. • Neither Alice nor Jimmy passed the exam. • Either Alice or Jimmy passed the exam.
- 20. Common Mistakes MAKE SURETHE TENSES AGREE • Neither Alice nor Jimmy are smart. • Neither Alice nor Jimmy is smart. MAKE SURE THE NUMBERS AGREE • Alice thinks that Jimmy did not like to grow trees • Alice thinks that Jimmy does not like to grow trees.
- 21. Common Mistakes Cont’d… • Aliceand Alicia think that she cannot grow a tree • Alice and Alicia think that they cannot grow a tree • The suspect in question has escaped. They would have gotten to the border by today. • The suspect in question has escaped. He would have gotten to the border by today.
- 22. Common Mistakes And obviously… •I walk • You walk • She/he walks • They walk
- 23. You try! • (pdf) •Sentence correction: pg. 45 (5 min) • Identifying Errors: pg. 22 (5 min)
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- 25. Part 1: SentenceCompletion 3 sections: • 25 minutes • 25 minutes • 20 minutes Fill-in-the-blanks
- 26. Part 1: SentenceCompletion • You will need extensive vocabulary for this (flashcards) • The only way you’re going to get a good score in this section is if you know what the words mean • CollegeBoard likes to use words that have somewhat similar meanings so guessing will be difficult
- 27. Part 1: SentenceCompletion Strategy • Determine if the word in the blank is POSITIVE or NEGATIVE E.g. “Alice was so _____ that she slapped Jimmy”; “happy” or “pleased” can obviously be eliminated) • For double blanks, BOTH words must fit Decide whether the two words are similar or opposite
- 28. Part 2: Reading Comprehension 4types: • 1 short passage + 1 short passage • 2 short passages combined • 1 long passage • 2 long passages combined
- 29. Part 2: Reading Comprehension •In-text analysis: avoid extreme statements • Only choose when text EXPLICITLY makes this statement • Most of the time, statements that can QUALIFY and allow FLEXIBILITY are safer
- 30. Part 2: Reading Comprehension Fordouble passages: • Read the first passage then answer the first few questions then continue to second passage • When comparing two passages… • Option must contain correct facts about both passages
- 31. Part 2: Reading Comprehension Forall passages: • UNDERLINE important words or phrases (i.e. the ones that reflect the main character’s personality, actions, etc.)
- 32. FUN FACT If youget a text analysis question about a racial minority (or any race at all), the answer will be something positive because CollegeBoard doesn’t want to offend anyone. • E.g. Passage 1 depicts Asians as: • a) hardworking • b) unnecessarily overstressed • c) anal and uptight …you can be sure that the answer will be a) without even looking at the text
- 33. You try! • (Pdf) •Sentence completion pg. 15 • Reading comprehension pg. 16
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Editor's Notes
- #13 5 minutes Write introduction OR write introduction and list out arguments