This document provides strategies for completing sentence completion questions on the SAT critical reading section. It advises students to cover the answer choices, focus on punctuation and conjunctions, determine if the blank needs a positive or negative word, and eliminate wrong answers through decoding and identifying good versus bad word choices. An example question is worked through step-by-step to demonstrate these strategies. The document emphasizes careful reading, elimination of implausible answers, and making educated guesses when unsure.

1. SAT PREP
CRITICAL READING – SENTENCE COMPLETION

2. STRATEGIES FOR SENTENCE
COMPLETION
COVER THE ANSWERS
 TRY TO PUT IN YOUR OWN WORD
 CIRCLE / MARK ALL PUNCTUATION AND
CONJUNCTIONS (they are SO important in
sentence completion questions)
 DECIDE IF POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE – “GOOD
WORD” OR “BAD WORD”???
 ELIMINATE, ELIMINATE, ELIMINATE
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Remember that the SAT is designed for
careLESS readers, so notice the details!

3. DON’T SKIP A QUESTION BECAUSE YOU DON’T
KNOW ALL THE WORDS!
Use elimination
 Use DECODING
 Use good word / bad word
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4. LET’S TRY ONE!
Moths are nocturnal pollinators, visiting scented
flower during the hours of darkness, whereas the
butterflies are ____ , attracted to bright flowers in
the daytime.
A. diurnal
B. quotidian
C. colorful
D. ephemeral
E. brilliant
1)
2)
3)
4)
Notice “whereas” ? Opposite idea
My guess would be “daytime”
Eliminate colorful, brilliant – so now guess if in first 2/3
of questions (Easy, Medium, Hard)
Nocturnal in first one – opposite is diurnal?

5. 
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The Victorian middle class woman was ____ by
restraints, obligations and ____ that prevented her from
achieving economic independence.
A. hampered - aspirations
B. emancipated - strictures
C. fettered - responsibilities
D. ensnared - possibilities
E. surrounded - freedoms
1) list of 3.. (restraints, obligations, __) – bad word
2) key words “that prevented” – so first blank is “bad word” –
second blank is parallel to list
3) first blank --- ELIMINATE (b) emancipated = good, (e)
surrounded=neutral
4) second blank -- ELIMINATE (a) good word, (d) good word
–
GUESS WHAT – only 1 left – C!!!!!

6. YOU TRY ONE~!
There is great unevenness in his later plays; there
are moments of the greatest ____ in the midst of
great ____.
 A. lucidity - enlightenment
B. frivolity - triteness
C. insight - banality
D. obscurity - ambivalence
E. profundity - wisdom
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7. ANSWER?
First, I look at the questions – the first part suggests
UNEVENNESS – so I know the two words will be
opposite ones.
 That means I can eliminate A – both have “light”
meanings
 I can eliminate E – profound and wise
 Both words in B are closely related
 Of the two left (even if I’m not sure of the meaning
of all words), I should make an educated guess –
since “obscure” and “ambivalent” are really
opposites, I will choose C – insight and banality


8. TRY THIS ONE!
The success of the business venture ____ his
expectations; he never thought that the firm would
prosper.
 A. confirmed
B. belied
C. nullified
D. fulfilled
E. ratified
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9. ANSWER
In examining the sentence, there are two clauses
joined by a semicolon (;) – the second explains the
first.
 The second clause suggest that he was surprised –
so I can eliminate ALL of them except B – “belied” -- even if I don’t know what that word means – I
have eliminated the rest – B is the correct answer.
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