SAT WIMBA CLASSROOM CRITICAL READING SENTENCE COMPLETION FIRST

SAT WIMBA CLASSROOM CRITICAL READING – SENTENCE COMPLETION

FIRST – ANY QUESTIONS?

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 Remember that the SAT is designed for care. LESS readers, so notice the details!

DON’T SKIP A QUESTION BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW ALL THE WORDS! Use elimination Use DECODING Use good word / bad word

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 Notice “whereas” ? Opposite idea 2) My guess would be “daytime” 3) Eliminate colorful, brilliant – so now guess if in first 2/3 of questions (Easy, Medium, Hard) 4) Nocturnal in first one – opposite is diurnal? 1)

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!!!!!

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

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

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

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.