Getting Ready for the SAT

UNF SOAR Cohort 8

Spring 2007

SAT Reasoning Test

This is a standardized test, so colleges can

rank you against other students who take the test.

Measures YOUR critical thinking skills to help predict how well you will do in college.

The test measures your Math, Critical Readingand Writing skills

ScoringThe MAXIMUM score on the

SAT Reasoning test is 2400

(it used to be 1600)

You can score

up to 800

for each of the three subtests.

Test Taking Strategies

• Read and think carefully• Keep track of time during the test, work at

a steady even pace, but KEEP MOVING• Answer the easy questions first• Don’t panic if you can’t answer every

question, skip questions you can’t answer without spending a lot of time on

• Mark each question you don’t answer so that you can easily go back to it later

Test Taking Strategies

• Use your test book for scratch work and mark questions to go back to

• Check your answer sheet regularly to make sure you are in the right place

• Keep in mind that most questions in a section will range from easy to hard, except for passage-based reading questions and improving paragraphs

• Read ALL the answers to a critical reading or writing question before choosing your answer

• Make drawings to help you figure out math word problems

Test Day• Eat a good breakfast

• Bring a picture ID

• Bring your SAT Admissions Ticket

• Bring two #2 pencils

• Bring an appropriate calculator

• Be on time

• NO CELL PHONES

How long is the test ?

One 25 minute Essay (1st section)

Six 25 minutes sections

Two 20 minute sections

One 10 minute multiple choice writing section (comes last)

3 hours and 45 minutes

Scoring

• GET 1 point for every correct answer

• Don’t earn or lose points for questions you omit

• LOSE ¼ point for each wrong answer on a multiple choice question

• NO POINT DEDUCTION if you miss a math grid-in question

What should you do??

Activity 1

Guessing

• Make an educated guess when you can eliminate at least one choice.

• The more incorrect choices you can eliminate, the better your chance of making an educated guess and getting it right.

• Cross out the answers you know are wrong so you can clearly see which choices remain.

Pacing• Keep moving• Questions are ordered by difficulty level (except

Critical Reading)• Spend time on the questions that you have the

best chance of getting right• Keep track of time, set up a schedule• Know which questions are best for you• All questions are worth the same• Go back and try the questions that you skipped• Check your answers

Critical Readingfill in the blank – 2 strategies

• Try coming up with your own answers before you read the test answers

• Look for Key Words such as introductory and transitional words that will help you figure out if you are looking for words that are:– similar– opposites– cause and effect

Directions: Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicates that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or sets of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the

sentence as a whole.

• Hoping to ----- the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ----- to both labor and management.

What words would fit in the blanks?

Hoping to ----- the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ----- to both labor and management.

(A) enforce… useful(B) end… divisive(C) overcome… unattractive(D) extend… satisfactory(E) resolve… acceptable

Directions: Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicates that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or sets of words that, when inserted in the

sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole

• Although a few contemporaries------ the book, most either ignored or mocked it.

HINT: Look at Although and most. They are Key Words that can help get the right answer.

Although a few contemporaries ------ the book, most either ignored or mocked it.

(A) degraded

(B) disregarded

(C) ridiculed

(D) slighted

(E) appreciated

Using Key Words to Fill in the Blanks

Activity 2

Work with a partner to identify

Key Words

and to fill in the blanks with words that you think make sense.

1.If your garden plot is small, it will

not pay to grow crops that require a

large amount of ----- in order to

develop.

(A) sun

(B) rain

(C) fertilizer

(D) space

(E) care

2. At a recent press conference, the

usually reserved biochemist was

unexpectedly ----- in addressing

the ethical questions posed by her

work.

(A) correct

(B) forthright

(C) inarticulate

(D) retentive

(E) cautious

3. Despite her---- nature, DeMott wascapable of tactful negotiation and even won praise for her efforts toward ---- when a local squabble developed.

(A) diplomatic….amity(B) congenial…concord(C) altruistic…dissension(D) rebellious…insurrection(E) tempestuous…reconciliation

Hint: look at the second blank first!

4. Many famous scientific inventions have been -----, the by-products of research whose goals were quite unrelated.

(A) fortuitous(B) neglected(C) inoperable(D) lucrative(E) unfeasible

5. The excitement does not ----- but

----- his senses, giving him a keener

perception of a thousand details.

(A) slow….diverts

(B) blur….sharpen

(C) overrule….constricts

(D) heighten….aggravates

(E) forewarn….quickens

Hint: “but’ indicates the answers will be opposites

6. In many Latin American countries,

work performed by women is often

conducted outside the commercial

sector and is, therefore, unfortunately

---------- by economists compiling

national statistics.

(A) monopolized

(B) approved

(C) overlooked

(D) subdued

(E) analyzed

Passages• The passages are about 100-850 words

long.• Some selections are from single sources

and others are pairs of related passages on a related issue or theme.

• Subjects cover humanities, social studies, science, and fiction.

• Passages may be narrative, persuasive, and/or expository.

Approaches to Reading the Passages

• Mark the passages to make short notes

• Use your knowledge and experience carefully

• Read actively

• If you are having a hard time reading the passage, READ THE QUESTIONS FIRST.

Answering the Questions

• Remember…..the answers are IN the passage

• Read the questions and answers CAREFULLY

• Try eliminating choices before selecting an answer

• Don’t jump from passage to passage

Writing – 2 PartsEssay

You will have

25 minutes

to write a First DRAFT of an essay.

It’s the first test!

Multiple-choice Questions

• Identify sentence errors

• Improve sentences• Improve paragraphs

10 minutes- it’s the last test!

Sample QuestionDirections: The following sentences test your ability to recognize grammar and

usage errors. Each sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. No

sentence contains more than one error. The error, if there is one, is underlined and

lettered. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlines part that must be

changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct. Select choice E. In

choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

The other delegates and him immediately accepted the resolution

A B C

drafted by the neutral states. No error.

D E

Remember…• Read each sentence quickly but carefully.• Examine the underlined choices (A) to (D). Consider

which kind of correction may be needed for each one.• Look for the most common mistake people make in

grammar: subject/verb agreement, pronoun agreement, and adjective/verb confusion.

• Remember that some sentences have no errors.• Move quickly through the questions.• Mark questions that you have skipped in your test

booklet.

How can you improve these sentences?

Here is a a better way-

“I read in our daily newspaper that the air quality index reached unhealthy levels.”

“I read that the air quality index reached unhealthy levels in our daily newspaper.”

“When looking for bargains, the small shops off the main street usually offer good sales prices”

Here is a better way…..

“The small shops off the main street usually offer good sales prices to shoppers looking for bargains.”

Pop Quiz

Name a test taking strategy for the

SAT…..

Math44 multiple choice questions

10 grid ins

Numbers, Operations, Algebra, Geometry,

Measurement, Data Analysis, Statistics, Probability

Hints• Know the directions ahead of time

• Don’t spend too much time on any question

• Work out the problems in your test booklet

• Try and eliminate answers. Cross them out in your test booklet.

• Don’t guess unless you can eliminate at least one answer.

Math Reference Information

• Check your PSAT book for the reference information they will GIVE you, such as formulas and the number of degrees in a circle.

• Usually figures are drawn to scale. Pay close attention when it says “Not drawn to scale”.

Calculator Use• Bring a calculator you are familiar with

• The problems can all be solved without a calculator, but using one can save time.

• Using a calculator can help avoid answering a wrong problem because of a calculation error.

Math Quick Test

Activity 3Pair up with a partner and see how

many you can answer correctly.

5 minutes

Math Multiple Choice• What is the question asking? What do I

know?

• Work the problems in your test book.

• Substitute numbers when they give you variables (letters) in a problem.

• Try substituting in the answer choices (working it backwards).

Student Produced Response

• Remember that only the answers that are entered on the grid will be scored. (If you don’t bubble you don’t get credit!)

• Some questions have more than one correct answer, you can grid any of them and get full credit

• Mixed numbers like 3 ½ have to be gridded as 3.5 OR 7/2.

• You can start your answers from the left or the right _201 OR 201_

Evaluation time !