How the Test is Scored

How the Test Is ScoredThe SAT is scored in an unusual way. For every question you answer correctly you receive 1 raw point. For every question you answer incorrectly you lose of a point. For every question you leave blank you get 0 points.p

Look for the Wrong Answers Instead of the Right OnesWhy? Because wrong answers are usually easier to find and there are more of them.

Process of Elimination (POE)

Make an Educated Guess after POE

In fact, if you can eliminate even one incorrect choice on an SAT multiple-choice question, guessing from among the remaining choices will usually improve your score. And if you can eliminate two or three choices, you’ll be even more likely to improve your score by guessing.

For every question you answer correctly on the SAT, ETS will give you a dollar. For every multiple-choice question you leave blank, ETS will give you nothing. For every multiple-choice question you get wrong, you will have to give 25 cents back to ETS. That’s exactly the way raw scores work.

ETS gives you a dollar for the one answer you got right; you give ETS a quarter for each of the four questions you missed. Four quarters equal a dollar, so you end up exactly where you started, with nothing—which is the same thing that would have happened if you had left all five questions blank.

Now, what happens if you guess on four questions, but—for each of those questions—you can eliminate one incorrect answer choice? Random odds say you will get one question right—get a dollar—and miss the other three questions—give back 75 cents. You’ve just gained a quarter! So, guessing can work in your favor.

If you are confident that you know the answer to a question or that you know how to solve it, just go ahead and select an answer. If you are uncertain about either the answer to a question or how to solve it, see if you can eliminate any wrong answers.

Set a pacing goal to not fall into the raw score trap!

By attempting to answer all questions with the same effort will lead to a raw score deduction penalty.

Set a pacing goal for each section. The pacing goal will tell you how many questions you need to answer for each section. Your goal is to answer that number of questions.

Master the POE System to beat the Game!

take advantage of the order in which questions are asked make better use of your time by scoring the easy points first

use the Average Joe principle to eliminate obviously incorrect choices on difficult questions

find the traps that ETS has laid for you turn those traps into points

Order of Attack

Think of each section as being divided into thirds. A third of the questions should be easy. Most test takers get these questions right. Another third of the questions are of medium difficulty. Nearly half of the people taking the test get these questions right. The final third of the questions are difficult. Very few test takers answer these questions correctly.

Because most test takers try to finish every section almost every test taker hurts his or her score by rushing and making mistakes. The solution, for almost anyone scoring less than 700 on a section, is to slow down.

Attempting fewer questions and devoting more time to questions one has a better chance of answering correctly will improve one’s score.

Make sure you SLOW DOWN and focus your energy on the easy and medium questions before trying the difficult ones. Your job is to get the greatest number of points in the least amount of time.

Verbal Exam:

Critical Reading – 67 points

To get 600 – need 46 raw points

All questions should be done, but time should be unequal

Focus heavily on doing the first two-thirds part of the section

Avoid the “Average Joe” answer choice pitfall!

On easy multiple-choice questions, the answers seem right to virtually everyone

On medium multiple-choice questions, the answers seem right to high scorers, wrong to low scorers, and sometimes right and sometimes wrong to average scorers.

On hard multiple-choice questions, the answers seem right to high scorers and wrong to everyone else.

Strategy:

Easy- Choose the one that you feel and know is right

Medium- Cross out the obviously wrong one, and try not to choose the answer that is mentioned or that is familiar, and always double check!

Difficult- Cross out the ones that are obviously wrong, never choose the answer that is evident in the question or the one that feels right. The answer should never come too easy.

The problems in many groups of questions on the SAT (except Short and Long Reading) start out easy and gradually get harder.

You should never waste time trying to figure out the answer to a hard question if there are still easy questions that you haven’t tried. All questions are worth the same number of points.

On an easy SAT question, the answer that seems correct to Joe is almost always correct. On medium questions, it is sometimes

correct and sometimes not. On hard questions, the answer Joe likes is almost always wrong.

Most test takers could improve their scores significantly by attempting fewer questions and devoting more time to questions they have a chance of answering correctly.

Critical Reading

Each of the three scored Critical Reading sections on the SAT contains two types of questions: sentence completions and reading comprehension.

In sentence completion questions, you’ll be given an incomplete sentence, along with several possible ways to complete it.

In reading comprehension questions, you will be given a passage (either long or short) to read, followed by a series of questions asking you about the passage.

Critical reading questions test your ability to read and your familiarity with certain words. A strong vocabulary will help you understand what you are reading and allow you to write stronger essays.

Only the sentence completions follow a definitive order of difficulty. In general, the harder sentence completions test harder vocabulary words. Of course, there’s no such thing as a “hard” word or an “easy” word—just words you know and words you don’t know.

trust your hunches on easy questions double-check your hunches on medium questions eliminate the Average Joe answers on difficult questions go back to the passage on reading comprehension questions

On hard questions, eliminate any choice or choices that you know will be attractive to Joe.

When Joe answers a reading comprehension question, he tends to answer from memory. He doesn’t go back to the passage to verify his answer.

Critical Reading: Sentence Completion (Easy)

The questions will follow a rough order of difficulty: The first third will be easy, and the last third will be the most difficult.

Easy Questions:

Step 1: Try to read the sentence and fill in your own words

1. Even though it is a dead language, rather than fading away, Latin is now being -------.

Step 2: Identify “Trigger” words and “Clues” such as synonyms in the sentence

Words like “even though”/ “although”/ “though” are trigger words that indicate concession – the main point would most likely be the opposite. “Rather than” also shows opposition and indicates the word needed is in opposition (antonym) to “fade away”.

“Now” is an adverb time connector and most likely shows an opposition to a past state. Therefore, the word needed most like indicates the opposite to “fading” or “disappearing” and likely needs a word like “restoring”.

Step 3: Remove “unlikely” answers

(A) forgotten(B) excavated(C) mortified(D) revitalized(E) revealed

A and C can immediately be taken out because they are similar to “fade”. B is unlikely because the “ex-” root indicates something is “coming out”, but it is irrelevant to a language. D and E are left, and because we want a word that means restore, it is similar to something “coming back to life”. The “vita” in “revitalized” fits this and so D is correct.

Step 4: Avoid trying to plug in the answers into the sentence before doing the previous steps

All the words have the same tenses and they are chosen “to fit” the sentence, and can result in the choosing of a wrong answer.

Trigger words frequently used in sentences

Words causing the meaning of the required word in the same direction:

becauseandsincein factcolon (:)semicolon (;)

Meaning of the required word in opposition:

howeveralthough/thoughbutin contrast toratherdespiteyet

Meaning of the required word in support:

furthermoremoreoverbesidesfor instancelikewiselikelyadditionallythat issimilarlyalso likefor example

Sentence Completion (Easy) Practice:

Underline the trigger words and circle the clues. Then write down the words you feel can fill in the blanks

1. Because theaters refused to show it when it was first released, Citizen Kane was ------- failure, though now it is considered one of the greatest American films ever made.

A1.

2. Ironically, many of the family-owned small businesses located in the newly revitalized neighborhood downtown are so threatened by increasing rents that they may be ------- by the very economic redevelopment that the city has pursued for so long.

A2.

3. When will Hollywood directors stop producing technically slick but emotionally ------- movies and begin creating films filled with authenticity andpoignancy?

A3.

Now continue to remove the incorrect answers using the process of elimination

1. Because theaters refused to show it when it was first released, Citizen Kane was ------- failure, though now it is considered one of the greatest American films ever made.(A) a revolutionary(B) a personal(C) a commercial(D) an aesthetic(E) a perennial

2. Ironically, many of the small businesses located downtown are so threatened by increasing rents that they may be ------- by the very economic redevelopment that the city has pursued for so long.(A) buttressed(B) bankrupted(C) hindered(D) ameliorated(E) relieved

3. I hope that some day Hollywood directors will stop producing technically slick but emotionally ------- movies and begin creating films filled with authenticity and poignancy.(A) savvy(B) vacuous(C) opulent(D) urbane(E) boorish

Critical Reading: Sentence Completion (Medium to Hard)

Roughly half of all sentence completions contain two blanks. The key is to take them one blank at a time.

Medium Questions

Step 1: Read the sentence, circling the trigger word(s) and underlining the clue(s), keeping in mind that there may be a clue for each blank.

While the ------- student openly questioned the teacher’s explanation, she was not so ------- as to suggest that the teacher was wrong.

(A) complacent . . suspicious(B) inquisitive . . imprudent(C) curious . . dispassionate(D) provocative . . respectful(E) ineffectual . . brazen

Step 2: Fill in whichever blank seems easier to you. You can even recycle the clues to fill in the blanks to help

While the questioning student openly questioned the teacher’s explanation, she was not so ------- as to suggest that the teacher was wrong.

Once you have filled in one of the blanks, go to the answer choices and check just the words for that blank, using POE to get rid of answers that are not close to yours.


Step 3: Go back to the other blank, fill it in, and check the remaining choices.

While the questioning student openly questioned the teacher’s explanation, she was not so brave as to suggest that the teacher was wrong.

You do not need to check both words at one time. If one of the words doesn’t work in a blank, then it doesn’t matter what the other word is. One strike and the answer is out.


Hard questions

1) Every now and then, the clue for one of the blanks in a two-blank sentence completion turns out to be the other blank.

Here we still do Step 1: Read the sentence, circling the trigger word(s) and underlining the clue(s), keeping in mind that there may be a clue for each blank.

Most of Rick’s friends think his life is unbelievably ------- , but in fact he spends most of his time on ------- activities .

(A) fruitful . . productive(B) wasteful . . useless

(C) scintillating . . mundane(D) varied . . sportive(E) callow . . simple

Here we see that we have don’t have clear clue words to compare, but the trigger word “but in fact” shows that the word must be in opposition (one positive one negative)

(A) fruitful . . productive(B) wasteful . . useless(C) scintillating . . mundane (D) varied . . sportive(E) callow . . simple

2) In more difficult questions, sometimes the blank words are hard to interpret from the clue words, or lack a clear trigger word:

Ruskin’s vitriolic attack was the climax of the ------- heaped on paintings that today seem amazingly -------.(A) criticism . . unpopular(B) ridicule . . inoffensive(C) praise . . amateurish(D) indifference . . scandalous(E) acclaim . . creditable

To deal with this:

Identify the tone of the first word and compare it to the tone of the second

Vitriolic attack indicates a “negative” meaningAmazingly indicates a “positive” meaning

Therefore we can choose the words with a negative and positive meaning in that order:

(A) criticism . . unpopular(B) ridicule . . inoffensive(C) praise . . amateurish

(D) indifference . . scandalous(E) acclaim . . creditable

Sentence Completion (Medium/Hard) Practice:

1. Instead of being ------- by piles of papers , some college admissions officers are trying to ------- the application process by utilizing computers to simplify the procedure.(A) hindered . . facilitate(B) bolstered . . retard(C) disappointed . . arrest(D) quickened . . accelerate(E) offended . . innovate

2. In National Park Ranger Nevada Barr’s novel Blind Descent , the ------- must rescue the endangered victim of a ------- caving accident.(A) adventurer . . secondary(B) philanderer . . fictional(C) protagonist . . perilous(D) globetrotter . . coincidental(E) adversary . . hazardous

3. Weather conditions can cause leaves to appear so ------- that they resemble ------- human skin.

(A) lustrous . . opaque(B) verdant . . scarred(C) ashen . . sanguine(D) wizened . . withered(E) obsolete . . nascent

4. The nonprofit organization was searching for a ------- new employee, one who would courageously support the goals of the organization and become devoted to helping other people.(A) querulous(B) novice(C) proficient(D) magnanimous(E) lavish

Sentence Completion Tips Summary Cover the answer choices. Learn to anticipate the answer by

filling in each blank before you look at the answer choices.

Always look for the clue—the key word or words that you need to fill in the blank(s)—and underline it.

If you have trouble finding the clue, ask yourself:o What is the blank talking about?o What else does the sentence say about this subject?

Look for trigger words—revealing words or expressions that give you important clues about the meanings of sentences

Fill in the blank with any word or phrase >>> recycle the clue. If you can’t come up with any words for the blank, use “positive word” or “negative word”

Discard unlike choices to get to the answer.

Attack two-blank sentence completions by focusing on one blank at a time. Use the same techniques you would use on one-blank questions.

If you can eliminate either word in an answer choice, you can cross out the entire choice. If the clue for one of the blanks is the other blank, use the trigger word to determine the relationship between the blanks.

Never eliminate a choice unless you are sure of its meaning.

If you can’t eliminate any answer choices on a question, skip it.

Reading ComprehensionQuestions based on reading passages make up about 70 percent of the Critical Reading sections of the test.

These questions may ask you to restate a piece of information from the passage, draw an inference, determine a definition, or to recognize the purpose of a piece of writing.

On the SAT, you should read actively. You will read with an eye toward finding specific information that you need in order to answer a question.

Once you’ve found the necessary information, you need to know not only what the words stand for, but also what they are really saying (Objective interpretation).

The passage appears first, followed by a series of questions that relate to it. The first two passages you will see in two of the Critical Reading sections will be short; the rest of the passages will be longer.

Reading Comprehension Question Types: The MAIN (CENTRAL) IDEA of the passage

Information SPECIFICALLY STATED in the passage

Information IMPLIED in the passage

The TONE or MOOD of the passage

Reading Comprehension Strategies:

Strategy A – Skim and scan (direct) technique1) Read the italicized foreword preceding the passage, as it helps

greatly in determining the main idea

2) If you do read the passage, try not to spend more than two minutes on it. Just get a sense of the passage as a whole.

3) Make sure you know what a question is asking before you answer it. Then always go back to the passage before looking at the answer choices.

4) Read only what you need. Most of the answers will be located in a small portion of the passage. A good rule of thumb is to read 5 lines on either side.

5) If possible, use your own words before you go to the answer choices.

Strategy B – Active reading (detail intensive) technique

1) Don’t read the question first, but read the passage actively and briskly.

2) Answer the key questions as you read the passage (purpose, central idea, general structure)

3) Simplify the paragraphs (via paraphrasing)

4) Visualize the idea of each paragraph

5) Think of your own answer first to the question

6) Learn the key question types to anticipate the kind of answers that they usually need

7) Questions of a particular line are often answered by +/- 2 lines

Reading Comprehension Active Reading Steps

Step 1: Answer these three questions as you read the passage

1. What is the purpose of this passage?

2. What is the central idea of this passage?

3. What is the general structure of this passage?

E1. The purpose of the passage can be either• to examine a topic objectively,• to prove a point, or• to tell a story.

E2. The central idea of the passage is the single idea that provides the focus of the entire passage.

E3. The general structure of the passage is the way the paragraphs work together to convey the central idea.

Writing Section

You will see three types of multiple-choice questions in the Grammar sections:

1) error identifications (a.k.a. error ID, where you’re asked to find which part of the sentence is wrong)

2) improving sentences (where you’re asked to make a sentence sound better)

3) improving paragraphs (where you fix errors in a poorly written passage)

How to Attack the Writing Section

Review and learn the rules of grammar, SAT-style. Memorize your plan of attack for each type of question. Know which questions to do right away and which to skip until

the end. Understand what the essay graders want from you.

Vocabulary Learning Tips for Students

Vocabulary Learning Tip One: While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up. Read and listen to challenging material so that you'll be exposed to many new words.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Two: Improve your context skills. Research shows that the vast majority of words are learned from context. To improve your context skills pay close attention to how words are used.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Three: Practice, practice, practice. Learning a word won't help very much if you promptly forget it. Research shows that it takes from 10 to 20 repetitions to really make a word part of your vocabulary. It helps to write the word - both the definition and a sentence you make up using the word - perhaps on an index card that can later be reviewed.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Four: Make up as many associations and connections as possible. Say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory. Relate the word to words you already know. For example, the word GARGANTUAN (very large) has a similar meaning to the words gigantic, huge, large, etc. You could make a sequence: small, medium, large, very large, GARGANTUAN. List as many things as you can that could be considered GARGANTUAN: Godzilla, the circus fat lady, the zit on your nose, etc. Create pictures of the word's meaning that involve strong emotions. Think "the GARGANTUAN creature was going to rip me apart and then eat me!"

Vocabulary Learning Tip Five: Use mnemonics (memory tricks). For example, consider the word EGREGIOUS (extremely bad). Think EGG REACH US - imagine we've made a mistake so bad that they are throwing eggs at us and a rotten EGG REACHes US. Such funny little word pictures will help you remember what words mean, AND they are fun to make up. Also, find out which learning style suits you best.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Six: Get in the habit of looking up words you don't know. Find them and look up any word you are not

absolutely sure of. Use a thesaurus when you write to find the word that fits best.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Seven: Play with words. Play games such as Scrabbleand do crossword puzzles.

Vocabulary Learning Tip Eight: Use vocabulary lists. For the serious vocabulary student, there are many books that focus on the words most commonly found in standardized tests, such as the SAT and GRE.

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How the Test is Scored