Writing Lecture Two

The first question on the SAT I asks you to write an essay in 25 minutes. You are must use a number 2 pencil, and you must write the essay out in longhand on paper provided. You are given a brief statement or a quote about which to write.

As we discussed in our first lecture, the ability to write well is probably the single most important skill you can develop. Good writing is:

• organized
• logical
• clear
• concise
• uses a rich vocabulary

You want your 25-minute essay on the SAT I to have all of those characteristics. We'll discuss this further later in this letter.

Let's look at the registration deadlines for the SAT this spring:

Registration Deadline	Test Date
Feb. 10, 2010	Mar. 13, 2010
Mar. 31, 2010	May 1, 2010
May 5, 2010	June 5, 2010

The cost is only $45, and you can register online. Even the small charge of $45 can be waived for students (including homeschoolers) who cannot afford it. Simply let me know if the cost is a problem.

Let's focus now specific types of questions that are asked.

Sentence Completion Questions

18 out of 67 questions -- more than 25% -- of the "critical reading" section ask students to "complete the sentence" by filling in one or two missing words. Let's look at some examples and improve our ability to answer this type of question.

Example One:

Once the underdog Republican Scott Brown defeated the favored Democrat Martha Coakley win the election for the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democrat Ted Kennedy, it demonstrated the __________ between the Republicans and Democrats would likely ___________.

(A) agreement ... continue

(B) conflict ... persist

(C) bipartisanship ... end

(D) cooperation ... prevail

(E) negotiations ... be unthinkable

This type of question is like filling in a jigsaw puzzle. You are given an idea of the "point" or message of the sentence, and then asked to fill in two missing "pieces" or words to complete the sentence. This is no different from having an almost-complete jigsaw puzzle and trying to find the pieces that can fit into and fill the remaining gaps.

It's impossible to complete a jigsaw puzzle until you first understand what the final picture is supposed to look at. The same is true for these sentences. Be sure to understand the point of the sentence before trying to fill in the blanks. The biggest reason for incorrect answers on this question is because the student did not understand the basic meaning of the sentence before trying to complete it.

In the above example, the point of the sentence is that a Republican won a Senate seat that was long held by the opposite party, the Democrats. The Democrats would not be happy about that, and the contest for the seat could not have been a friendly one. The inherent conflict immediately points the student to answer choice (B), which uses the word "conflict". This is the best fit for the gap in the sentence. The , as a "fit" for the gap in the sentence.

When there are two blanks in the sentence, the student is expected to check the relation between the two words to make sure they fit the sentence, as a lock fits a key. Often the blanks are set up as opposites, and the student is expected to pick the answer choice that has two antonyms. Consider the following.

Example Two:

After serving one table in the restaurant for over an hour, the waitress expected a _________ tip afterward, but was disappointed when the tip was ______________.

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

Sometimes the question on the SAT I has only one gap in the sentence, which is to be filled in by only one word. Often the purpose is to test your knowledge of vocabulary. But even if you do not know the meaning of a word, you can figure it out from the context and at least make an educated guess.

Example Three:

<new example>

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

The key to success on these sentence completion questions are the following:

• the correct pair typically has some natural relation to each other, either as opposites or as a common matter of speech
• awkward pairs can typically be eliminated
• the context should guide you to the first word, and the context should give you clues as to what the second word should be in relation to the first

<understanding point of sentence before trying to fill in blanks>

<identifying tension between blanks before filling them in>

<dealing with words of unknown meaning by using context>

Focus on Writing Section

The writing section begins with an essay that you are given 25 minutes to write.

The remainder of the writing section is 49 multiple-choice questions to be completed in only 35 minutes (one 25-minute section and one 10-minute section).

The 49 multiple choice questions are divided as follows:

• improving sentences (25 questions)
• identifying grammar errors in sentences (18 questions)
• improving paragraphs (6 questions).

Biggest mistakes

• cramming
• scheduling test-taking too late
• not managing time
• under-emphasizing, then over-emphasizing significance of test

Homework Assignment

<read lecture>

25-minute essay exercise.

Identify errors.

Take sample questions for fill-in-the-blank on the website.

<writing exam questions>