Question 1

What do you do when you're reading parts of the passage and it's just a jumble of words and suddenly you realize that you've read the same sentence like seven times in a row??

Accepted Answer

Keep on asking yourself "what is the POINT of the paragraph?" "What is the author trying to tell me?" On a Writing and Language Test passage, go back to the title of the passage, and re-read the first paragraph to anchor yourself in the POINT of the passage. On a Reading Test Passage, try re-reading the first and last sentences of all the paragraphs you have read so far. They almost always include the paragraph's main POINT. Usually, the stuff in the middle of a paragraph is evidence supporting and developing the claim made in the first sentence.

Question 2

I have completed practice questions for the SAT on Khan Academy for the past month or two, and decided to take a crack at a complete practice test. On the English portion, I finished with extra time, so I went back to check over my answers. When I went back to review once finishing, I had 6 questions that I would have gotten right if I hadn't went back and checked over my answers. I feel when I do review my answers, I over-analyze and end up changing correct answers because I doubt myself. Does anyone have any tips for this issue? Would it be better for me to just not check over my answers?

Accepted Answer

Hi Lydia!

I often find myself in your shoes, with enough time to double check my answers, but also enough time to second guess myself! Before you think you should change your answer, ask yourself why. There should be a very compelling reason, other than "I feel like this other one might be it . . . "

If you think you should change your answer, then change it and find something absolutely wrong with the other three choices. If you can, then you have successfully saved yourself a few points! If you can't, then stick with your original answer.

Hope that helps :)

Question 3

What is the difference between "However" and "Nevertheless"? Thank you!

Accepted Answer

"However" introduces a contradiction.
"Nevertheless" is more an announcer to some supporting information AFTER some contradicting information is stated.
Lemme know if that helps, Tiffany!

Question 4

I have difficulty in managing my time, should i read the whole passage first then answer or answer and read the question at the same time? I tried answer and read at the same time and it caused me to not know the detail of the passage

Accepted Answer

Read the passage first! Its much harder to remember 7 questions than it is to memorize a summary of the passage you just read.

Question 5

Which one is correct? He is taller than I OR He is taller than me.

Accepted Answer

I'm kind of a grammar freak, so maybe I can help.
The sentence (in its "correct grammatical form" lol) should read "He is taller than I am tall", but most people cut of that last bit, leaving "He is taller than I am" and assume the "am tall" part from the end is understood.  
By "understood" I mean that everyone knows you mean "He is taller than I am tall", rather something weird like "He is taller than I can run" or something like that.
Lemme know if that's makes any sense!

Question 6

Should I read through the whole passage while cracking each question? Some people suggested me only read around where the question is marked in the passage to save more time. If I use this strategy, however, I always find myself stuck trying to answer questions asking me to pick the choice that most clearly ends the passage or relocate a paragraph!

Accepted Answer

This strategy will help you pick up many of the grammar/usage questions, but many of the questions on the new SAT are related to the passage as a whole, or the sequence of sentences in a paragraph. These questions require you to have a deeper understanding of the point of each paragraph. If you can spare the time, it is worthwhile to NOT skim...

Question 7

A 2009 report by the Bureau of Health Professions notes that although a fifth of the US population LIVES in rural areas, less than a tenth of US physicians SERVES that population.

so the verbs used here are singular but the subject is plural. Further, if it was population only and not a fifth of the population i feel that LIVES would be correct!! Can someone please explain?

Accepted Answer

I definitely disagree with smartypants on this one. LIVES is correct because "a fifth" is singular. The fact that "a fifth" refers to multiple people really isn't relevant. If "a fifth" was plural–say, for instance, "two fifths"–than the answer would be LIVE, but since that isn't the case, the correct answer is LIVES.

If you disagree, please respond.

If you disagree, please respond.

Question 8

Hi, 
I always struggle with focusing, do you have any strategies for that?
Thanks

Accepted Answer

Try to convince  yourself that what are you reading and solving is so interesting and you are interested in it , and then you will not be distracted by externals ... this might help

Question 9

Is there a better way to go about the grammar section than just guessing based on what things sound right?

Accepted Answer

Yes, there is.  And it's called (unfortunately) learning the grammar and punctuation rules.  Knowing when to use a comma, a semicolon, or a colon is especially helpful.  With those cases, you can't really tell by ear.

See, especially with punctuation, going by ear isn't terribly accurate.  With sentence structure, parallelism, and syntax, things like that, going by ear is great.

Check out the following page: Quick Punctuation Rules.  Those are the basic ones that are really all you need to know for the SAT.

SAT

Course: SAT > Unit 5

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