Sat – Guessing Strategies

SAT – Sentence Completion Strategies

• Read the sentence carefully
• Pay attention to the precise meaningful of words
• Look for the logic of the sentence
• Be careful of words that change the logic of the sentence:

although / but / however / usually / if / but

• Two blanks – be sure each word is correct
• Two blanks – try answering one blank at a time
• Consider all answer choices
• After choosing an answer, check it by reading the entire answer to yourself
• QUESTIONS GET HARDER / DO NOT GUESS

SAT – Critical Reading Strategies

• Passages are from 400 – 850 words
• College-level reading
• Some selections include a pair of passages
• Types of questions:

 Meaning of a word in context
 Demonstrate understanding of significant information
 Identify cause and effect
 Relate parts of the passage to each other or the whole
 Make inferences
 Recognize implications
 Follow the logic of an argument
 Recognize the consistency or inconsistency of an argument
 Compare or contrast two related passages

SAT – Critical Reading Strategies

• Read each passage thoughtfully
• Don’t spend too much time taking notes as you read
• Consider reading the questions before the passage
• Answer questions based on the passage (not on your knowledge of the subject)
• Read all answer choices:

 Answer choices may include true statements that don’t answer the question
 Some answers may only be partially correct

• QUESTIONS NOT SEQUENCED BY DIFFICULTY
• DO NOT GUESS