Resource Guide Created by Meg Greenberg & Karl Sandeman

THE SAT

Girls College Bound College Informational Seminar November 9, 2013

OVERVIEW 2

THE WRITING SECTION 4

THE ESSAY 4 IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS, IMPROVING SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS 5

THE READING SECTION 7

SENTENCE COMPLETION 7 READING COMPREHENSION 8

THE MATH SECTION 9

CHECKLIST 9 FURTHER RESOURCES (MATH) 11

BIBLIOGRAPHY 11 2 Overview

What you will need to ace the SAT: a watch (multiple) snacks a Google map a photo ID your admission ticket #2 pencils + good erasers a graphic or scientific calculator (with new batteries)

The SAT tests your time management skills. If you usually use your cell phone to keep track of time or you rely on the clocks hanging on the walls of your classroom, now is the time to buy a wristwatch. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You can find watches for under $5 on Amazon.

Do you know what a minute feels like? Test how accurate your own sense of time is by checking a clock/your watch and then guessing when 60 seconds are up. What time is it? ______Ready, set, go! Okay, you feel like a minute is up. What time is it? ______What happened?

You can practice honing your sense of time during the day. Guess and then time how long you have to wait for the bus or the subway in the morning? how much time there is between stops? how long you spend online at time?

Why does all of this matter? You get to school on time, you make it to all of your classes. The truth is that having a refined sense of how long you take to answer different types of questions on each section will help you to develop strategies to tackle the test like an expert.

The SAT is an endurance test. Luckily, you will have breaks in between each section, which will allow you time to collect yourself and to focus before beginning a new section. While the entire exam is 3 hours and 45 minutes, the SAT sounds way more doable if you think that you will be getting 9 breaks, or one in between each section. Remember that apart from the essay, which is always the first section, the other sections are set out in random order.

3 Here is the breakdown of what to expect:

Section Length Content Writing 25 minutes 4-5 paragraph persuasive essay

35 questions 25 minutes (improving sentences and paragraphs, identifying sentence errors)

14 questions 10 minutes (improving sentences) Critical Reading 25 minutes 24 questions (sentence completion, reading comprehension)

25 minutes 24 questions (sentence completion, reading comprehension)

20 minutes 19 questions (sentence completion, long reading comprehension) Math 25 minutes 20 questions (multiple choice)

25 minutes 18 questions (multiple choice and grid-in)

20 minutes 16 questions (multiple choice) Experimental Section 25 minutes Any 1 of the 3 types of section

Keeping in mind that you need to be able to bring your best game, eat like an athlete. The night before the test, have a meal high in carbs (i.e. pasta, rice). Even if you are feeling nervous the morning of the exam, have food that will sustain you (yogurt, a banana) rather than cereal or sweets. During the test, you will be given a longer break. During this time, refuel (banana, power bar).

Even if you have the best sense of direction of anyone you know, make sure that you know how to get to your test center by the week of the exam. The exam begins earlier than most of us would like to be out of bed. If you don’t have time to do a test run to the testing site, use Google maps and then add an extra 30-45 minutes to allow for a late train and time to collect all of your things (admission ticket, calculator, etc.) and yourself. When your classmates or fellow test takers express their nervousness, it is easy to lose your calm even when there is no reason to.

4 Now let’s get down to dealing with the actual strategies that you will need once all of your #2 pencils are sharpened, your calculator has fresh batteries, your watch is set to Eastern Standard Time, and your stomach is not rumbling.

The Writing Section The Essay Given all of your incredible experience working with your writing mentors, this may be the section that you feel most comfortable sitting. You may actually find that you have so much to say, that unless you plan your essay, you risk running out of time.

Here is what you need to keep in mind about what the 2 essay graders are looking for: 1. Since all of the questions that you are asked to write about ask your opinion, you are expected to write a persuasive essay. Here, for example, are a few questions that have been asked on previous exams:

Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people of authority? Should people take more responsibility for solving problems that affect their communities or the nation in general? Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?

2. Prepare 4-5 topics that you care about that you could use to answer whatever question you are asked in a detailed manner. Make sure that you have thought through the who, what, when, where, why, and how of each chosen topic by writing notes on index cards that you can carry around with you until you are so familiar with your topics that you could speak about them comfortably. For instance, say you choose an historical event, you will need to be able to write about: Who was the important figure? What did s/he do to distinguish him/herself? When, where, and why did this event take place? How can this event be understood to have shaped the historical moment?

Remember that when writing about books and films, you must distinguish between the intentions of the characters and of the authors or directors. You want to make clear that the author or director chose to portray something, since the individual characters cannot act alone. Also, if you decide to write about a non-fictional work such as Night, remember that the individuals in the text are not characters, but actual people.

You are allowed to use your own personal experiences.

3. Before you begin writing the essay, create an outline. They are not the most exciting things to create, but you need to allow yourself a few minutes to formulate your thesis and supporting arguments.

4. Do not argue that both sides of the argument could be true unless you know that you can do this artfully. Though this is an attractive option, you risk confusing the graders by leading them to think that you could not make up your mind. Sadly, you don’t have to believe the argument that you write, you just have to seem like you do. You might find, for 5 instance, that it is easier to argue for school uniforms than it is to argue against them, even though you believe in expressing your identity through your daily wardrobe. What you can do, though, to strengthen your essay is to introduce a counterclaim in the intro or in a body paragraph.

5. Make sure that your essay has 4-5 paragraphs, so 1 Intro; 2, 3, (4) Body; 5 Conclusion. Intro  Keep to the question at hand. Underline the keywords in the question that you are being asked so that you specifically address them.  You can strengthen your argument by incorporating a counterclaim (i.e. ______might argue that ______, however ______).

Body Paragraphs  Write a strong topic sentence for each paragraph (i.e. A clear example of _____.... Not only _____, but _____). Provide background information that clearly connects the thesis to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of each topic.

Conclusion  If you can manage it, this paragraph should be at least 3 sentences. Sometimes it can be interesting to introduce questions or thoughts about how history, scientific advances, your life, etc. would have been different if x were not true.

6.Use strong verbs! Clearly demonstrates insists underscores argues Exemplifies highlights (dis)proves undermines

Identifying Sentence Errors, Improving Sentences and Paragraphs There are 13 types of grammatical errors that the SAT test makers are interested to see you identify. Before you think that 13 is an unlucky number, if you learn each of the types of errors, you will not only find this section easy, you may even enjoy taking it. Once you understand each type of error, memorize them. If you need to, create an index card for each type and quiz yourself when you are traveling to school, while you have to wait for anything, or before bed.

1. Single/Plural Agreement ex. There is thirty people in our class. Correction: There are thirty people in our class

2. You vs. one ex. If you study, one does well. Correction: If you study, you do well. OR If one studies, one does well.

3. Sequence of Tenses ex. After Chris and Kevin ate lunch, they go to class. Correction: After Chris and Kevin ate lunch, they went to class.

4. Parallelism ex. The teacher showed us how to read, how to write, and listening was also taught.

6 Correction: The teacher showed us how to read, how to write, and how to listen.

5. Unclear Language ex. In the newspaper they say that few people voted. Correction: The journalist wrote that few people had voted.

6. Passive vs. Active Verbs ex. When you bake a cake, the oven should be preheated. Correction: When you bake a cake, preheat the oven.

7. Super Duper Long Sentence ex. There are many problems in the contemporary world in which we live. Correction: There are many problems in the world.

8. Adjective vs. Adverb ex. His friends agree that he drives reckless. Correction: He is reckless (adjective). His friends agree that he drives recklessly (adverb).

9. Me vs. I ex. Francesca sat between you and I at the stadium. Correction: Francesca sat between you and me at the stadium.

10. Comparison (More, Most, Less, Least) ex. Of the sixteen students, Maria makes more money. Correction: Of the sixteen students, Maria makes the most money.

11. Fragment (every sentence must have a subject and a verb. When either is missing, you’ve got a fragment. If it seems like the thought is unfinished, you also have a fragment) ex. Going to the store. Correction: He was going to the store. ex. Whether or not the answer seems correct. Correction: You should respond, whether or not the answer seems correct.

12. Run-On (When there are two independent clauses that need to be joined, you cannot use a comma but most opt for a ; a conjunction (and, but, so, etc), or a new sentence). ex. Patricia enjoys writing short stories, she write one every day. Correction: Patricia enjoys writing short stories; she writes one very day. Patricia enjoys writing short stories so she writes one every day. Patricia enjoys writing short stories. She writes one very day.

13. Dangling Modifier (When the first word after the comma in a sentence does not refer back to what has come in the first part of the sentence). Ex. While driving down the road, the house with the pool distracted Jaime’s attention. Correction: While driving down the road, Jaime was distracted by the house with the pool.

7 3 Tips for Tackling the Questions in This Section: (You will need to use strategies 2 and 3 again in the Reading Section.)

1. Once you know the thirteen types of errors, it is time to apply your expertise to the test. When you begin a section, it will be worth the extra 30 seconds it will take to write down each type of error on the first page of your booklet for reference.

2. Read the sentence and identify the error (or the lack of an error) without looking at the answer choices. If you start reading the answer choices before you determine what the answer is, you will often get confused by the range of possibilities and start to doubt yourself. To avoid losing confidence, once you identify the type of error, or whether there is in fact no error, write a note next to the question. You can do this shorthand. When you review your answers on practice tests, you will see if you identified each type correctly and you will know which types you have most difficulty with.

3. In the Improving Sentences and Paragraphs portion of the section, before reading the paragraphs (the passage), underline the sentences that are referenced in the questions. When it comes time to answer each question you won’t waste time having to scan the reading again and again. For instance, if a question asks you, “Which is the best way to combine sentences 4 and 5?”, underline both sentences.

The Reading Section Sentence Completion There are always eight questions in this section and the vocabulary increases in difficulty as you move from 1-8. If you are not familiar with the SAT vocabulary lists of the words that most frequently occur on the exams, fear not!

Just as with the error identification, you must first read the sentence and fill in the blank without looking at the answer choices. Otherwise, you might start unnecessarily doubting yourself again.

There are clues in the sentence. 1. Determine whether the word or words have meanings that have positive or negative connotations (or meanings).

Let’s look at the example question from Section 4 of the Official SAT Practice Test 2013-2014 (available online):

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

Negotiators usually want to end disputes. The second word should be positive, rather than negative. When I look at the answer choices the only words meaning end are (B) and (E) and divisive is not positive, but acceptable is. Therefore (E) must be the answer. (A) enforce….useful (B) end….divisive (C) overcome…unattractive 8 (D) extend…satisfactory (E) resolve…acceptable

2. When the word in question comes before a comma or a colon, everything that comes next in the sentence describes the word.

Question 2 from the same exam reads:

Alfred Schnittke’s musical compositions are ______: phrases are clipped, broken into sections, and split apart by long rests.

The word must be a synonym of clipped, broken, and split. I don’t need to spend time thinking of exactly what this word might be. I can even fill in the blank with any of these words and then look at the possible answers. (C) is the only answer that makes sense. (A) garnished (B) improvisational (C) fragmented (D) cautious (E) uniform

3. Pay attention to words such as but, although, however, yet, and even though, which indicate that things or ideas are being contrasted. You will also need to pay attention if there are negatives (no, not, never).

Reading Comprehension Here again you will need to use strategies that you are familiar with.

1. Before reading the passages, underline the sentences that are referenced in the questions. When it comes time to answer each question you won’t waste time having to scan the reading again and again. For the short reading passages, some students may find this technique to be less necessary. For the longer passages, you will find this technique a life saver.

2. Remember to read the heading of a reading passage if there is one. This will often help to contextualize the entire text. You will be put in the right frame of mind to answer questions if you first know that the reading is an autobiographical account, for instance.

3. Annotate each paragraph after you read it. Right a word or two about what the main idea of the paragraph is. This technique will save you from having to reread the passage multiple times. Make sure that your notes are brief so that you don’t spend too much time on this task.

4. Quickly determine what the main idea or thesis is of each passage. You can often get this by reading the first sentence of the first paragraph, or the first paragraph in its entirety. You can also skim the passage again by just reading the topic sentences of each paragraph.

9 5. Read the question without looking at the answer choices. If you start reading the answer choices before you determine what the answer is, you will often get confused by the range of possibilities and doubt your instincts. Once you have determined what the correct answer should be, then, and only then, see which best matches what you have come up.

6. Make sure that you can find the answer or evidence for your answer in the reading passage.

The Math Section

1. Practice! In order to score well on the Math section, you need to practice. The questions are designed to test your understanding, but - just as importantly - they test your ability to translate a text-based question into a numerical problem. The topics and the format of the questions is quite similar from year to year, so practice is really key.

This section of the SAT boils down to 4 core subject areas in Mathematics, given below along with the topics that they each can contain (taken from The Official SAT Study Guide). There are checkboxes so that you can use these lists to isolate the topics that you want to focus on. Don't worry if the lists seem a little long. By taking even just one sample test you'll quickly find that you will cover all of the topics below. Each time you take a test, make a note on the checklist of the type of question(s) that you get wrong. Checklist a) Numbers and operations... ☐the properties of integers (odd and even numbers; consecutive integers; multiplication and addition) ☐arithmetic word problems ☐number lines ☐squares and square roots ☐fractions and rational numbers ☐elementary number theory (factors, multiples, remainders) ☐ratios, proportions and percents ☐sequences (ordered lists of numbers) ☐sets (union, intersection, elements) ☐counting problems (permutations and combinations) b) Algebra and functions... ☐operations on algebraic expressions ☐factoring ☐exponents ☐evaluating expressions with exponents and roots ☐solving equations ☐absolute value, e.g. |-7| = 7.

10 ☐direct translation into mathematical expressions ☐inequalities (<, >, ≤, ≥ ) ☐systems of linear equations and inequalities ☐solving quadratic equations by factoring ☐direct and inverse variation (quantity y proportional to quantity x: ; quantity y inversely proportional to x: ) ☐word problems ☐functions (function notation and evaluation; domain and range; using new definitions; functions as models of real-life situations; linear functions and quadratic functions: their equations and graphs; qualitative behavior of graphs and functions; translations and their effects on graphs of functions) c) Geometry and measurement... ☐geometric notation (notation for: points and lines; line segments; rays; angles and their measures; lengths) ☐points and lines ☐angles in the plane ☐triangles (equilateral and isosceles triangles, right triangles and the Pythagorean theorem) ☐quadrilaterals (parallelograms, rectangles, squares) ☐areas and perimeters (areas of squares, rectangles and triangles; area of parallelograms; perimeters of squares and rectangles) ☐other polygons (angles in a polygon; perimeter; area) ☐circles (diameter, radius, arc, tangent to a circle, circumference, area) ☐solid geometry (solid figures and volumes, surface area) ☐visualizing plane figures or solids ☐coordinate geometry (slopes, parallel lines and perpendicular lines; the midpoint formula; the distance formula) ☐transformations d) Data analysis, Statistics and Probability... ☐data interpretation (interpret information in graphs, tables, or charts, and compare quantities, recognize trends and changes, or perform calculations) ☐statistics (arithmetic mean; median; mode; weighted average; average of algebraic expressions; using averages to find missing numbers) ☐elementary probability (independent events, e.g. tossing two different coins; dependent events = an outcome that is affected by previous outcomes) ☐geometric probability, e.g. ratios of areas

2. Settle your nerves in advance If you can get hold of a copy, The Official Study Guide is a great source of information when it comes to understanding what can and cannot be asked on the SAT. For example, in discussing Number Lines, the Guide explains that:  "Number line questions may ask:

11 o Where a number should be placed in relation to other numbers o The difference or product of two numbers o The lengths and the ratios of the lengths of line segments represented on the number line."

If you read these instructions, you will know what to expect on the test and this goes a long way to settling nerves. You can eliminate surprises by knowing the range of possible questions on each topic.

3. In practice, redo problems that you get wrong If you get a problem wrong in practice, wait a few days to forget its exact solution, and then re- attempt it. It's important to be able to work out whether you made a careless error the first time, or if the problem was of a type that you need to work on more. If you find that you are getting the problem wrong a second or third time, don't worry. You just need to focus on this type of problem and understand how to eliminate your error. This way, you'll learn from your mistakes, and you'll go a long way towards getting rid of any fears about a particular type of problem.

4. Pace: Don't get hung up on a question, and don't rush You need to find a balance between being quick and not rushing. Let's tackle the first of these: being fast enough. Each question carries equal credit, and you typically have about 1 minute per question. So if you find that you're taking more than 30 seconds to reach an answer, then make a choice. Either mark the question to return to it later, and move on, or (if you think you will complete it in the next 30-45 seconds), carry on with the question.

Equally, it's important not to rush. To avoid rushing, one tip is to read each question fully before writing an answer. Some people might like to read each question twice, and to underline or circle keywords. A common error is to work through a problem correctly, but to then select the wrong piece of information to present at the end of the question. An example would be a question that asks you for a value of x in a calculation that involves figuring out values of both x and y, but then presenting the value of y instead of x! In this instance, underlining or circling the part of the question that asks for x should ensure that you don't present the wrong answer. Here's an example, adapted from the Official SAT Practice Test 2013-14:

Tom and Alison are both salespeople. Tom’s weekly salary consists of $600 plus 20 percent of his sales. Alison’s weekly salary consists of $400 plus 25 percent of her sales. If they both had the same amount of sales and the same salary for a particular week, what was that salary, in dollars?

It's important to note that the question talks about both sales and salary. However, the question only asks for the salary. We can work it out as follows. Let x be Tom and Alison's sales (they are the same). Tom's salary is 600+0.2x. Alison's salary is 400+0.25x. Their salaries are equal, and so: 600+0.2x = 400+0.25x

12 Rearranging, we have that 200=0.05x and therefore that x=4000. However, we are asked for the salary, not the sales! The salary is 600+0.2(4000) = 1400 using Tom's formula. We can check that it is the same using Alison's: 400+0.25(4000) = 1400.

5. Use a calculator Another common source of error is mis-calculation, even at the final stages of a question. It's easy to make mistakes under pressure and using a calculator can help to avoid rushing and it can reduce simple errors. Take a calculator with fresh batteries in order to check (or calculate) your sums.

6. Make notes as you go It might not be necessary for every question, but you will probably need to make notes in your test booklet. If so, here are some handy hints:  make these notes with enough of a brief commentary on them that you can understand them if you need to re-read them (e.g. if returning to an unfinished question).  Remember to number each of your notes so that you know where to find them for any question that you revisit.  Make your own diagrams or figures for geometry problems so that you can help yourself to calculate distances, angles, areas and volumes.

7. Use real numbers In many problems, you can substitute real numbers for variables / algebraic quantities. This can help you to check your answer. Here's an example: Along the Elgin to Huntly train line, distance markers give the total distance from Elgin in meters. If the number of complete kilometers from Elgin is k, and the number of meters beyond the last complete kilometer is m, which formula gives the total number of meters from Elgin? (A) k+m (D) 1000(k + m) (B) 1000mk (E) k+1000m (C) 1000k + m We can trial k=1 and m=2. Then, we know that the total number of meters corresponds to 1 kilometer plus 2 meters. This is 1000 meters + 2 meters, or 1002 total meters. Looking at the formulae, the only one which gives 1002 for k=1 and m=2 is Option C.

8. Trialing answers (back solving) If you are not 100% comfortable with re-arranging the algebra provided in a question, you can try each of the multiple choice answers to see which one works. In some cases, you might also like to begin with Option C. This can be a handy way to trial answers since the options are always listed in ascending order. Here's another example adapted from the Official SAT Practice Test 2013-14:

When 15 is added to one-half of a certain number, the result is 39. What is the original number? (A) 46

13 (B) 48 (C) 50 (D) 52 (E) 54

Let's try Option C first. We have 15+(50/2)=15+25=40. As 40 is higher than 39, we know that options D and E are not useful. So we are left with options A and B. Trying option B: 15+(48/2) = 15+24 = 39. So Option B is the answer (48).

Further resources (Math) SAT prep websites There are several resources in this category, including both advice websites and videos of solutions to particular problems. Here are some examples of each. This is by no means a complete list. 1. The Khan Academy SAT Math prep website: http://www.khanacademy.org/math/test- prep/sat-math 2. "TheSATMathPrep" website: http://thesatmathprep.com/youtube.html 3. "SAT Prep Guy"'s video solution to a problem of averages from the Official SAT Practice Test 2013-14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTi0tkzQvDU

Bibliography 1. The Official SAT Study Guide, Second Edition (The College Board and Educational Testing Service, New York, 2009) 1. This is where you'll find the College Board's introduction to the SAT, and sample tests with questions drawn from previous years. You can also find free sample tests from the past year at the College Board's website: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat- practice-test. 2. A-List Education SAT Materials. http://www.alisteducation.com

Meg Greenberg and Karl Sandeman For any follow-up questions, email: [email protected]