Foundations: Expression of Ideas + Standard English Conventions Flashcards
What are “transitions” questions?
On the Reading and Writing section of your SAT, some questions will ask you to select the most logical transition word or phrase to connect information and ideas within a brief passage .
How to approach transition questions?
Step 1: Summarize the text in your own words
Step 2: Identify the relationship between the passage’s ideas
The transition we’re asked to select will connect two ideas from the passage. How are those ideas related? Do they disagree? Does one cause the other?
Step 3: Select the transition that matches the relationship
Only one of the choices will offer a transition that matches the relationship we identified. We can select it with confidence!
If you find yourself stuck between two choices, try plugging them each into the blank. Which transition creates the clearest meaning when placed in context?
What are the top tips when solving transition questions?
1) Be flexible
There is an enormous variety of transition words and phrases, and the exact transition you expect to see might not be offered in the choices. If you think the sentence needs a disagreement word, but “however” isn’t an option, look for a transition with a similar function (like “on the other hand”).
2) Eliminate copycats
If two choices seem to function in a similar or interchangeable way (like “also” and “in addition”), you can safely eliminate them both. They can’t both be right, so they must both be wrong!
What are “rhetorical synthesis” questions?
On the Reading and Writing section of your SAT, some questions will provide you with a series of bulleted notes that contain related information about an unfamiliar topic. The question will then ask you to effectively use relevant information from the notes to accomplish a particular goal.
How to approach rhetorical synthesis questions?
Step 1: Identify the goal
Start by reading the question prompt. What does the correct choice need to accomplish?
Step 2: Read the bullet points and identify relevant info
Read the bullet points, looking for information is relevant to the goal you just identified. Information that is relevant to the goal may be found in just one bullet point, or it may be found across several points.
Step 3: Test the choices
Read through each choice. As you do, ask yourself, “does this sentence accomplish the identified goal AND accurately represent the information in the bullet points?”
Step 4: Select the choice that matches
Once you’ve tested each answer choice, you should find that only one choice successfully accomplishes the goal defined in the question with the information provided in the bullet points. You can select that choice with confidence!
What are the Top tips when solving rhetorical synthesis questions?
1) Do two “passes” to eliminate choices!
for the first pass, focus on eliminating choices that don’t accomplish the goal. Then, go back and do another pass, focusing on eliminating choices that don’t accurately represent the information in the notes.
2) Simplify the goal
The simpler you can make the goal, the easier it will be to test the choices in the first pass. For example, if the question wants to “emphasize a difference between thing X and thing Y”, we can simplify our test to just “difference”.
Does each choice describe “difference”? If not, we can eliminate it.
3) Be strict!
Don’t be generous with choices that “kind of” or “almost” accomplish the goal. If a choice doesn’t completely address all parts of the goal, we can eliminate it. Details matter!
4) Ignore the grammar
All of the choices will be well-written and grammatically correct. Make your choice based on the information the choices contain, not how good they sound in the sentence.
What are “form, structure, and sense” questions?
On the SAT Reading and Writing Test, some questions will present you with a short passage that contains a blank. The question will then ask you to complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English.
How to approach form, structure, and sense questions?
Step 1: Investigate the blank
Read the text closely. What’s missing that the blank needs to provide? A noun phrase? A verb phrase? Something else?
Compare the choices. What changes from choice to choice? Are verbs conjugated differently? Are different pronouns used?
Step 2: Find the focus
Based on our observations in the previous step, we should be able to identify which Standard English convention(s) is being tested.
For example, if the main difference between the choices is verb conjugation, we should be focused on avoid errors in verb forms and in subject-verb agreement.
Step 3: Eliminate the obvious errors
Now it’s time to take a closer look at the choices!
Plug each choice into the blank, and read the passage through. Keeping in mind the focus grammar rules, eliminate any choice that creates an obvious error.
Once we eliminate choices that create errors, we’ll be left with only one remaining choice. We can select it with confidence!
What is subject-verb agreement?
Subject-verb agreement is a convention of Standard English that requires a subject and verb to agree in number.
How to identify subject-verb agreement questions?
What to pay attention to when solving these questions? What to do?
You’ll know to look for subject-verb agreement errors if different choices contain singular and plural forms of the same verb.
Caution:
1) Extra words between the subject and verb
If you notice extra words or phrases, eliminate them from the sentence, and try reading the subject straight into the verb.
2) Inverted sentences
With nouns, plurals are usually formed by adding an ‘s’ to the end of the word:
elephant → elephants
With verbs, though, the pattern is exactly the opposite. Typically, we form a plural verb by removing an ‘s’:
The elephant runs.
The elephants run.
What is pronoun-antecedent agreement?
How to identify pronoun-antecedent agreement questions?
What are the Top tips?
Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a convention of Standard English that requires a pronoun and antecedent to agree in person and number.
You’ll know to look for pronoun-antecedent agreement errors if
one choice uses a singular pronoun (like “it”) while another choice uses a plural pronoun (like “they”)
a pronoun outside the blank refers to a noun contained within the choices.
Top tips:
1) Find the antecedent
To recognize pronoun agreement errors, we must be able to identify the antecedent of the pronoun in question—the noun that the pronoun logically refers to.
Read carefully! Antecedents can be hard to find when multiple singular and plural nouns are present.
2) Plug in the antecedent
If you’re not sure you’ve identified the correct noun as the antecedent, try plugging it in where the pronoun goes. If the sentence still makes sense, you’ve found the antecedent!
What are verb forms?
How to identify verb form questions?
What are the Top tips?
Verbs can take many different forms. They can have different aspects and tenses. They can also be finite or non-finite. There are modal verbs, auxiliary verbs, and a dozen other possible categories.
You’ll know to look for verb form errors if:
-different choices use different verb tenses (past/present/future)
-some choices add or remove helping verbs (to be, to have, to do)
Top tips:
-Conjugate in context
-Match other verbs
If you’re not sure how to conjugate a verb, match the tense of other verbs in the same sentence or paragraph. Verb tense usually stays consistent unless some shift in time occurs within the passage.
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What is subject-modifier placement?
How to identify them?
What are the top tips?
Subject-modifier placement refers to a convention of Standard English that requires a modifier and its subject to be next to one another.
You may want to look for subject-modifier placement errors if
the blank is longer than a few words
the choices rearrange words or phrases into different orders
Top tips:
-Any time you see a blank come after an introductory modifying phrase, double check the noun that follows to be sure it makes sense alongside the modifier.
-Beware possessive nouns
When a noun phrase starts with a possessive noun, it can make modifier placement extra confusing. Remember that possessive nouns really function as adjectives: the noun that follows the possessive is the actual focus of the noun phrase. That’s the noun the modifier needs to describe.
What are “boundaries” questions?
How to approach boundaries questions
On the SAT Reading and Writing Test, some questions will present you with a short passage that contains a blank. The question will then ask you to complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English.
Step 1: Investigate the blank
Compare the choices. What changes from choice to choice?
Step 2: Find the focus
Based on our observations in the previous step, we should be able to identify which Standard English convention is being tested.
Step 3: Eliminate the obvious errors
What are clauses?
How to identify linking clauses questions
What are the top tips?
A clause is a series of words that contains a subject and a conjugated verb.
You may want to look for errors in linking clauses if
the choices add or remove commas and FANBOYS conjunctions
the choices add or remove end punctuation like periods or question marks
any choice contains a semicolon
Top tips
Use the before and after test
When you see choices that offer a variety of punctuation options, check if what comes before and after the blank are independent clauses. If one side of the blank is not an independent clause, then you’re likely dealing with a supplements or punctuation question (which focus on different rules).
