hey! There's a good tool out there for college applicants called College Essay Organizer. You can find a bunch of colleges' supplements on their site that aren't on common app yet; I think your followers would benefit from it! (and if they get the upgrade, the code kristen50 will give a 50% discount that expires next week). Thanks!
Hey everybody, here’s a thing that might be of interest to you!
Sorry if there aren't any posts and if I haven't responded to your question! I'm out of town right now. I think I'll be able to get on internet tomorrow.
SAT Study Guide: Writing: Identifying Sentence Errors
Hey guys! Today we're talking about the writing section of the SAT, specifically identifying sentence errors. Let's get started.
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Identifying sentence errors is just that, identifying sentence errors. The SAT gives you a sentences and underlines phrases or words, and you must (you guessed it!) identify the sentence error. Since it's pretty straightforward, I'm just going to walk you through some common errors. Here are some faults to look out for:
**Tumblr does not have an underline tool, so phrases that would otherwise be underlined are italicized. Also, the choices are not lettered but are in respective order.
Subject Verb Agreement
I'm sure you all know the rules of subject verb agreement, but I recommend you brush up on your skills. The SAT loves to throw in a unnecessary modifying phrase to distract you from the subject. For example,
2) The table that was covered in drawings of animals were not able to be used by the children.
(a) - that was covered
(b) - were
(c) - able to be used
... etc.
The correct answer (or incorrect phrase) here is(b). This wasn't the best example, but the pattern is the same for most of these questions. You might have been thrown off by the "animals", but they aren't the subject. The table is the subject.
Sally and I or Sally and me?
Oh. My. Gosh. If you learn anything from this post, learn this. The difference between the two is that Sally and I is used as a subject, while Sally and me is used as an object of a preposition. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is, but it just might take a while to click. For example,
1) She gave the cookie to Sally and I, but I decided I didn't want any.
(a) - she
(b) - Sally and I
(c) - I decided
... etc.
Since "she" is giving the cookie, the cookie is the object of the preposition. Because of this, "she" is giving it to "Sally and me", not "Sally and I". The correct answer (or incorrect phrase) would be (b).
No Error
Every single identifying sentence error question will have an option (e) - no error. What sucks about these though, is that almost everyone will second guess themselves before choosing a no error answer. Don't do this. There are absolutely no formulas for the frequency or characteristics of a no error question, so if you've gone through all the other answers, it's probably (e).
The real trick for getting through these questions is to just read each sentence out loud (in your head), and listen for errors. You should be able to spot the right answer.
I hope this helped! Check out my other study guides here, and as always feel free to ask me something here. Good luck!
Hey guys! Today we're approaching the dreaded essay section of the SAT. Let's get started!
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The essay is always the first section of the SAT. At eight in the morning, you get the privilege of turning a page and completing an argumentative essay that is a major portion of your writing section score in twenty five minutes. It is scored by two graders who give it a score of 1-6; together, the total score is out of twelve. Since the essay topic is different for every test, it's hard to prepare; however, here are some things to keep in mind:
Schedule
When writing your essay, time is a huge factor. Though SAT graders know that the twenty five minutes you have will not result in the best essay, it is important to still write an effective essay within the time constraints. That means, of course, that you have to budget your time wisely.
What I recommend is to allot five minutes to plan, less than twenty minutes to write, and leave the rest of the time to proofread. If you do anything though - plan! It is so much better to have quality over quantity, so structure your essay wisely and know what you're actually going to write about before you start.
Structure
So.. how do you structure an SAT essay? Well you can pretty much do anything. A five paragraph essay is usually how to play it safe, but sometimes it isn't the best for your essay. I recommend feeling out your essay to determine the structure. For some prompts you might take a really personal, conversational approach and only need three paragraphs, while a more factual, professional essay might have a tighter five paragraph format. It's really up to you.
Idea Bank
"Gatsby? What Gatsby?"
Having an idea bank can be a lifesaver when it comes to the SAT essay. An idea bank is just a stock pile of known books, events, or ideas that can relate to a variety of topics and back up a lot of ideas. The best way to build up an idea bank by reading classic novels, brushing up on your current events, and actually paying attention in history class. Just keep in mind that everyone who sits that SAT is going to be writing the same essay. Think your example of using "The Great Gatsby" is original? It's not. Remember to vary your sources and don't default to the same example for every essay, because it won't always fit.
Practice
The best way to learn is to practice! Here are some practice prompts. When you're done, have someone else grade it using the rubric here. Double the score they give you and you'll have a good idea of where you stand on your essay. Remember though, the essay is only a part of your writing section score, and there is still hope even if you're not comfortable with your essay writing abilities.
Proofread
Remember to proofread after you finish writing. A simple spelling error paired with a misplaced comma could be the deciding factor between a 5 and a 6. Don't spend too much time on proofreading though, just read over your essay after writing it and look out for any errors.
While proofreading, feel free to substitute your vocabulary with some SAT words to give your essay a little boost. Only do this if you have time, however, because it doesn't matter if you have fancy words if your essay doesn't argue anything.
DId this help at all? I really didn't know how to approach making a study guide for this section, but I hope this worked! Make sure to check out my other study guides here and send me an ask here. Good luck!
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Hey guys! Today we're talking about improving sentences part of the writing section on the SAT. Let's get started.
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These types of questions ask you to improve already written sentences. Either the whole or a part of a sentence will be underlined, and you must pick the best replacement or keep the sentence as is. There are many types of mistakes that you are asked to catch, but here are some frequently occurring mistakes:
(Apparently Tumblr decided to not put an underline option? So what would otherwise be underlined is crossed out.)
Parallelism
If a sentence lacks parallelism, it doesn't flow well and will sound weird to the reader. For example,
1) She liked to bike, swim, and going fishing.
(a) - going fishing
(b) - fish
(c) - she liked to fish
... etc.
The correct answer here would be (b) because fish is in the same tense as other examples, bike and swim. And doesn't it just sound better?
The key for these questions is to watch out for lists and make sure everything is uniform. A parallelism mistake will sound off to an experienced reader or writer.
Passive vs. Active Voice
You've probably been learning the difference between passive and active voice for a while now, but if not, here is a helpful guide. A passive vs. active voice question on the SAT will be a regular type of question that will have two good answers. The difference between the good answer and the great answer is active voice instead of passive voice. For example,
2) Mimi is being watched by Tom.
(a) - Mimi is being watched by Tom
(b) - Mimi, having been watched by Tom
(c) - Tom is watching Mimi
... etc.
The right answer here would be (c) because "Tom watching Mimi" is active voice, while "Mimi is being watched" is passive voice, though technically both could work.
To prepare for these make sure to watch out for the pesky "is being" or the dreaded "to be -verb". Read some articles or ask a teacher about passive vs. active voice because it can make a huge difference in your writing as well as your SAT score.
Subject Placement
If you pay attention to anything in the post, let it be this. I'm not quite sure how to explain this, so I'm just going to do my best through this example,
3) Founded in 1903, the students of the Chilton Academy usually enroll in Ivy League universities.
(a) - the students of the Chilton Academy usually enroll in Ivy League universities
(b) - the Chilton Academy prepares students for Ivy League education
(c) - Ivy League universities accept many students from the Chilton Academy
... etc.
Okay, so the correct answer here would be (b) because the "founded the 1903" modifier modifies the Chilton Academy, not Ivy League universities or the students. Option (a) would make it seem like the students were founded in 1903, and option (c) would make it seem like the universities were founded in 1903. Does that make any sense? Haha, sorry for the terrible explanation.
To prep for these I would just look out for any weird modifying phrases. Once you learned to look for them, you'll find them everywhere and never miss them.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Ahh, subject verb agreement. You know all about this, I'm sure, but let's just go over it again. Subject-verb agreement is the agreement between subject and verbs (shocking). For example,
(this question was adapted from a question 8, section 10 of the October 2012 SAT)
4) The reason that many films succeed are that it reflects the private yearnings of audiences.
(a) - are that it reflects
(b) - is that they reflect
(c) - is because of reflecting
... etc.
The answer here is (b) because we're talking about a singular subject (reason), so the verb must also be singular (is).
To trip you up, the SAT may put another noun in there to try and get your attention (films in this case). Just ask yourself who is doing what and find your subject and verb from that.
I hope this helped! Check out my other SAT study guides here and feel free to send me an ask with questions, requests, or comments here. Good luck!
Hi! First of all, thank you so much for running this blog. You are a lovely person. Secondly, can you make a PSAT: Critical Reading study guide? In my opinion critical reading is the most annoying section. Thanks again!
Wow, thank you so much!
I am planning to do my PSAT guides soon. Here are my study guides out so far. I don’t know when my PSAT critical reading post will be up, but until then I recommend checking out my SAT critical reading posts. A lot of the question types and study tips are going to be the same.
And I agree - critical reading sections are so annoying.
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