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Question 1

interpreting words and phrases in context (if a question asks what a certain word/phrase means in that context)

Answer 1

plug in the answer choices and choose the one that makes sense

Question 2

analyzing word choice rhetorically (if a question asks how/why the author uses a certain word or phrase and shapes the style of the test)

Answer 2

ask what exactly the word/phrase is doing, and come up with an answer before looking at the options. pick the option that matches what you predicted

Question 3

answer questions such as “what evidence supports this” or “how relevant is this information”

Answer 3

think like an author, think of what an author would have done or how you would have written it.

Question 4

support a certain claim with evidence from the passage

Answer 4

actually go through the passage to find evidence for the answer you chose. pick the one with the most evidence directly from the passage, not just your own thoughts

Question 5

interpret data from a graph

Answer 5

read the graph and ask yourself what story it’s telling, what the axis and the data, and the title represent, and what it tells you. write this down in your own words and use it to get the answer

Question 6

understand what evidence would strengthen an argument

Answer 6

identify the evidence that the author relies on most heavily, state the argument in your own words, and identify/make a prediction of what would make it better BEFORE looking at the answer choices

Question 7

interpreting data presented in graphics

Answer 7

underline what you’re supposed to answer (written in the question) and only look for that

Question 8

improving the passage’s structure, support, and focus

Answer 8

underline what you’re supposed to answer (written in the question) and only look for that, don’t just choose the answer that sounds best

Question 9

analyzing word choice (questions that ask about the function of certain words, or what they do and how they create meaning and tone)

Answer 9

go through the indicated paragraph in the passage and ask yourself what the words do; make a prediction before looking at the answer choices and then eliminate the options that don’t match

Question 10

analyzing text structure (questions that ask about text structure, order, and a line/sentence/paragraph as it relates to the whole passage)

Answer 10

rephrase the question (“how is the passage structured? what is the function of each paragraph?” etc.) and make a prediction before looking at the answers

take note of what makes each answer choice different from each other; whichever difference is supported by the text is your answer

Question 11

analyze point of view (questions that ask about the point of view of the author or of the authors of multiple passages)

Answer 11

determine what the point of each passage is in your own words.

Question 12

analyzing purpose (questions that ask about the purpose of a paragraph or passage)

Answer 12

look over the part of the text yourself and ask yourself what it does. predict an answer before looking at the options.

Question 13

analyzing arguments (questions that ask about the central claim of a passage or the content and structure of an argument)

Answer 13

rephrase the question and formulate an answer before looking at the answer choices. pick the one that most matches your response

Question 14

analyzing multiple texts (questions that ask for the relationship between two passages)

Answer 14

understand and say in your own words the points of each passage individually. write them down and then compare.

Question 15

analyze quantitative information and how it relates to passages

Answer 15

focus on KEY WORDS in the questions. circle them, make sure you understand them fully, and determine where the information related to those keywords is located

Question 16

SQ3R (while reading fiction in the SAT)

Answer 16

Survey (read the blurb and each question, skim the first sentences in each paragraph, underline keywords in each question) questions,

Question what the passage is about, what it’s trying to say, and why it exists

Read (summarize what you need to look for and then start reading, circling whatever is relevant to the questions as well as the claim, the ideas that are being supported/rejected, and any contrast words such as “but,” “although,” etc.),

Recite (summarize the sequence of events and main details of the story to yourself. after each paragraph, recite whatever info you learned)

Review (review the main purpose and ideas and go through the questions based on what you read)

Question 17

while reading social science passages in the SAT

Answer 17

Read the blurb and comprehend it

Skim the questions and mark where in the passage the question discusses

Read the whole passage and answer the questions as you go. Summarize the main point of each paragraph every time you finish a new paragraph

Question 18

reading paired passages

Answer 18

survey the questions.
read passage 1.
answer passage 1’s questions.
read passage 2.
answer passage 2’s questions

Question 19

what is the most important rule for reading passages?

Answer 19

/find textual evidence for each answer you choose/, don’t just make a guess based on your poor memory!!

Question 20

RIP-RAP for SAT reading questions

Answer 20

Rephrase If Possible (rephrase the question in your own words using how, what, or why to figure out what it’s looking for)

Read Around and Predict (answer it in your own words before looking at any answer choices. find concrete evidence in the text that supports this answer.)

Question 21

what are the best answers for explicit information questions (questions that ask you to choose something that is explicitly mentioned in the passage)

Answer 21

the answer that paraphrases a statement from the passage, is relevant to the question being asked, and is directly supported by textual evidence

Question 22

how to answer an explicit information question

Answer 22

eliminate any answers that introduce new information that wasn’t in the passage, and search for matching keywords within the question and the passage

Question 23

how to answer an implicit information question (a question that asks for inferences/logical conclusions based on evidence in the passage)

Answer 23

choose answers that are completely relevant to the question being asked and have clear textual evidence. only make small leaps in reasoning and choose options with clear, factual evidence

Question 24

how to answer a point of view question (a question that asks to analyze the point of view of the author, a character, or a researcher mentioned in the passage)

Answer 24

understand how extreme that person’s opinion is, make sure the evidence of the point of view is for the right person, make sure that the answer choice has clear textual evidence, mark positive and negative statements in the text, and read the passage in its entirely to understand the full scope of that person’s point of view

Question 25

how to answer an analyzing relationships question (a question that asks for the relationship between two ideas that either agree or disagree)

Answer 25

identify how the two ideas are connected based on explicit information, specific word choice, and the tone of the author by choosing the option that is clearly supported by the text. make a prediction before reading the answer choices and then read the answers thoroughly to make sure that the ideas weren't accidentally switched or almost right, while eliminating any new information introduced in the answer choices and searching for keywords

Question 26

how to cite evidence/answer a question that asks for evidence

Answer 26

lines that provide direct evidence are better than lines that are near the textual evidence or in the same paragraph. in paired questions the information contained in the evidence needs to correctly answer the first question, meaning that the claim chosen in the first question also needs to be relevant and supported by clear textual evidence. in paired questions, the first question should be rephrased, and the option chosen from the second question should answer the rephrased version of the first question.

Question 27

how to answer "main idea" questions

Answer 27

focus on the big picture, not just a small part of the text. use only information that is directly contained in the passage to figure out the main idea make sure the answer you choose is supported by textual evidence make sure you understand how extreme the point that is being made in the passage is make a prediction of the answer to the question in your own words, skim through the passage (beginning and ending paragraphs or sentences in each paragraph) and then choose an answer based on your prediction

Question 28

how to use analogical reasoning (answering questions that ask for similar scenarios or to identify similarities between different situations)

Answer 28

focus on the idea that's being compared, not the details; make sure that every key word or phrase is exactly the same as the idea featured in the passage/question, use your own words to describe the situation but without minor details such as the people, place, topic, or items involved. find a pattern between the structure of the answer choices

Question 29

how to answer questions about a passage's overall structure

Answer 29

make sure the answer chosen describes the overall structure of the whole passage, not just a small part of the passage. make sure that the answer is also completely supported by textual evidence and that every word or phrase is valid. skim the passage for central ideas.

Question 30

how to answer questions that ask for the main intended purpose of a paragraph or passage

Answer 30

focus on the entire passage, not just small parts of it. only identify why exactly it was written and nothing else. make sure the answer chosen matches the extremity (or lack thereof) of the author's opinion and doesn't draw any further conclusions. rephrase, track the flow of ideas, ask "so what," and make sure you are answering the right question

Question 31

how to answer part-whole relationship questions (questions that ask how one part of the passage serves the entire passage)

Answer 31

identify what their function is and what they're doing. make sure you understand how extreme an author's opinion is on the specific topic, that the answer chosen tells WHY the author included certain details, and that it is textually supported. use RIP-RAP for these types of questions especially.

Question 32

how to identify words in context (questions that ask what a word is used for in a certain context)

Answer 32

choose only the definition that works best /within the context of the passage/ and applies to the thing that the passage is describing. summarize the sentence that the word is in and/or plug in the answer choice into the sentence.

Question 33

how to analyze word choice (questions that ask what a specific word or phrase does or conveys in the passage)

Answer 33

make sure all of the details in the answer choice are relevant to the specific part of the passage where the word or phrase is found, and that you are interpreting the word correctly in context alongside how it affects the passage. focus on how they make the text feel but don't stretch your imagination; make sure it it backed up by evidence.

Question 34

how to evaluate evidence (questions that ask how a specific piece of evidence affects -- supports/weakens -- a certain idea on the passage)

Answer 34

make sure that all information in the answer choice is relevant and directly supports or weakens the author's idea. make sure that the answer choice only refers to relevant information from the passage that the question asks you to focus on. make sure that the answer choice correctly identifies how the textual feature fits into the author's argument. determine what type of evidence the author uses. rephrase the claim in your own words and then check to see what evidence supports or contradicts your version of the claim.

Question 35

how to interpret graphs and data (Reading) (questions that ask what the data represents or how it relates to claims in the passage)

Answer 35

if the graph gives data about multiple topics, make sure you're looking at the right information. make sure the answer chosen interprets the trend in the data correctly. make sure that the answer choice is also relevant to both the passage /and/ the figure. read the label and summarize the figure in your own words.

Question 36

how to analyze paired passages (comparing and contrasting two passages)

Answer 36

make sure the claims that are being addressed occur in /both/ passages. read choices carefully and completely and make sure ideas aren't flipped between authors or passages. read and finish all of the questions for one passage before moving on to the next one. think of what transition word would best connect two passages to each other.

Question 37

how to mark up a passage on writing and language test

Answer 37

circle or underline important details of passages and questions, cross out extra words to simplify complex sentences, use process of elimination

Question 38

while answering all sat questions, you should

Answer 38

mark any questions you aren't 100% sure about so that if you have time, you can go back and re-check only those questions

Question 39

how to set up ideas (questions that ask you to pick the choice that best sets up and prepares the reader to understand the information that comes next)

Answer 39

ask yourself what the main topic and purpose of the following information is, then choose the answer that matches topic and purpose. eliminate all answers that are not directly related. find the answer choice that glances over the topic that the examples go deeper into.

Question 40

how to answer a strong support questions (questions that ask you to pick the choice that provides the strongest and most direct evidence to a certain claim in the passage)

Answer 40

only answer the question that is being asked; identify the exact idea(s) that is being supported restate the claim and choose the answer choice that matches that idea(s). eliminate all irrelevant answer

Question 41

how to answer questions that ask you to decide if an addition should or should not be made to the passage

Answer 41

first, narrow down the options by choosing yes or no. focus on the immediate context, not the context of the entire passage identify the purpose of the sentence to determine if it is useful and matches the context

Question 42

how to answer questions that ask where a certain sentence should be placed

Answer 42

ask if the paragraph is structured chronologically, if ideas are explained before they are introduced, and if sentences need to be next to one another. make a prediction of where it should be placed before reading the answer choices focus on what transition phrases match which sentences identify any unclear pronouns that you aren't sure what they refer to

Question 43

how to answer questions that ask you to identify/avoid transition word errors

Answer 43

identify the exact purpose that the transition is supposed to serve. if two answer choices seem to function in the same way, eliminate both of them

Question 44

how to answer questions that ask you to pick a sentence that provides a transition and bridge the gap between two ideas

Answer 44

restate the information that comes before and after the gap in simpler terms so that you can understand what's missing, identify the purpose of the information that comes after. understand exactly what you're looking for

Question 45

how to answer questions that ask you to provide an appropriate introduction or conclusion to a paragraph or passage

Answer 45

restate the main idea and find an answer choice that matches that main idea. figure out the purpose of the information you are introducing or concluding. have a prediction ready.

Question 46

how to answer questions that ask you to interpret data from a graph or diagram

Answer 46

look at the graph first and keep in mind whatever measurements, units, and trends are present in the graph. try to find answers that match what you found. focus only on numbers and quantities and eliminate choices that don't match the clear data.

Question 47

how to answer questions that ask you to identify/avoid word choice errors or pick the proper word choice

Answer 47

focus mainly on the context of the passage and the connotation of the word.

Question 48

how to answer questions that ask about style, tone, and language of the passage

Answer 48

informational or scientific passages generally use plain straightforward language that avoids any slang, while friendly and conversational passages avoid overly elevated or technical language. there are two categories: formal and informal. three of the answer choices will be in one category and the remaining one will be the correct answer. choose the answer that is the odd one out. generally, unfamiliar words = formal. between two possibly correct choices, pick the shorter one.

Question 49

how to answer questions that ask about using words in context that are frequently confused

Answer 49

make sure that the answer you choose not only uses the correct word, but is also grammatically correct and does not have any other errors unrelated to vocabulary.

Question 50

how to answer questions that ask you to avoid redundancy and identify what would make a sentence more concise

Answer 50

identify compound verb phrases, listed adjectives, listed adverbs, and implied descriptors and remove the redundancies. shorter answer choices are better, and removing the repetitive parts of the sentence is usually the best option.

Question 51

how to answer questions that ask you to identify and remove sentence fragments (sentences that lack an independent clause, i.e. they misuse words [subordinating conjunctions {since, although, because, etc.}, relative pronouns {who, which, etc.}] unnecessarily or they lack a subject/verb)

Answer 51

cross out nonessential phrases (ones that are between parentheses, commas, dashes, etc.) to find the error. look for -ing words that lack helping verbs.

Question 52

how to conjugate verb tense and mood

Answer 52

use surrounding verbs as a guide and have a basic knowledge of english grammar if a statement is true regardless of time frame, use present tense

Question 53

how to answer questions that ask you to correct modifier (words/phrases that describe something or someone) placement

Answer 53

make sure that the noun that the modifier refers to is not being made possessive. change only the underlined portion of the sentence and nothing else.

Question 54

how to answer questions that ask you to identify pronoun clarity errors (i.e. when a pronoun has multiple possible antecedents or no possible antecedents)

Answer 54

find the antecedent of the pronoun that is being used and be specific by replacing the pronouns with that antecedent.

Question 55

how to answer questions that ask you to fix when a singular pronoun is paired with a plural antecedent or vice versa

Answer 55

identify the antecedent of the pronoun in question and make sure that you don't overlook all pronouns in the sentence.

Question 56

how to fix its/it's or their/there/their errors

Answer 56

identify whether the noun being referred to is singular or plural. identify the antecedent. read out contraction words

Question 57

how to fix errors with possessive (ends with 's or s') or plural nouns (ends with s)

Answer 57

check every noun that is underlined in the question and make sure that your answer makes sense for all of them

Question 58

how to fix errors with subject-verb agreement (making sure that the noun and verb both match in number)

Answer 58

identify when a plural noun is paired with a singular verb or a singular noun is paired with a plural verb. remove nonessential phrases or anything extra in between the subject and verb. remember that all collective nouns are singular. flip inverted sentences.

Question 59

how to fix errors with noun agreements (making sure singular nouns aren't used where plural nouns should be and vice versa)

Answer 59

ensure that plural nouns are used to refer to compound noun phrases and that descriptive nouns match the subject in number

Question 60

how to fix errors with conventional expressions

Answer 60

study conventional expressions and use your instincts.

Question 61

how to answer questions that ask you to identify errors in lists of two or more (in which the structure of an item doesn't match the others)

Answer 61

different parts of speech should not be linked together in one list. avoid repetition within the list and modify what you can change (the part that's underlined) to match whatever you can't

Question 62

rules about semicolons

Answer 62

a semicolon can only link two independent clauses when there is no conjunction (but, although, and, etc.) and separate list items when a comma cannot be used (because the list items contain a comma) look out for commas to see if a semicolon would be a better replacement. look before and after semicolons to see if the clauses can stand on their own as complete sentences

Question 63

rules about colons

Answer 63

colons are used to link a dependent and independent clause together, either for explanatory purposes/extra information or to introduce a list. the part that comes before a colon should always be an independent clause: something that would make sense if the colon was turned into a period. a colon should be the /only/ thing introducing the information; words like "such as" should not be used after colons.

Question 64

rules about lists and punctuation

Answer 64

commas should not be used in lists of two. they should be used to separate items in a list of more than two, but lists whose items contain commas can be separated with semicolons. commas come before the "and"/"or" avoid choices that use colons or dashes within a list and be consistent with punctuation use across all items in a list. all items in a list should be separated with the same punctuation

Question 65

rules about nonessential elements

Answer 65

nonessential elements (words or phrases that aren't necessary for the sentence to make sense but are still used for descriptive purposes) at the beginning or end of a sentence, they only need punctuation on one side (the right or left, respectively) the punctuation used for nonessential elements needs to be consistent - both sides of the element should be surrounded with the same punctuation. semicolons or colons should now be used around a nonessential element.

Question 66

rules about clauses

Answer 66

and independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence, a dependent clause can't. comma splice errors are when two independent clauses are linked by a comma. in these cases semicolons or periods should be used instead. only one conjunction is needed in a sentence to link two clauses

Question 67

interpret math scenarios

Answer 67

explain to yourself (in plain english) what all of the numbers mean. try to really understand the scenario that's going on before solving anything

Question 68

how to find a perpendicular line

Answer 68

get the slope of an existing line, then find the negative reciprocal of that slope, which will be the slope of the perpendicular line

Question 69

solving function equations

Answer 69

the number of solutions for f(x) = k corresponds to the number of times the f(x) graph intersects with y = k if we know that f(x) is supposed to have 4 solutions, then the line for k with the correct y-value will be the one that intersects f(x) four times

Question 70

find the radius of a circle from a standard-form equation

Answer 70

the square root of the value of that equation equals the radius of the circle

Question 71

exponents

Answer 71

divide the exponent by a number to get a smaller exponent. calculate that smaller exponent and then multiply the product by the number the exponent was divided by ex: x^10 = x^2*x^2*x^2*x^2*x^2 (this equation should not be written as 5(x^2); that isn't an exponent, it's repeated addition)

Question 72

prevent mathematical mistakes

Answer 72

write down every single step on paper so that you can review it. don't go too fast; slow down. underline the question that is being asked and circle key words that will be useful in calculations.

Question 73

time management on no calculator section

Answer 73

7 mins for the first ten questions, 7 - 10 mins for the last ten, skipping questions that take more than 70 seconds. this means that you have 6 - 9 minutes to check your work, review questions that were skipped, and review questions that you marked as being unsure of

Question 74

eliminating incorrect answers on linear word problems.

Answer 74

if they switch variables, that answer should be eliminated. for example, $3 t-shirt and $15 backpack should always be written with the corresponding variables, for example 3t and 15b, so if the variables are swapped and it's 3b and 15t, that's the answer that should be eliminated first.

Question 75

analyzing word problem questions

Answer 75

read the question that is being asked (usually towards the end of the word problem) so that you know what to look for and can circle important words.

Question 76

using answer choices to solve math problems

Answer 76

before solving the problem, look at the answer choices and notice the similarities and differences they have with each other. if two of the answer choices have "x + 10" and two have "2x + 10" in them, you know that the choice between x and 2x is going to be an important one, and you should be extra careful when doing that part of the problem.

Question 77

checking your work in math

Answer 77

if you have time, thoroughly check your work. number your steps so that you can track what may have went wrong

Question 78

linear equations

Answer 78

finding the value of a variable in a simple equation (e.g. 2x + 1 = 5) always treat both sides equally and combine like terms. if an equation contains only fractions, multiply each fraction by the least common multiple of all denominators.

Question 79

when would the signs have to be swapped (> becomes < and vice versa) in an inequality?

Answer 79

solving an inequality in which both sides are multiplied or divided by a negative number

Question 80

removing unknowns from a linear equation on both sides

Answer 80

in order to find out if an equation has no solutions, figure out what the equation would look like if the unknowns on both sides of the equation were equal (ex: if 3ax - 11 = 6x + 6, if 3ax was equal to 6x the equation would be -11 = 6 meaning there are no solutions)

Question 81

rewriting absolute value equation |ax + b| = c

Answer 81

ax + b = c ax + b = -c