SAT PREP MRS. PALOTI 2014 SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS

APPROACHES TO COMPLETION QUESTIONS Start out by reading the entire sentence, saying blank for blank(s). This gives you an overall sense of the meaning of the sentence and helps you figure out how the parts of the sentence relate to each other. Always begin by trying to determine the standard dictionary definitions of the words in the sentence and the answers. To answer sentence completion questions, you usually don’t have to know a nonstandard meaning of a word. Keep in mind that introductory and transitional words are extremely important. They can be the key to figuring out the logic of a sentence. They tell you how the parts of the sentence relate to each other. For example, look at the following common introductory and transitional words: but although however yet even though These words indicate that the two parts of the sentence will contradict or be in contrast with each other. There are many other introductory and transitional words that you should watch for when working on sentence completion questions. Always read the sentences carefully, and don’t ignore any of the details.

APPROACHES CONTINUED Be aware that some of the most difficult sentence completion questions contain negatives, which can make it hard to follow the logic of the sentence. Negatives in two clauses of a sentence can be even more of a challenge, as in the example: According to Burgess, a novelist should not preach, for sermonizing has no place in good fiction. Figure out what sort of word(s) should fill the blank(s) before looking at the choices; then look for a choice that is similar to the one(s) you thought of. For many one-blank questions, especially the easier ones, you’ll find the word you thought of among the choices. Other times, a close synonym for your word will be one of the choices.