Plan of Attack PSAT 2009

The Basics  Why? Gives you practice for the SAT Gives you a chance to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program Scholarships for college

Scoring  Correct answer– one point  Unanswered question-0 points  Incorrect answer to a multiple choice question- lose ¼ of a point  Incorrect answer to a math grid question- 0 pts

Structure  1. Critical Reading 25 minutes 13 sentence completion and 35 reading comprehension questions  2. Math 25 minutes 28 regular math multiple choice questions and 10 grid-in questions  3. Same as #1  4. Same as #2  5. Writing Skills 30 minutes 14 identifying sentence errors, 20 improving sentences, and 5 improving paragraphs

Selection Index  The sum of your math, critical reading, and writing scores.  An range from 60 to 240.

 Hard questions are worth same amount of points as easy ones. Skip around and answer as many as you can. Don’t waste time on questions that you don’t know at all.

Math and sentence completion questions  Math questions—both multiple choice and grid-ins-are arrange from easy to hard.  Sentence completion--ditto

Reading Comprehension and Writing  Not arranged in any order—not arranged from easier to harder.

Hard questions  Circle them in your test booklet, skip them and come back once you have answered all the ones you know.  Be sure to skip that number on your scantron sheet.

When to guess  If you can rule out two of the choices as wrong, then you should probably guess.  But on the math grid– guess! There is no penalty for wrong answers on this section.

A suggestion  Some people wait to mark their scantron sheet until they come to the end of a section. They circle the correct answers in the test booklet. This method can help save time, keep your momentum going, and help avoid mistakes on the scantron sheet.  I have never done this, but it might work for some

Remember  The answer is right in front of you on all the multiple choice questions  Look for quick points if you are running out of time For example, on the reading comprehension, some questions ask you to identify a word meaning, which can be done w/o reading the entire passage.

Vocabulary  Vocab is vital to PSAT  Find your own study techniques Flashcard Worksheets Notebooks Mnemonic devices  STUDY REPEATEDLY

Vocabulary cont..  Use root words  Listen to your gut  Try and recall context

SENTENCE COMPLETION  Testing vocabulary  Testing ability to follow sentence flow  Remember: arranged in order of easy to hard  USE CLUES!!!

How to attack the sentence completion sections  Build vocab  Look for context clues and predict an answer  Scan choices for one that would fit  For two blanks, decide which blank is easier to predict and scan choices.

Kaplan Four-Step Method  Read for clues  Predict  Scan answers for match  Read back in the sentence

READ CAREFULLY  Although some of the revelations in the movie star’s memoirs will surprise even this most ardent fans, much of his story is quite A. Significant B. Familiar C. Impressive D. Explicit E. Thorough

Process of Elimination  As different schools of thought on child rearing go in and out of vogue, parents who at one time were esteemed for imposing strict rules upon their children may find themselves marginalized for being A. Despotic B. Controversial C. Effective D. Pragmatic E. Erratic

 Sander was blind to his own double standards, which were so apparent to all those who knew him; he was unable to tolerate even the slightest hint of _____ in others, yet he regularly offended his colleagues with his own _______ conduct.  A. snobbery…boorish  B. timidity…impudent  C. conceit…supercilious  D. impropriety….prudish  E. duplicity…moralistic

Jazz developed as a style of music that was uniquely characterized by its heavy reliance on improvisation and on ____ musical boundaries, yet today, a lot of jazz has become so _____ that many listeners cannot stand to hear one of their favorite “jazz standards” played in a novel manner. a. respecting…fixed b. Expanding… ambiguous c. Expanding…standardized d. Sustaining…particularized e. Transgressing…universal

Reading comprehension questions  Know the directions-questions are only based on the information in the passage. Do not apply outside knowledge when answering.

You’ll be asked  About overall tone (Big Picture)  Overall content  Specific details (little picture)  What author suggests/implies (inference)  Paired passages will ask you to compare and contrast the texts  Vocabulary in context

With partner…  In your own words, define the following types of questions: Big Picture Little picture Inference Vocab-in-context P 88-92; (2007)

Some tips for long passages  Make a map: jot down simple notes in the margins as you read  Underline key points  Note places where the author gives opinion

Do p  P in 2007

 Skim the passage  Read the question. Make sure you understand what it is asking  Locate the material you need– if it gives a line number, go directly to it.

Do practice p  P in 2007 version

How to Attack the Writing Section  Part I: 14 Identifying Sentence errors  Assume that the parts of the sentence not underlined are correct.  Listen for what sounds wrong

 Part II: 20 Improving sentences questions  Choice A is always identical to the original sentence.

 5 Improving Paragraph questions

Complete the following activities:  You will be given one of the common questions found on the writing section of the PSAT (found in Kaplan)  Summarize the characteristics of that type of writing section question  Make an original test question that could be used in that section Including multiple choice answer options Mark the correct answer and STATE WHY

Part I: Identifying Sentence Errors Group 1 (2 sections): Baird and Vaughn Verb tense errors; Adjective and adverb errors Group 2 (2 sections): Kelly and Davis Subject-verb agreements; Double negatives Group 3: Hartman and Morrison Pronoun errors: Case and number Group 4: Hornberger and Woods Pronoun errors: Ambiguous reference Group 5: Crum and Schulz Idioms Group 6: Hughes, Donnelly, and Brewer Comparison errors

Part II: Improving Sentences Group 1: Davis and Hornberger Sentence fragments Group 2: Vaughn and Hughes Run-on sentences Group 3: Kelly and Schulz Coordination errors Group 4: Baird and Brewer Subordination errors Group 5: Donnelly and Woods Misplaced modifiers Group 6: Morrison, Crum, and Hartman Bad parallelism

Part II: Improving Paragraphs Group 1: Hartman and Hughes Sentence revision Group 2: Woods and Brewer Sentence combination Group 3: Morrison and Vaughn Logic and clarity Group 4: Crum and Donnelly Sentence revision Group 5: Hughes and Baird Sentence combination Group 6: Hornberger, Davis, and Kelly Logic and clarity