Final Tips and Takeaways

Final Review Tips

General:

  • Eat breakfast! 

  • Answer everything- YOU ARE NOT PENALIZED for guessing

  • Watch the clock but don’t panic

  • Endurance is key!  Fight through it

Critical Reading:

  • Read italics! 

  • Passage map- circle where questions are BEFORE reading/ answer when you get to them

  • Read for SOAPSTONE- Speaker   Occasion   Audience  Purpose Subject/Main idea     TONE

  • END with longest reading section if possible

  • Watch the clock

Writing Section

  • Shortest answer is often right

  • Pay close attention to the CONTEXT of the sentence

  • Semicolons- separates two independent sentences I have paid my dues; therefore, I expect all the privileges listed in the contract.

  • Colons- END of a sentence and introduces something important. To introduce the effect, or logical consequence of an action. Example: There was only one way he could win: he had to cheat

  • Commas CANNOT separate two independent sentences- semicolons/periods do!

  • Parallel Structure- All tenses MUST agree. He went hikING, bikING and swimmING.

  • Active Voice is often right- Subject DOES the action. Bob threw the ball.

  • Watch for appositives: Bob, a sailor, won first prize at the event. Adding info about a noun has 2 commas

  • There, their, they're http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/there_their_theyre.htm  and whose, who's http://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/whos_whose.htm

  • Review http://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-grammar-rules-you-must-know

Essay

  • Reading the article- Once you locate the argument, read efficiently by circling what makes the argument so effective. Use your good judgment about what parts of the article to skim. DON’T annotate too much because you don’t have time. Spend UNDER 15 minutes on reading if possible

  • Intros must contain what the argument IS AND that its effective (you can write that its ineffective, but few released essays do this)

  • What if the essay isn’t good? You could write how its ineffective, but this isn’t common FYI

Body Paragraphs

Topic sentence-- Context--Quote-- HOW Effective/impact on audience/etc. 

  • Remember these 4 analysis questions after each quote:

  1. Discuss what specifically was mentioned, who did it, and how they’re reliable

  2. Discuss what was staggering about that particular info

  3. Consider why the author used this as part of their argument

  4. Discuss its impact on the audience

  • *THROW IN GOOD Vocab and sentence structure!

  • *Do NOT write if you agree or not

Conclusion- Make sure to include the conclusion!
Wrap up what devices you mentioned and restate how effective the author was in the passage.

Best of Luck!!! You WILL do great!