Key Words for each section and Tips

Command of Evidence

Key words: “finding…support the idea” “data to complete statement” “claim in underlined sentence” “quotation”

For this section

1. Write down task verb from question

2. Write claims + important context down (Important context like the relationship between variables Ex: inverse relationship)

3. See how it relates to task verb

Writing blueprint

Task verb:

Claim:

Trend from graph:

For any question

Read question first and then make a prediction for the answer.

Central Idea

Key words: “Based on text…conclusion” “Main idea of text” “according to the text…(then they’ll ask for specific detail)” “text indicate…specific detail".”

For main Idea Questions

1. Identify the subject (main thing) of the text. It could be something the text defines.

2. Identify the claim the author is making

3. Identify the support the author uses

4. Ask: Does this answer cover ALL of these? Eliminate answers that only cover a part of a text, have outside info, contradict text + ignore exceptions/qualifiers.

For Detail Question (Asking for a specific thing in the text)

1. Find the specific detail the question asks about (highlight it)

2. Read the context around it.

3. Ask what does this detail imply or suggest?

4. Ask: what is the mechanism or function described? Eliminate answers that: Add info not information not in the text, mistate what the detail says, + add a different mechanism.

• Has you’re doing this, highlight

Inferences

Key word: “logically completes text”. Tip: Don’t include things that were never mentioned or strays away from the text. If iffy about don’t pick. Also, look for words and see if you can tie them back to the passage.

Test Purpose and Strucutre

Key words: “overall structure” and “function of the underlined sentence” Finding the function of the underlined text: Analyze - Read the passage and slow down for underlined text. Clarify - Say what you think the function is (write your predicted function in one sentence). Eliminate answers that don’t match conclusion. (ACE) Finding overall structure: Analyze - Focus on what the different sections are in the text. Clarify what sections are (Break it up into sections) Eliminate

Cross Text Connections

Key words: “Text 1 and 2…agree with statement” “What response…Text #…” or “how would Text #1 respond?” Tip: Write down what each text says maybe using a table or something. Then compare them by using what the question to guide you and then predict the answer.

Skip your weakest areas and save it for later

Plan: See any thing that says claim or logically completes the text, skip it. Do first: Words in Context, Form and Structure and Boundaries questions, and rhetorical synthesis.

Words Context

Ask you for the meaning of a word in a context or asks you to fill in the blank with an appropriate vocab.

Steps for Word In Context

1. Ask what is the relationship between ideas? (Look at relationship list) Then ask for tone.

2. Predict your own answer by filling in your own word. Write down predicted answer

3. Eliminate choices

4. If 2 are close, check which one fits the specific context better/matches the relationship between ideas.

Highlight

Rela + important points: Yellow

Tone: Blue

Predict:

Quick Relationship Reference Card

*Important because it explains how certain words + punctuation can reveal meaning = make you pay attention to certain details more.

• Contrast

• Means: Opposite ideas

• Words: But, although, however, yet, despite, while, whereas

• Cause/Effect

• Means: One thing leads to another

• Words: because,, since, therefore, thus, consequently, as a result

• Support

• Means: Adds to the idea

• Words: And, moreover, furthermore, in addition, also

• Definition

• Means: Explains unknown word.

• Words: colon (:), dash (-), that, is, which, means, in other words.

Boundaries

Key words: “choice conforms to standard English.” *To differentiate between Boundaries + For and structure, read the question and answer to find out how much to pay attention to. For boundaries, don’t look at full context. Only look for the line you are punctuating. You know it is boundary if it only has punctuation questions as answers

Rhetorical synthesis

This is the section with the bullet points. It would have questions that look like they’re doing the right task verb BUT they have the wrong info = you need to understand what you’re reading and pay attention to specific info).

Steps

1. Read the question to identify what task verb it is looking for = know how to approach question

2. Summarize notes in words (write down) + predict answer

3. Answer the question

Rhetorical Synthesis Task Verbs

• Emphasize (a specific point)

• Means: Shine light on ONE specific detail . Rest of notes are background.

• How to fix: Circle a thing you must emphasize.

• Introduce (a topic/person/book)

• Means: Assume reader KNOWS nothing about the topic. You must state full name about name and basic definition.

• How to fix: Prompt say introduce x; start with x and say what it is.

• Generalization (about study or trend)

• Means: Zoom way out. DO NOT mention specific details = only talk about what study does.

• How to fix: Do not write specific answers

• Refute (a claim)

• Means: Prove a statement wrong with exact opposite evidence.

• How to fix: When you see refute, write down things that have opposite evidence

• Compare/Contrast

• Means: analyze how 2 things relate

• How to fix: Make a table of 2 two things that write down info specific to them and compare

• Begin a Narrative/Describe a process

• Means: Tell a story in chronological order. Start at very beginning. Narrative: tells a story with subject, scene, and what happened at beginning. Describe: step-by-step

Comma Rules

1. Commas separate items in a list. Ex: My favorite food are pizza, ice cream, and mangoes.

2. Commas set off non-essential info: Ex: Eating, which is my favorite activity, is something we must all do.

3. Comma divide independent clauses with FANBOYS. Ex: I told a chemistry joke, but there was no reaction.

4. Commas conclude intro word, phrase, or clause. Ex: After correcting my pronunciation, Hermoine nailed the spell with ease.

Confusing language…

If you encounter confusing language, write down what the text means in your own words (what you write down isn’t long, but it is enough for you to understand. It can have = signs and +)

Form, Structure, and Sense

Key words: “Completes the text so it conforms to the standards of English” Consists of dangling modifiers, possession, and tense questions.

FANBOYS

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

Colons Rule

1. Colons MUST come after an independent clause (complete sentence).

2. Colons introduce lists. Ex: I have 3 favorite foods: ice creams, pizza, and manager.

3. Colons give an example and also introduce quotes. Ex: my roommate is terrible at cooking: last night he burned the water.

4. Colons resolves cliffhangers. Example: Bob’s biggest fear came true: he was out of coffee.

Semicolons

1. Semicolons act like periods. Ex: I don’t like pizza;I love it!

2. Semicolons separate items on a list (when items have additional punctuation/separate items in the list already contain commas). Ex: He ate pizza, which was bad; banana, which was horrible; and chips, which were bland.

Dashes on the SAT

1. Set off non-essential info.

2. Dashes can steal power from other punctuation marks. They can acts as a semicolon, colon, comma, or act like a dramatic pause. Ex: I told a chemistry joke—but there was no reaction.

Tip #1

If you see a semicolon and a period, eliminate it UNLESS it is a complex list.

Present simple

Use this when talking about facts, habits, and schedules. (subject + verb). Ex: This is my phone (fact). He studies everyday (schedule).

Present continuous

Describes action right now (subject + to be + verb-ing). Ex: You are watching. I am speaking on a camera.

Present perfect

Action in the past describes subject now. Used for experience/ lack of it (subject + have/has + past participle). Ex: I have studied English for three years (past act but using it to describe how I am now). She has eaten breakfast already.

Present perfect continuous

Action that started in the past and continued non-stop. Indicates when an ongoing action started. (subject + have/has + been + verb-ing) Ex: I have been studying Spanish for 8 years. He has been sleeping for 12 years.

Past Simple

Action that started and finished in the past. (subject + past simple). Ex: She worked last night. I lived in chicago for 3 years.

Past continuous

Action that continued from past. Gives context. (subject + was/were + verb-ing). Ex: We were living in Canada when we got engaged. I was studying before you walked in the room.

Past perfect

Used to provide context for another action in the past. To establish a clear chronological order when discussing two past events. (subject + had + past participle). Ex: I had already booked the tickets when the concert sold out. We had eaten a big lunch, so we weren’t hungry when we got to the hotel.

Past Perfect Continuous

Describes an action that continued over time and then stopped at the moment of another action. (subject + had been + verb-ing). Continue writing

Summarizing

Writing down stuff in the way you understand helps you understand what you’re reading. You especially need this for command and evidence and central idea.

Finite Verbs

• Has a subject connected to it

• Shows tense (past, present, future)

• Can stand alone as main verb of sentence

• Example: She runs everyday. (Runs has a tense - present tense + has a subject) OR They ate dinner

*Every sentence MUST have at least ONE finite verb (main verb). Everything else is nonfinite

Nonfinite verbs

• Does NOT have a subject

• Can’t sand alone as main verb

• Act like an adjective or noun

Types (-main verb is in red)

• Present participle: verb + -ing. Ex: Running quicky, she won

• Past participle: verb + -ed/-en (adjectove). Ex: Exhausted, she slept (exhausted acts like an adjective)

• Infinitive: “to” + verb. Ex: She wants to run. (Acts like a noun

How to find main verb

1. Look for a verb that has a subject

2. Look for a verb that shows tense

Gerund

• Are -ing words that act as nouns/subject (not adjectives)

• Gerunds are singular, so you use the verbs is with them

Ex: Running is a good exercise.

TIPS to find main subject or verb

#1: Removing non-essential phrases

#2: Cross out prepositional phrases and relative clauses

Relative clauses

Words: Who, Whom, Which That, whose. Relative clauses refer back to a noun (meaning that the subject/noun comes before the relative clause word). Ex: The book that i read was interesting. Book is the subject.

Prepositional phrases

*Subject comes before the preposition. Ex: collection of books. Ex: musings on Japanese life

Prepositions list

• Aboard Below Like

• About Beneath Since

• Above Beside Through

• Across Between With

• Against Before Instead

• Along Beyond Into

• Around By

• Amid In

• Among From

• After Off

• At On

• Except Over

• For Unto

• During Until

• Down Upon

• Behind Under

4 important steps for punctuating supplementary adverbs (transitions)

1. Supplementary adverb at beginning of sentence = comma after. Ex: However, the results were inconclusive.

2. In the middle of two sentences = semicolon before, comma after. Ex: The evidence was clear; however, the jury disagreed.

3. Middle of the sentence = commas around. Ex: the results, however, showed…

4. At the end = Comma before - The results were inconclusive, however.

Supplementary adverbs

They are basically the transitions in a sentence. Ex: Though, nevertheless, however, e.t.c.

Steps for reading graphs

1. After reading the little summary thing at the bottom, read title = get topic, variables + maybe time period

2. Read the axes: X-Axis (horizontal): What is being compared? Y-Axis (Vertical): What is being measured? (percentage, number, time, e.t.c.)

3. Read legend (The Key): The legend tells you what diff colors/bars/lines represent. *You need to know this to know what to look at

4. Identify the variables: Look at dependent variable + independent (control/no control)

5. Read the Data points + Look for pattens/trends: Figure out each trend for independent variable.

6. Connect to passage: Connect it to the task the question wants you to do

When you can’t focus on reading

Try annotating and ask yourself questions like what does this mean