Articles Written By: Robert Kohen

How To Get SAT Vocab Questions Right When You Don’t Even Know The Word

Date: April 20, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

As you probably already know, the SAT loves difficult vocabulary. It shows up all over the critical reading section. While you should be studying vocabulary to prepare, you’re probably going to come across at least a word or two on the test you don’t recognize. So what do you do when that happens?

First, don’t panic or automatically jump to the next question. If you stick with the word, there are ways to find out what it means.

You want to first think about any prefixes, roots and suffixes that you can recognize. These are parts of the word that are recognizable because they appear in many words. For example, the word beneficent starts with the prefix “bene,” meaning “good.” Beneficent, sure enough, means “doing good.” This won’t always work (and sometimes these can be misleading), but more often than not they can help. You can find a list of common prefixes, roots and suffixes in nearly all SAT prep books, as well as online.

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Once you’ve looked for prefixes/roots/suffixes, your next job is to ask yourself: does this word, or any part of it, look like any other words I know? These can be English or foreign words (as long as the language is relatively close to English, like Spanish, French, German or Latin). If you give yourself a little time, you’ll often be able to connect the word or part of it to another word that you already know. Very often, that can tip you off to the probable meaning of the word, or a meaning close enough to help you answer the question correctly. Check it out:

Dispassionate: See the word passionate in there? Now link that up with the prefix, “dis,” which means “not.” As in “dislike,” or to not like. So what does dispassionate mean? Not passionate or emotional – not influenced by passions or emotions. That simple.

Respite: What other word might you know that this one sounds like? Respiration! “Respite” means a brief break or relief – i.e. like “taking a breather.”

Dominion: How about “dominate”? That’s pretty close, right? Dominion means power or control over a territory – the result of “dominating.”

Derivative: Deriv…derive! A derivative, in fact, is something derived from something else, unsurprisingly enough.

Credence: This one is very close to “credible,” which means believable. Sure enough, credence means believing something to be true.

Avuncular: Pretty uncommon word, no? Can you tease anything out of it? How about uncle? Avuncular means “like an uncle” or “kind like an uncle.” The meaning is hiding right in the middle of the word.

3 Wrong Answer Traps on ACT Reading

Date: April 15, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

While you won’t be able to predict what passages will appear on ACT Reading come test day, you can know the wrong answer traps that will be waiting for you. The ACT has devised some pretty tricky wrong answer choices. Even the best of critical readers miss ACT reading questions because they are taken off guard by these traps. Fortunately, however, these traps recur over and over. By learning to recognize them now, you can strengthen your performance on test day.

Here are three of the most common wrong answer choices:

1. “X and Y.” This is a classic trap. These test makers provide two separate answers to the question in one answer choice. One of these—usually the first, X—is correct. At this point, many students select this answer choice. The problem, however, is that Y is incorrect. Here’s what one of these looks like:

The volcano erupted because:

A) Pressure built up under the surface (X) and the air was rich with carbon (Y).

Many students choose A because the first part (“pressure built up under the surface”) is correct. A is wrong, however, because the second part (“the air was rich with carbon”) is incorrect.

2. Text pulled directly from the passage. The ACT often places text copied from the passage in a wrong answer choice. Many students fall prey to this trap when they read the answer choice, thinking “I’ve seen this, they do say this in the passage, so this must be right.” Don’t fall for this trap! An answer choice that features text from the passage can be correct, but it’s often incorrect – so be on your guard anytime you see a choice like this. Here’s an example:

What does Sweden fail to recycle?

A)   Oil

“Oil” was mentioned in the passage, so many students will recognize it and mistakenly choose it. In fact, however, oil is mentioned in the passage as something Sweden does recycle.

3. A sleeper phrase in an otherwise correct answer. In this trap, the answer choice will be clearly correct—except for one minor word or phrase, the “sleeper phrase,” that invalidates it. These are some of the trickiest wrong answer choices. Here’s an example:

What does the author want the planes to do?

A)   Fly quickly to Greenland together.

In this instance, the author does want the planes to fly quickly to Greenland—he just never says that they should do so together. “Together” is the sleeper phrase. Here’s another example:

The following is true of a company that takes part in the Recycle-360 Initiative:

A)   It reuses its own waste.

In this instance, the company does reuse waste. The problem is that it reuses the waste of others, rather than its own waste. “Its” is the sleeper phrase.

See how subtle sleeper phrases can be? To get these questions right, you’ll want to make sure to read each answer choice very carefully. If you’re stuck between two choices that both seem correct, look closely at each word (you can even underline them) in the choices. One of them is probably a sleeper phrase.

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How The SAT and ACT Make You Miss Subject-Verb Agreement Questions

Date: April 13, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

One of the most common questions types on SAT Writing and ACT English is the subject-verb agreement question. These questions ask you to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The rule is that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural verb takes a plural subject. For example:

The boy is hungry. –> Singular subject (‘boy’), singular verb (‘is’). 

The boys are hungry. –> Plural subject (‘boys’), plural verb (‘are’).

Easy enough, right? That’s why the SAT and ACT have devised three ways to trick you on these questions. Here they are:

1. Placing a prepositional phrase between the subject and verb. Anytime you see a prepositional phrase placed between the subject and verb, think subject-verb agreement. The actual subject of the sentence is not the noun in the prepositional phrase – it’s the noun that the prepositional phrase is describing. Here’s what this looks like:

The boy in the bright red shoes seems cool. –> The test makers want you to think the subject of the sentence is ‘shoes,’ the noun in the prepositional phrase. But the subject will never be the noun in the prepositional phrase. Who seems cool? The boy. If you thought the subject was ‘shoes’ you would have changed ‘seems’ to the plural ‘seem,’ which is exactly what most test takers mistakenly do.

2. Placing a non-essential clause between the subject and verb. If you see a non-essential clause (i.e. phrase that modifies the noun and is offset by two commas) between the subject and verb, think subject-verb agreement. Just like in a prepositional phrase, the noun in a non-essential clause is not the subject of the sentence. The clause merely describes the subject. For example:

The coloring book, which has many pages, is large. –> Many students would choose ‘are’ instead of ‘is’ for the verb here. This is incorrect, however, because the subject of the sentence is the book, not the pages. “Which has many pages” is simply a non-essential clause describing the subject ‘book.’ What’s large? The book, not the pages.

3. Placing the subject after the verb. In English, the subject usually comes before the verb. By reversing this and then placing a singular noun that is not the subject before the verb, the test makers trap you into choosing the wrong verb. Here’s an example:

Inside the house stand many doors. –> Here the subject is not ‘house,’ but the plural ‘doors,’ which takes the plural verb ‘stand.’ ‘Inside the house’ is a prepositional phrase describing the doors. Many students would miss this question by choosing the singular ‘stands’ for the verb because the verb is preceded by the singular noun house. Always ask yourself what is performing the action of the verb. Does the house stand or the do the doors stand? Here, the “doors stand (inside the house).”

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Whenever you see a question testing subject-verb agreement, be on the lookout for these three traps. If there is a prepositional phrase or non-essential clause standing between the subject and verb, you can simply cross it out with your pencil in order to more clearly see how the subject and verb relate. Additionally, always ask yourself what noun is performing the action of the sentence. Never assume that the noun closest to the verb is the subject of the sentence!

Should You Take The SAT or ACT? Here’s How To Decide

Date: April 10, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Once upon a time, many colleges looked upon the ACT with suspicion. These days, however, schools give the ACT and SAT equal weight in the admissions process. Gone are the days when students would simply sit for the test that was more popular in their region of the country. The number of students taking the ACT has risen drastically, and a growing portion of students are even taking both exams.

Given this newfound freedom, which test should you choose? It’s critical to carefully evaluate which exam is best for you. While there is some overlap between the SAT and ACT, they are fundamentally very different. Because thoroughly preparing for each can take many months (make sure to start early), it’s generally best limit yourself to preparing for only one. If you prepare for both, you sacrifice valuable time that is often better spent developing your academic and extracurricular profile.
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The best way to determine which test is right for you is to take a full-length, timed practice test for each exam. Make sure the exam is an official one written by the actual test makers (you can find these on the test makers’ websites). When you score the test, compare the two scores using the SAT-ACT concordance table (also available on both test makers’ websites). If you score significantly higher on one exam, that’s usually the best exam to take.

If you perform equally well on both tests, consider which you found more enjoyable. The more enjoyable the test, the more effort you’re likely to invest in preparing for it, resulting in a higher final score.

In addition to taking a practice test on your own, here are some of the key differences between the exams that can help you best decide which is right for you:

• Unlike the SAT, the ACT does not test vocabulary. While a difficult word might occasionally appear on an ACT reading passage, the SAT is packed with advanced vocabulary. It shows up on vocabulary questions, dense reading passages, and even in questions and answer choices. If vocabulary is your major strength, lean toward the SAT. If it’s a major weakness, consider the ACT.

• The ACT allows less time per question than the SAT. While many students can finish SAT sections and still have time remaining, students taking the ACT often struggle to complete the sections in time. If you’re a particularly slow test taker, the SAT may be a better choice.

• The SAT is, at its core, a reasoning test, whereas the ACT is more a test of content. Questions on the SAT resemble puzzles and require logical thinking. The content on the ACT is often more advanced than the content on the SAT (it includes trigonometry, for example), but it is presented in a much more straightforward manner. Students will often prefer one test’s approach to the other.

• The ACT contains a science section. This section is very different than anything on the SAT, which does not test science. Practically no scientific knowledge is needed to do well on the ACT, however, as the test is primarily concerned with your ability to quickly analyze data like graphs and charts. Still, the science section can be a major factor in score differences between the SAT and ACT.

Use these tips to help decide which exam is best for you. While it may take some time to figure out which test is the right one, you won’t regret having done so. Carefully choosing between the two exams can help ensure you achieve your optimal score, maximizing your chances at college admissions and scholarships.

By the way, if you’re an international student, you might be better choosing the ACT.

Note: The SAT is changing in 2016. This article is for students deciding between the ACT and the current version of the SAT.

The “-ing” Trap On the SAT and ACT

Date: April 8, 2015 Author: Robert Kohen

Whenever you see a word ending in “-ing” on the SAT Writing or ACT English test, be on your guard. Words ending in “-ing” are commonly used to trap students into choosing wrong answers.

What’s so tricky about “-ing” words? They look like verbs, but they don’t grammatically count as verbs. Instead, “-ing” words can either be used as nouns (“gerunds”) or as adjectives (“present participles”). Here’s an example:

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Running takes a lot of energy. –> Here, “running” is being used as a noun. It is the subject of the sentence; it is not a verb.

The boy, running away from house, felt free. –> Here, “running” is being used like an adjective to describe the boy; it is not a verb.

Running clocks are the best types of clocks. –> Here, “running” is being used like an adjective to describe clocks; it is not a verb.

The SAT and ACT will use this rule to try to trick you all the time. How? Every complete sentence needs two things: a subject and a verb. SAT and ACT questions will feature a sentence with a subject and an “-ing” word, and it will be up to you to recognize that this is not a complete sentence. For example:

The boy, eating the sandwich. –> Subject – the boy, check. Verb? Eating? Nope, that’s an “–ing” word. Not a complete sentence.

Don’t fall prey to this common trap. Be on the lookout for “-ing” words – they’ll often be masquerading as verbs!