Review for the ACT and SAT Verbal Sections
The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science
By Jack L. Carter
Abstract
Sense Impressions
Red
Color
Car
Vehicle
Transportation
The Student’s Transportation is a red car.
Line of Generality
Order
Concept: Sentences are defined by order. The type of sentence in a paragraph is defined by the Line of Generality
The ringing bell announced the end of class.
The bell rings for the end of class.
Senior rings arrived this morning.
Adjective
Verb
Noun
Problem: Fill in the Blank
Concepts
•General or Specific•Descriptor, Subject, Objective, or Action•Clue Words in Sentence•How to test which words to eliminate•Part of a word may indicate best choice•Specific is often better than General, given a choice
E
C
B
Problem: Related Pairs
Important Concepts
•Order of the words is crucial!!!
•Order is often in the form of General and
Specific
•At issue is the RELATIONSHIP of both
words.
•Try to eliminate as many answers as
possible before you chose
E
Concept: Drapery is made from fabric; therefore, drapery is more general
Right Order; wrong relationship
Wrong Order; wrong relationshipWrong Order; wrong relationshipRight Order; wrong relationship
Concept: Pineapple is a kind of fruit; therefore, Pineapple is more SPECIFIC.
Right Order; wrong relationshipRight Order; wrong relationship
Right Order; wrong relationship
Right Order; wrong relationship
C
Another Important Concept
NEGATION OR REVERSAL:
ONE WORD IS A REVERSAL OR NEGATION OF THE OTHER
Concept: A bungler LACKS finesse; therefore, bungler is GENERAL; finesse is SPECIFIC attribute of bungler.
Correct order; no negationCorrect order; no negation
Correct order; no negationCorrect order; no relationship
C Correct order; negation
Concept: •One answer is always the best wrong answer.•The best wrong answer comes from a misreading of a word
Concept: Travail could be a descriptor for work, meaning difficult work. Notice how easy it would be to substitute TRAVEL for TRAVAIL. Work is GENERAL; travail specific.
Same Level; no relationship
Same Level; descriptor of travelNegation; same level
Kind of; relationshipSame level; reason for
B
Interpretation of Passage
Issues•Introductory Material is IMPORTANT.•Questions as for both
•STATED MATERIAL•Answer can be found in text
•IMPLIED MATERIAL•Reader must INFER or find a logical reason for one of the answers based on information given.
•Interpretation looks at different aspects•General overall meanings or attitudes•Specific meanings or attitudes•Meaning of key words or concepts
At issue, equality of theory of development.
Look for reversals and negations of initial idea.
Negation
Negation
Conclusion or summary Expansion
Concept: point of view is whole rather than a part. Therefore, answer cannot exclude parts of passage.
Incomplete
Possible Answer
Incomplete
Too General
C
Specific Part in relatinship to whole
Too General
Too General
Inaccurate
Incomplete
B
Negation plus patterns: from which inference or reason
Too General
Too General
Too Specific
Too Specific
B
Reference to interpretation of specific passage
Too General
One-sided; wrong side for question
Too General
Contradicts assertions in article
C
Specific part of passage: calls for an inference however
Too GeneralMale side
Too GeneralToo General
C
Draw a conclusion but based on specific passage in text.
Negation
Incomplete; too general
Irrelevant; too specific
Too SpecificToo Specific
A
Sentence Completion
ISSUES:•Best answer is required, not perfect answer; therefore, best might be obscure•Check for key words that indicate
•Level of Generality•Direction of passage: positive or negative•Reversal in passage, which may change choice
•Word chosen for an answer must fit all of the
sentence and not just part
Same level; no reversalSame level; no reversal
Same level; no reversal
Same level; no reversalD Same; reversal
Concept: a positive result grew from the contest; therefore, the two words must be positive and not be a reversal.
Positive; no reversal
Different level; reversalreversalreversalreversal
A
Concept: Whole sentence must be taken into consideration. Consider Answer A and Answer E. While they mean approximately the same thing, one does not reflect the whole sentence.
Levels ok, but direction
Reversal; wrong direction
Reversal; incorrect
Same level; wrong ideaRelationship; correct ideaE
Concept: Process of elimination works best when a word is unusual or unknown or used in an unexpected manner.
Blending is a positive action in this case.
Inter--go between; not saw as join or blend
Ex means against
Anti means against
Imitate means alike, not part ofD
Further Concepts:•Parts of Object
•Whole object•Part of object
•Function of a material object•Function of whole object•Function of a part of the object
•Attitude •Towards a thing•Towards a person•General attitude
•Causal Issues
Concept: Part of object relationship Another Part
Function Object
Part Part
Part Whole
Material Abstract
Part PartE
Relationship: Hinge holds up a door
Rare type: Answer is in same order and same level, but opposite concept
adversity
unlucky Negative situation
superb Exemplary
Ordinary Unusual
divine courteous
changingunchanging
despairing unfortunate
Positive situation
Attitude Situation
A
Comparison Reading Question
Writing Skills Questions
Issues:•Coherence: the order of the words in the sentence.•Organization: the Order of Sentences in a Paragraph•Mechanical Skills
•Punctuation•Shifts in Point of View
•Person•Number•Tense•Mood•Voice
Writing Skills Questions
Issues Continued:•Misuse of parts of speech in various parts of the sentence•The parts of the sentence•Pronoun Reference•Effective of Sentence
•Clear •Use of specific words to describe•Distinguish between GENERAL AND SPECIFIC•Avoids trite phrases especially such phrases as
•There is•It is•This is
Following is incomplete because of time limitations.
Concept: Incorrect Point of View
Shift in TENSE:
Spelling
Infinitive: to gather
Wordy or imprecise: need coordinate: and
Shift in Point of View: Number
Some are Correct!
Shift in Point of View: Tense
Shift in Point of View: Mood
Agreement: Subject and Verb
Vague; too general; empty words
Reference: Agreement in Number
Infinitive
Verb
Mood
Adjective
Present participle
C
A
Some are correct!!!
Parallelism
Parallelism
Qualifies Sentence 2 with details.
Major Grammatical Error: Comma Fault
Comparison and Contrast: Contrast
Point of View: Shift in Person
A
The End