If you are reading this in an email you received from me, do not click the link to sat.collegeboard.org below. Use the link to my website that is farther down on the email.
http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?questionId=20140418&oq=1 (This link takes you to today’s question. If you use my archive, you will see the question related to my SAT explanation for that date.)
The answer is D. Ms. Murphy (my ninth grade English teacher) always said that shorter is better. In this case, there are special reasons why that is so. The original sentence uses “where,” a relative pronoun, but the sentence isn’t about “where” she was when she drew inspiration, so it makes no sense. After we delete “where,” there are two independent clauses, each with their own subjects and predicates. That would require a conjunction or a semi-colon to separate them and there’s only a comma. To fix that, the test writer gives you an option of dropping the subject and predicate of the second clause (she incorporated) and changing it to “incorporating.” Doing so shortens the sentence while clarifying its meaning and at the same time changes the second independent clause into a dependent, adjectival clause. The English language sure can get complicated.
Thanks, Ms Murphy for making things so simple!
Let’s see what the ACT folks have for us today.
ACT Question of the Day: Use your “back” button to return to my website after reading the ACT Question of the Day.
They sure don’t have anything new. We’ve seen this question several times before.
The answer is C. In the passage describing Experiment 1, they tell you the stake is 1 meter tall. In the question they tell you the stake is shortened to 0.5 m sticking out of the ground. That means the stake is half as tall; therefore, the shadow would be half as long. All done.
Would you have ever guessed to review this science as part of your test prep? Of course not. What you should learn from this question is that your test prep should focus on reading science. The questions aren’t about what you’ve memorized; they are about scientific reasoning. That’s what you should review. Go to work practicing actual ACT Science Test passages. You’ll see that they are about applying what you are told and reading/interpreting data displays: charts, graphs, tables, etc. The scientific principles you’ll need are explained on my website and Video Series #10. Enjoy.
QotD Words of “Wiz-dom”:
The value of doing the QotD for the SAT and ACT does not lie in the individual questions you do. That is because these questions will never be on the tests when you take it. Therefore, it doesn’t matter whether you get them right or wrong when you first do them! Their value lies in what they can teach you about the tests. Focus on and remember the strategies you use when doing the questions and make those strategies part of your game plan on test day. Those are certainly the skills that will make you a better test taker.
Enjoy your weekend.
Bob Alexander, the “SAT and ACT Wizard”
