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=20140216&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 C. Ask yourself, “What’s the topic of the sentence?” It is about how dictatorships expect their citizens to be docile and what happens to them if they are not. Then predict words for the blanks. “Expects” or “forces” would work for the first blank and “comply,” “obey,” or “go along” would be good predictions for the second blank. Now let’s go find those predictions. Start with either blank and eliminate as many answers as you can before you bother with the other blank. I happened to start with the second blank. Only C, “conform,” was really on target but E, “agree,” was sort of okay. I checked out the first words and “requires” sure fits better than “forbids.” That leaves Answer C. Notice how much time you save by doing one blank at a time.
Finally, check your work. Read the sentence and see if it sounds right. “Requires” it citizens to be docile…who do not “comply.” Sure sounds good. Bubble it in and move on.
Let’s see what the ACT folks have in store 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.
The answer is H. Using the PICK strategy makes short work of this question. The I in PICK stands for Insertable. Which answer best fits into the passage without adding to or disagreeing with it? For the wrong answers, all the first words and explanatory phrases add to the story. All done. Move on.
Because reading tests require you to pick the BEST answer, you need to eliminate the “less good” answers. Then the answer you bubble in is the “leftovers.” It is important to have a system or process for identifying and eliminating the answers that aren’t as good as the best one. (If you don’t have a system, you will waste too much time.) PICK is a system. Simply use the elements of PICK and don’t waste time doing too much analysis. Experience indicates students often over think the answers which wastes time and and can lead to picking wrong answers. The mistake students make is trying to justify keeping an answer when they should be figuring out if they can justify throwing the answer out. Doing so will speed you up and make you more accurate.
Enjoy you day. Thanks for spending some of it with me. I hope it helped.
The SAT & ACT Wizard
