SAT Question of the Day (ACT too!): Dec. 10, 2013

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.

If you are seeing this in my blog, do the SAT Question of the Day by clicking on this link:

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?questionId=20131210&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 winning strategy for Sentence Completions is to 1) read the sentence while covering the answers, 2) determine the topic of the sentence, 3) predict a word for each blank, 4) find synonyms for your prediction, and 5) check your work by reading the sentence using your answer. (Watch Video #2 for a full explanation and do the related practice questions.)

The answer is D.  The subject of the sentence (as in subject/predicate) is heroines (_______ women).  What does the sentence tell us (the topic) about these women?  They are “ready with a clever stratagem or clever ploy.”  So let’s use one of those words as our prediction: clever–they were “clever women.”  That leaves us with “resourceful.”  That is, they were “full of resources;” they had strategies and ploys they used to get out of difficult situations.

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.

Here’s another question I’ve seen several times in the last year.  We need to start a national campaign to embarrass the ACT folks into getting some new questions. The SAT folks never repeat questions.

The answer is C.  As usual with the Science Test, just read the figure or other data display.  The question asks what happens after 100 years.  Taking a look at Figure 1, we can see the oak-hickory forest takes over from the pine forest.    You can see the pine forest disappears and the oak-hickory takes over.  That’s the answer C.  No problem.

What does this question tell us about the test?  First, you don’t need to bother reviewing science because you’ll never predict the topics.  Second, the questions are primarily about data analysis.  Third, success on the test is determined by how fast you can read and interpret charts and graphs.  Use actual ACT tests to improve your speed.

Here’s a great strategy for the Science Test to pick up your speed.  Do NOT do the science passages in the order they are in the test booklet.  The seven passages include: 3 Reading Data passages, 3 Understanding Experiments passages, and 1 Disputing Scientists passages.  They will appear in random order in your test booklet.  Find and do the data passages first, then do the experiment passages, and always save the disputing scientists until last.  Read more about this issue on my free website and take a look at the science section of Video #10: The ACT Test.

There are only a few days left before the ACT test.  Practice some every day so that you don’t feel the need to cram Friday night.

If you have any questions while you are getting ready, be sure to send me an email and use the subject “SAT Test.”  I’ll be happy to respond.

The SAT & ACT Wizard

About Bob Alexander

Bob has been a professional educator starting with teaching biology, becoming a school administrator, and then working as an education lobbyist in Washington, DC. He got his start in national testing by becoming a consulting test writer, later joining Kaplan as a director, and finally starting his own business in 1995. He has written numerous books, consulted for school districts and colleges, developed his website and been featured on a DVD set. He offers SAT and ACT prep classes and tutors individuals and small groups of students in central Florida.
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