Text Evidence & Vocab in Context Strategy

​Reading Test Prep

​SQ3R & RIP RAP Review
SAT Writing Practice
Text Evidence Strategies & Practice
Vocabulary in Context Strategies & Practice

Multiple Choice

All of the following are sections of the SAT EXCEPT:

• Reading

• Math

• Science

• Writing

Multiple Choice

What is the average amount of time you have for each question on the Reading and Writing portion of the SAT?

• 1 minute

• 2 minutes

• 3 minutes

• 4 minutes

Reorder

Reorder the following 5 critical steps to SAT Reading Success based on the order you should complete them.

• Start with your strength

• Survey the blurb

• Survey the questions

• Actively read

• Answer every question

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Multiple Choice

All of the following are steps in the RIP RAP strategy EXCEPT

• Cover the answers

• Rephrase the question

• Read around any line or paragraph references & predict your answer

• Select the answer with the most words

​Please use the QR code or link in Teams to access this SAT Writing practice.

There are 3 types of Command of Evidence questions.

1. Paired evidence: Identify the best textual evidence for your answer to the previous question.

2. Author's evidence: Identify the quote that best supports an argument made by the author (Not paired, 1-2 per test)
3. Data driven evidence: Examine how data supports claims made in the passage.

On your official SAT, you're likely to see 10 questions in the Reading Test that ask you to cite specific evidence from the passage. This is the most common type of question you’ll encounter.

Usually, questions that ask for specific evidence will follow another question, like an implicit information or point of view question. These follow-up questions will always appear the same way:

• Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

Each choice will cite a quotation from the text and provide line numbers that tell you where it appears in the passage. Your job will be to determine which lines most directly support the answer to the previous question. In other words, which choice answers the previous question?

Multiple Choice

Bans against the distribution of free plastic bags would help reduce costs for retailers. Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim? 

• In recent years, a number of states have passed statutes banning the distribution of free plastic bags. 

• Plastic bags take decades, if not centuries, to degrade and therefore take up a significant amount of space in landfills

• The one hundred billion plastic bags distributed in the U.S. each year cost reatilers an estimated four billino dollars. 

Text Evidence Questions​ (Use B to Answer A)

Top tip: Answer paired questions together

Accuracy on citing evidence question pairs is frequently all or nothing: if we miss the first question, we're likely to miss the second question in the pair, too.

These paired questions might feel challenging to navigate at first, but the relationship between the questions actually gives us a helpful way to approach both questions simultaneously!

Since one of the choices in the second "citing evidence" question contains the evidence we need to answer the previous question, it also provides the answer to the first question!

Multiple Choice

Lightning is the flash of light that occurs when electricity moves between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. A lightning bolt that flashes in the sky can reach a temperature of 60,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is about five times hotter than the sun! The heat from lightning causes the surrounding air to expand, resulting in the loud sound known as thunder.

What evidence can you find that explains how thunder is created??

• Thunder is created from the rain.

• Heat from the lightning creates thunder.

• Running a comb through your hair creates thunder.

​Top tip: Answer paired questions together

1. Focus on the first question—but cover the choices: To avoid being tempted by wrong choices that "feel right" or "make sense", cover up all the choices until later. Then, rephrase the question in your own words—try to simplify by using How, What, or Why to begin your version of the question.

2.Test the choices from the second question: Keeping your version of the first question locked in mind, go back to the passage and consider the lines suggested by each choice in the second (evidence) question. For each option, ask yourself: does this answer my version of question 1? Use process of elimination to select the answer.

3. Now, you're ready to answer the first question in your own words: Using the evidence you found, predict the answer to the first question.

4. Finally, uncover the choices for the first question: Select the choice in the first question that best matches your prediction.

Multiple Choice

Criminalizing cyber-bullying is not the most effective solution to the problem. Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

• "Many of my students complain about headaches, which I believe are caused by too much time spent on their tablets," said eighth-grade science teacher Tom Pittman.

• Tablets in the classroom, which are usually equipped with a web browser and a variety of applications, are a source of distraction.

• The co-director of the Cyber-bullying Research Center stated that the best responses to cyber-bullying include in-school detention and family partnership programs. 

​Incorrect choices on citing evidence questions are commonly caused by the following errors:

• Nearby lines: In the choices for a citing evidence question, you might be offered several sets of lines that are right next to one another. Because they come from the same part of the passage, these lines may refer to similar ideas. However, only one of the choices will provide the direct evidence we're looking for.

• Faulty pairs: When citing evidence questions follow other questions, errors are commonly caused when referenced lines contain similar ideas as the incorrect choices from the previous question. But just because the ideas in two choices match up doesn't mean that those choices are correct; the information they contain actually needs to answer the first question.

Multiple Choice

It was the sea eagle that called Emily down to the beach. It hovered above the waves, it's broad wings dusty where the land had left its mark, its small eyes that could follow the horizon bright and keen. She hadn't meant to come down onto the beach. She'd meant to sit at the top of the ramp till the other kids had left the street, till she could walk home from school in peace without strangers staring at her, but somehow the bird seemed to urge her to come down.

What time of day do you think it is and why?

• afternoon because she is coming home from school

• evening because there was no one on the street

• lunch time because she wanted to feed the birds

• morning because birds are out at that time

Multiple Choice

It was the sea eagle that called Emily down to the beach. It hovered above the waves, it's broad wings dusty where the land had left its mark, its small eyes that could follow the horizon bright and keen. She hadn't meant to come down onto the beach. She'd meant to sit at the top of the ramp till the other kids had left the street, till she could walk home from school in peace without strangers staring at her, but somehow the bird seemed to urge her to come down.

Which textual evidence best describes Emily's thoughts and feelings?

• "... sea eagle that called Emily..."

• "... till she could walk home from school in peace..."

• "... its broad wings dusty..."

• "... the bird seemed to urge her to come down."

Multiple Choice

It was the sea eagle that called Emily down to the beach. It hovered above the waves, it's broad wings dusty where the land had left its mark, its small eyes that could follow the horizon bright and keen. She hadn't meant to come down onto the beach. She'd meant to sit at the top of the ramp till the other kids had left the street, till she could walk home from school in peace without strangers staring at her. but somehow the bird seemed to urge her to come down.

Do you think Emily_______________?

• wants to be left alone

• is on vacation

• wants to go swimming

• is ready to read on the beach

​Vocabulary in Context Questions

There are 2 ways to approach vocabulary in context questions.

1: Imagine a blank where the word in question is, then fill in the blank with whatever word fits best. Try to match your word with an answer option.

OR

2: Plug each of the answer options in where the word in question is located. If more than one option sounds right, pay attention to the context again to pick the best possible choice.

5 Types of context clues

• Inference

• Definition

• Example

• Antonym

• Synonym

Inference

• use surrounding words in sentences + prior knowledge = word meaning

Defintion

• the word's meaning is given in the sentence using signal words

• signal words: is, are, means, is called, or

Example

• the word's meaning is given by use of examples. Sometimes in a list.

• signal words: such as, for instance, like, including

Antonym

• the word's meaning is given by also using its opposite in the sentence.

• signal words: but, however, unlike, although

Synonym

• the word's meaning is given by also using a word that is similar in the sentence.

• signal words: also, as, like, same, similarly, too

Multiple Choice

Many of us have ambivalent feelings about our politicians, admiring but also distrusting them. Ambivalent means:

• mixed

• critical

• approving

Multiple Choice

The officer tried to ascertain the truth about the accident by questioning each witness separately. Ascertain means:

• create

• avoid

• find out

Multiple Choice

I prefer the occasional disturbance of ear-splitting thunder to the incessant dripping of our kitchen sink. Incessant means:

• harmless

• exciting

• nonstop

• annoying

Multiple Choice

Nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, have highly developed senses that enable them to function in the dark. Nocturnal means:

• feathered

• living

• wise

• active in the dark

Multiple Choice

The adverse effects of this drug, including dizziness, nausea, and headaches, have caused it to be withdrawn from the market. Adverse means:

• deadly

• harmful

• expensive

• fatal

Multiple Choice

Instances of common euphemisms include "final resting place" (for the grave), "intoxicated" (for drunk), and "restroom" (for toilet). Euphemism means:

• unpleasant reactions

• answers

• substitutes for offensive terms

Multiple Choice

Trying to control everything your teens do can impede their growth. To advance their development, allow them to make some decisions on their own. Impede means:

• block

• predict

• improve

• assist

Multiple Choice

During their training, police officers respond to simulated emergencies in preparation for dealing with real ones. Simulated means:

• made up

• mild

• actual

Multiple Choice

A former employee, irate over having been fired, broke into the plant and deliberately wrecked several machines. Irate means:

• relieved

• furious

• undecided

• excited

Multiple Choice

Despite the proximity of Ron's house to his sister's, he rarely sees her. Proximity means:

• similarity

• nearness

• superiority

• distance

Multiple Choice

The car wash we organized to raise funds was a fiasco-it rained all day. Fiasco means:

• success

• surprise

• disaster

​Please use the QR code or link in Teams to access this practice.