PSAT Review

Multiple Choice

Bell Ringer:

The old oak tree stood at the center of the village, its gnarled branches reaching out like ancient arms. For centuries, it had witnessed the comings and goings of generations, its bark scarred from the touch of countless hands. To the villagers, the tree was more than just a landmark; it was a symbol of resilience and continuity, surviving through storms and droughts alike.

What is the most likely meaning of the word "resilience" as used in the passage?

• A. Strength to recover quickly from difficulties

• B. Ability to grow tall and wide

• C. Resistance to disease

• D. Power to change over time

Objective

Students will review key reading comprehension strategies, grammar, and writing skills to feel confident and prepared for the PSAT/NMSQT.

Direct
Instruction

Reading Section Review

Key Reading Strategies

• Active Reading: Engage with the text by highlighting key points or taking quick notes (mental or on scratch paper).

• Main Idea and Details: Identify the main idea of a passage and use supporting details to answer questions.

• Inference: Use context clues and infer meaning when the answer isn’t explicitly stated.

• Vocabulary in Context: Use surrounding sentences to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Multiple Choice

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Clara sat on her porch, watching the sky change colors. She had always loved this time of day, when the world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for night to fall. The silence was comforting, a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the day. But tonight, something was different. The silence felt heavy, almost ominous, and Clara couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

What can be inferred about how Clara feels as the night approaches?

• A. She feels excited about the upcoming night.
  

• B. She feels uneasy and anxious.
  

• C. She is tired from the day’s activities.
  

• D. She is indifferent to the change from day to night.

Multiple Choice

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Clara sat on her porch, watching the sky change colors. She had always loved this time of day, when the world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for night to fall. The silence was comforting, a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the day. But tonight, something was different. The silence felt heavy, almost ominous, and Clara couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

What is the meaning of the word "ominous" as used in the passage?

• A. Dark and quiet

• B. Signaling something bad is going to happen

• C. Peaceful and relaxing

• D. Inviting and pleasant

Inference Review

The tone of the passage changes from peaceful to tense, indicating Clara’s growing unease as night approaches. The subtle clues in the text (such as the words "heavy" and "ominous") help readers infer her emotional state.

Vocabulary in Context Review

The word "ominous" is often used to describe something that forebodes evil or harm, which fits with the overall mood shift in the passage.

Writing Section Review

Key Grammar and Writing Concepts

• Grammar Rules: Subject-verb agreement, parallelism, punctuation, pronoun clarity, etc.

• Improving Sentences: How to choose the best option that improves clarity, coherence, and conciseness.

• Tone and Style Adjustments: When and how to adjust tone and style to fit the intended audience.

Multiple Choice

Original Sentence:
Marie’s presentation on renewable energy was both informative, engaging, and it helped the audience understand complex concepts with ease.

Question:
Which revision best improves the sentence for grammar and clarity?

• A. Marie’s presentation on renewable energy was both informative and engaging, helping the audience to understand complex concepts easily.

• B. Marie’s presentation on renewable energy, it was informative and engaging, helping the audience to understand the complex concepts easily.

• C. Marie’s presentation on renewable energy was informative and engaging and helped the audience to understand complex concepts.

• D. Marie’s presentation on renewable energy was both informative, engaging, and helpful, making the audience understand complex concepts.

Focus on Parallel Structure

Using parallel structure (making sure similar items in a list have the same grammatical form) improves clarity and readability.

Clarity and Conciseness

It is important to revise sentences making them clear and direct, without unnecessary words or awkward phrasing.

Guided
Practice

Multiple Choice

The following text is from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables. Anne, an eleven-year-old girl, has come to live on a farm with a woman named Marilla in Nova Scotia, Canada. Anne reveled in the world of color about her. “Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill—several thrills? I’m going to decorate my room with them.” “Messy things,” said Marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeably developed. “You clutter up your room entirely too much with out-of-doors stuff, Anne. Bedrooms were made to sleep in.” Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• To demonstrate that Anne has a newly developed appreciation of nature

• To describe an argument that Anne and Marilla often have

• To emphasize Marilla’s disapproval of how Anne has decorated her room

• To show that Anne and Marilla have very different personalities

Multiple Choice

“How lifelike are they?” Many computer animators prioritize this question as they strive to create ever more realistic environments and lighting. Generally, while characters in computer-animated films appear highly exaggerated, environments and lighting are carefully engineered to mimic reality. But some animators, such as Pixar’s Sanjay Patel, are focused on a different question. Rather than asking first whether the environments and lighting they’re creating are convincingly lifelike, Patel and others are asking whether these elements reflect their films’ unique stories. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

• It reflects a primary goal that many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce.

• It represents a concern of computer animators who are more interested in creating unique backgrounds and lighting effects than realistic ones.

• It conveys the uncertainty among many computer animators about how to create realistic animations using current technology.

• It illustrates a reaction that audiences typically have to the appearance of characters created by computer animators.

Multiple Choice

The field of study called affective neuroscience seeks instinctive, physiological causes for feelings such as pleasure or displeasure. Because these sensations are linked to a chemical component (for example, the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain when one receives or expects a reward), they can be said to have a partly physiological basis. These processes have been described in mammals, but Jingnan Huang and his colleagues have recently observed that some behaviors of honeybees (such as foraging) are also motivated by a dopamine-based signaling process. What choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

• It describes an experimental method of measuring the strength of physiological responses in humans.

• It illustrates processes by which certain insects can express how they are feeling.

• It summarizes a finding suggesting that some mechanisms in the brains of certain insects resemble mechanisms in mammalian brains.

• It presents research showing that certain insects and mammals behave similarly when there is a possibility of a reward for their actions.

Multiple Choice

Several scholars have argued that conditions in England in the late ninth through early eleventh centuries—namely, burgeoning literacy amid running conflicts between England’s Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Danish invaders—were especially conducive to the production of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and they have dated the poem’s composition accordingly. It is not inconceivable that Beowulf emerged from such a context, but privileging contextual fit over the linguistic evidence of an eighth- or even seventh-century composition requires a level of justification that thus far has not been presented. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• Although there are some grounds for believing that Beowulf was composed between the late ninth and early eleventh centuries, advocates for that view tend to rely on evidence that has been called into question by advocates for an earlier date.

• Although several scholars have dated Beowulf to the late ninth through early eleventh centuries, others have argued that doing so privileges a controversial interpretation of the social conditions of the period.

• Although Beowulf fits well with the historical context of England in the late ninth through early eleventh centuries, it fits equally well with the historical context of England in the seventh and eighth centuries.

• Although the claim of a late ninth- through early eleventh-century composition date for Beowulf has some plausibility, advocates for the claim have not compellingly addressed evidence suggesting an earlier date.

Multiple Choice

A student is writing a paper about *One Night in Miami...*, a 2020 film directed by Regina King and written by Kemp Powers. Powers adapted the film’s screenplay from his 2013 play, which he wrote after learning about a 1964 meeting that took place in Miami, Florida, between four prominent figures of the Civil Rights movement: Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. The student claims that although Powers was inspired by this meeting, the film is best understood not as a precise retelling of historical events but rather as a largely imagined but informed representation of them. Which quotation from an article about *One Night in Miami...* would be the most effective evidence for the student to include in support of this claim?

• When Powers learned of the meeting, he initially planned to write a much longer work about its four famous participants rather than focusing on the meeting itself.

• *One Night in Miami...* received numerous awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Powers for Best Adapted Screenplay.

• Powers has described *One Night in Miami...* as the story of four friends encouraging and supporting one another while engaged in a crucial political debate about how best to achieve equality for Black people in the United States.

• Powers could find only the most superficial historical details about the meeting, so he read extensively about the four individuals and their thinking at the time in an effort to portray what might have happened between them.

Multiple Choice

Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• pollination: this is

• pollination,

• pollination;

• no change

Multiple Choice

Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• no change

• highlights the potentially disastrous effects

• highlight the potentially disastrous effects

• highlights the potentially disastrous affects

Multiple Choice

Which choice offers the most accurate interpretation of the data in the chart.

(exceeded 25 percent of the population each winter)

• no change

• been above acceptable range

• not changed noticeably from year to year

• greatly increased every year

Multiple Choice

Which choice most smoothly and effectively introduces the writer's discussion of studies of CCD in this paragraph?

• no change

• Bees are vanishing, and according to studies there are several possible reasons for this trend.

• Several possible reasons, offered by studies, may explain why bees are vanishing

• Delete the underlined sentence

Multiple Choice

At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence:

Prolonged exposure to neonicotinoids has been shown to increase bees' vulnerability to disease and parasitic mites.

Should the writer make this addition here?

• Yes, because it provides support for the claim made in the previous sentence.

• Yes, because it introduces a new idea that will become important later in the passage.

• No, because it would be better placed elsewhere.

• No, because it contradicts the main idea of the passage.

Independent Practice

Multiple Choice

Passage:

In a small town nestled between rolling hills, a group of volunteers gathered every weekend to restore the local community garden. The garden, once vibrant and full of life, had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. However, with the help of these dedicated individuals, it was beginning to bloom again. They worked tirelessly, planting new flowers, pulling weeds, and building benches for visitors to enjoy. Slowly, the garden was transformed into a beautiful space where the community could come together once more.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• A. The garden was abandoned by the community.

• B. The volunteers worked hard to restore the community garden to its former beauty.

• C. The town decided to replace the garden with a new park.

• D. The garden was transformed into a vegetable farm.

Open Ended

Original Paragraph:
The volunteers has been working hard to restore the garden, and it's clear that their efforts is paying off. Each weekend, more and more people from the town joins the group to help with the project. The gardens new flowers adds a splash of color, and the benches provide a place to rest. It's been amazing to watch the transformation, and everyone who helps feel proud of what they accomplished.

Instructions:
Revise the paragraph by correcting the grammar, punctuation, and clarity errors. Write the corrected version below.

Wrap-Up

• For Reading: Read actively, underline key details, and use context clues.

• For Writing: Watch for common grammar mistakes and always choose clarity and conciseness.

Final Review and Tips

Get plenty of rest, eat well, and review any areas you feel uncertain about. Stay calm during the test, such as breathing exercises and pacing yourself throughout each section.

Relaxation and Test Day Tips

Exit Ticket

Open Ended

Write one reading strategy and one writing strategy to focus on while taking the PSAT.