{"id":5100,"date":"2016-01-12t09:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-01-12t17:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=5100"},"modified":"2019-08-26t20:46:21","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27t03:46:21","slug":"new-sat-reading-common-wrong-answers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/new-sat-reading-common-wrong-answers\/","title":{"rendered":"new sat reading: common wrong answers"},"content":{"rendered":"
although the sat is perhaps less tricky than it was in the past, that doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t still need to be on your guard. the new sat reading section<\/a> is in some ways even better at luring you into tempting wrong answer choices because many of them seem so plausible. the new sat is all about close and careful reading<\/a>, so tread cautiously when it comes to the answer choices and always go back to the passage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n here are some of the reasons wrong answers on the new sat are just so darn tantalizing: sometimes an answer choice is wrong because it doesn\u2019t actually answer the question being asked. sure, you can find supporting text for this wrong answer choice, but since it is not answering the specific question being asked, it\u2019s not the right answer. this is particularly true on the new sat reading test. many of the answer choices will seem to be \u201con theme\u201d with the main idea of the text. you may even think you remember reading a wrong answer choice in the passage. this is where careful reading comes in. you should always be going back to the text to backup your answer; you may find that the passage says something a little bit different from what you remembered, meaning this wrong answer is related, but not a precise recollection of the test. be careful! did the passage actually say what the answer choice is saying? or did it just talk about something similiar? or did it talk about the opposite of what the answer choice says? again, always go back to the text and stay true to your overall understanding of the main idea and author\u2019s purpose. sometimes you are going to struggle with understanding a part of the passage. if a question deals with this part of the passage, you\u2019ll often find yourself going straight for the answers in the hope that they will offer some guidance. doing so, however, is dangerous\u2014the sat is waiting for you.<\/p>\n it will often take words that appear in the passage and throw them into an answer. but if you are not processing the entire answer choice, and are just grasping on to those familiar words, you are likely to become trapped. particularly for big-picture questions such as the main idea of the passage or a paragraph, or the purpose of a passage or section, make sure you don\u2019t pick an answer choice that only mentions part of what the entire paragraph\/passage addresses or something that is far bigger than the scope of the passage. this one is specific to the command of evidence questions you\u2019ll find on the new sat, the ones where you have to pick the best lines of evidence in the text to support your answer to another question. be careful to check all of the answer choices! you might come across an answer choice that seems to be decent support for the answer to the previous question (or at least you can rationalize that it is), but there might be a better line to quote. so make sure you look at all of the options, even though it may feel tedious. this one is also specific to the command of evidence questions on the new sat. the answer choices will look something like this: a. lines 32-35 \u201cthe witch\u2026.her prey.\u201d sometimes you might see another answer choice that looks like this: b. line 32 \u201cthe monster…the muffins.\u201d in this case the same line number appears in both answer choices, because their respective text share a line, and if you aren\u2019t being careful you might pick the wrong one, even though you correctly identified where the answer was. so be super careful you are looking at the right lines.<\/p>\n below is a short paragraph with an sat question following it . your goal is to read the passage and answer the question (duh!), but, more importantly, to determine which wrong answer choices fall into which category above. once you\u2019ve done this, look at the analysis below the passage to see if you are right. arvo part’s famous musical composition cantus in memoriam benjamin britten<\/em> begins and ends in silence. after three beats of stillness, one musician rings a bell three times with the slow solemnity of a death toll. the sounds of silence and death give way to the pure voice of strings which flows along in their wake. after a sublime, sorrowful opening in a minor, the violin beckons the warmer c major scale into the pulse of the piece. the strings follow one another on a quest for the deepest note, until finally each holds a long, steady low c, then breaks into silence. it is just one of part’s modern compositions in the classical style, and it perfectly reveals the man and his music. the main purpose of the paragraph is to: first of all, the answer is b. the paragraph describes the movements of a piece of music, focusing on the listener’s subjective experience as he or she listens to the \u201cslow solemnity of a death toll\u201d followed by the \u201cpure voice of strings\u201d and so on. <\/p>\n now let\u2019s talk about what makes each of the other answer choices wrong, and why they are such common wrong answers on the sat:<\/p>\n a. yes, the paragraph is about \u201cpart\u2019s music,\u201d but go back to the text and look carefully. is an answer ever given as to its purpose? i would put this answer choice in category 2: \u201csounds plausible.\u201d you have to go back to the passage and think carefully.<\/p>\n c. there is a phrase at the end of the paragraph that might make this one tempting: \u201creveals the man and his music.\u201d and there are sensory words throughout that might seem to reflect feelings: \u201csublime,\u201d \u201csorrowful\u201d etc. but the paragraph does not say anything about part\u2019s personal feelings. and it does not say that the feelings the music might evoke in listeners are part\u2019s personal feelings, so be careful of inferring too much. this is a category 3 error: it is based in the passage but distorts its meaning. <\/p>\n d. silence is mentioned several times, making this a tempting answer choice. but be careful! this paragraph is specifically about part\u2019s music, not music overall. this means this wrong answer choice fits into category 5; it\u2019s too general. <\/p>\n when you practice sat reading, and review your practice tests, train yourself to look for the patterns in wrong answer choices. doing so will help you avoid making these mistakes on the real deal. the new sat reading section is in some ways even better than the old sat at luring you into tempting wrong answer choices. here are some of the reasons wrong answers on the new sat are just so darn tantalizing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[85],"ppma_author":[24868],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nnew sat reading wrong answers<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\n1. the answer is true based on information in the passage<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n2. the answer sounds plausible<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n3. the answer relates to the sat reading passage (but distorts its meaning)<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n4. the answer uses words and phrases from the sat reading passage (but incorrectly)<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n5. the answer is too specific or too general<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n6. the answer seems ok (but not the best)<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n7. the answer is almost<\/em> referring to the right line<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\nsat reading practice passage for the redesigned sat<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nsat reading practice question<\/h2>\n
\na.\texplain the purpose of part\u2019s music.
\nb.\tdescribe the experience of listening to part.
\nc.\texplain how part\u2019s musical composition reveals his personal feelings.
\nd.\tdemonstrate the importance of silence in music.
\n <\/p>\nsat reading question explanation and analysis<\/h2>\n
\n\u2003
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"