SAT Critical Reading Sentence Completion Question Types

Sentence Completion Question Types

• What are Sentence Completion Questions?
• Sentence completion questions ask you to choose the correct word (or words) to fill in a blank (or blanks) in a sentence.
• They are tests of your vocabulary andof your ability to reason.
• They usually appear at the beginning of a Critical Reading section.
• Sentence Completion Question Types
• Sentence completion questions may have either one or two blanks.
• Vocabulary-in-context questions ask you to choose the correct word for the context of the sentence. These questions derive their difficulty from their vocabulary.
• Logic-basedquestions ask you to find the correct word or words for the context of a complicated (and logically complex) sentence. These questions derive their difficulty from the twists and turns of their logic.
• Vocabulary-in-Context Questions
• These questions come in both one- and two-blank forms.
• Logic-Based Questions
• These questions still rely on your vocabulary, but also try to trick you with complicated sentence constructions. The meaning of the sentence changes frequently; you must know where you are to choose the right word.
• Sentence-Completion Question Strategies
• Pick a word, any word …Before you look at the answer choices, ask yourself what kind of word mightgo in the blank. Then look for a word (or pair of words) that mean about the same thing as the word you chose.
• Positives and negatives:On two-blank questions, use plus (+) and minus (-) symbols to indicate whether the word in each blank should be positive or negative.
• Process of elimination:Use any method you can to eliminate answers you know are wrong. If you can eliminate at least two answers from a five-option question, the odds are in your favor even if you guess randomly from the remaining three.
• Look for “clue words” in your sentences:
• On two-blank questions, look for the relationshipbetween the two words and the sequenceof the blanks.
• Never eliminate a choice unless you are sure of its meaning.
• Use your knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode unfamiliar words.
• If you can’t eliminate any of the answer choices, skip the question.
• If you can only eliminate oneanswer choice, move on; come back later and see if you can eliminate at least one choice.
• If you can eliminate at least two choices, feel free to guess, but the more choices you eliminate, the better your odds will be.
• Read! The more you read, the more you will build your vocabulary, and the easier these questions will be.
• Recommended supplementary material to view SAT questions featured in lesson answer guides: The Official SAT Study Guide by the College Board.