{"id":7853,"date":"2013-07-07T14:22:40","date_gmt":"2013-07-07T14:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/testpreparations.com\/help\/?p=3512"},"modified":"2014-12-02T08:26:59","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T08:26:59","slug":"sat-and-act-reading-comprehension-using-sentence-context-to-identify-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/2013\/07\/07\/sat-and-act-reading-comprehension-using-sentence-context-to-identify-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"SAT and ACT Reading Comprehension: Using Sentence Context to Identify Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Sentence Context Adds Power<\/strong>
\nSkilled readers use the powerful tool of sentence context to approximate the meaning of unfamiliar words, when the meaning is not apparent from prefixes, roots, and suffixes.\u00a0 It is a largely unconscious process, and can help students taking the SAT, ACT, or other tests choose the correct answer from alternatives.\u00a0 By using the context of words around it, students can identify the part of speech, verb tense, number, and choose synonyms.<\/p>\n

How Do We Recognize the Part of Speech?<\/strong>
\nUsually, readers can identify the part of speech that the word should be, even if the word itself is not recognizable, or if the space is left blank.\u00a0 When readers are reading at their highest skill level, they can substitute words with high accuracy, even when every fifth word is left blank and the blanks occupy many different parts of speech.\u00a0 Students taking the test can often eliminate alternatives because they would not fit.<\/p>\n

Clues to Tense<\/strong>
\nOften, test developers leave clues to when action takes place.\u00a0 If the question asks students to choose the correct verb form from a variety of alternatives (some of them do), look within the passage to help determine the correct form.\u00a0 Pay attention to the context, even if some of the words are unfamiliar.\u00a0 For example, in a test passage about how the coloratura soprano Joan Sutherland developed her vocal techniques, the writer might use a sentence like, ” The late Joan Sutherland possessed a high degree of stamina and was able to sing long phrases at full voice while she moved around the stage.\u00a0 Director Franco Zeffirelli\u00a0\u00a0 (\u00a0\u00a0 ) that \u00a0in the opera Lucia di Lammermoor<\/strong>.” \u00a0\u00a0Suppose the word exploited were unfamiliar.\u00a0 Readers would be able to use the past tense of the word possessed, as well as the clue to the past in referring to her as “the late”.<\/p>\n

Clues to Number and Quantity<\/strong>
\nAnother way students can use context clues is when the missing word refers to number, quantity, or another form of specific adverb or adjective.\u00a0 For example, “One of the most famous pieces of music in the opera Lucia di Lammermoor<\/strong> is the (). \u00a0In the passage, six characters sing interweaving points of view.”\u00a0 If the word “Sextet” were unfamiliar,the reader could use the clue of “six characters.”<\/p>\n

Choosing Synonyms<\/strong>
\nBy using clues within the reading passage, students can choose synonyms from the alternatives presented.\u00a0 For example, “Although Joan Sutherland’s earliest voice training featured standard roles for a Wagnerian soprano, her later () included many unusual bel canto roles.\u00a0 Many of those works had not been performed since the Golden Age of Opera in the late 1800s.\u00a0 The correct alternative, “repertoire”, could be chosen from clues about the different types of roles that she performed.<\/p>\n

Do you need to know more about how test questions on the SAT or ACT are scored? Learn more<\/a> about how we are assisting thousands of students each academic year.<\/p>\n

Test Prep Academy<\/span> is the premier test prep and private tutoring company for college-bound students. Our highly qualified test prep tutors deliver one-on-one personalized instruction that fit our student\u2019s busy schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Sentence Context Adds Power Skilled readers use the powerful tool of sentence context to approximate the meaning of unfamiliar words, when the meaning is not apparent from prefixes, roots, and suffixes.\u00a0 It is a largely unconscious process, and can help students taking the SAT, ACT, or other tests choose the correct answer from alternatives.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2841,3019,2851,2853,3018],"tags":[1288,3276,3308,3340],"class_list":["post-7853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-act","category-comprehension-and-grammar","category-sat","category-study-tips-and-strategies","category-writing-act","tag-parts-of-speech","tag-sentence-context","tag-synonyms","tag-verb-tense"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}