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Test Day Tips 01/17/2011

Use mouse in left hand so you can write with the right hand
Practice with scratch paper
Get new piece of scratch paper for each section of the exam
Look away at times to give eyes a break
Practice on the computer
Clearly make the incomplete questions on paper to go back to later
Do not memorize the details in passages
Try to understand passage as a whole
Write down main idea of each paragraph
Physics 01/17/2011
Reading Passage
 Pay attention to definitions of new terms
 When multiple experiments performed look for similarities and
differences b/t experiments
 Map the passage and identify topics
 Persuasive arguments look for topic and arguments cited
 For introduction of new equation pay attention to what the term
means or does, not the actual term or equation
 “What is the author trying to accomplish in this passage?”
 Informational passage: simply topic sentences
 Experimental passages: goal, what is tested, variables, how its
tested, experimental design
 Persuasive: the topic and arguments cited
 Look for unit problems . Units must always match

Free fall velocity is independent of mass
45 degrees best angle for projectiles
Biology Tips 01/17/2011
Do not memorize or try to digest the whole passage
Don’t read to understand all
Informational passages: note main ideas, answer questions and spend less
time on reading the passage
Experimental passage: describe the experimental design and results, pay
attention to figures, graphs and tables, know what and why of experiment,
and general conclusions from results
Persuasive passages: read the explanations of hypothesis & arguments,
grasp main points of each presented
Chemistry Tips 01/17/2011
Make not of main ideas and concepts
Summarize each paragraph
Pay more attention to new terms and equations
Informational passages: read quickly, pay attention to graphs, targets
for informational questions
Experimental passages: follow progression of the experiment, read
with critical mind, ask for interpretation of data
Less emphasis on passage and look back to passage for specific
information
Organic Chemistry 01/17/2011
Pay attention to extraction or purification procedures
Don’t get bogged down with details (to just look at the categories of a
chart will suffice)
Important to have a lot of outside knowledge
Verbal Passages 01/17/2011
Step 1: Critically Read passage
 Pay attention to sentences with author’s voice
 What is the author’s purpose in writing passage
 Find opinions and read carefully
 Pay less attention to supporting details
 Paraphrase opinions when you are done
Step 2: Interpreting Question stems
 Pay attention to LEAST, EXCEPT, NOT, strengthen/weaken
 What is the question asking?
Step 3: Review map and relevant text

Look for author’s purpose and structure of arguments

Wrong answer pathologies


 Opposite
 Outside the scope of the passage
 True statement but not an answer to the question
 Creates relationships that are flipped or that do not exist in passage
 Half right = all wrong
 Use of extreme vocabulary
o Clear, simple answer is preferred
 Distortion
o Too extreme or exaggerated
 Faulty use of detail
o Direct quote from the wrong part of passage, relevant detail
out of context
If 2 extreme most likely wrong
If 2 opposite, one probably right
Least/except/Not questions if content of one answer is different from
other 3, its probably right
Writing Section 01/17/2011
1. Develop central idea
2. Synthesizing ideas
3. Presenting ideas cohesively & logically
4. Writing clearly
5. Speed

Reasoning skills are being tested, not just writing skills


Write essay at least one a week
Make a pre-write and stick to it
Give 2 minutes at the end to look over, make corrections

Task I:
 Explain what the statement means to you
 Describe an example
 Use effective hook to bring the reader in
Task II
 Describe a specific counter-example
 Explain the relevance of your counter-example
 Use regular transition to keep the essay unified
Task III
 Discuss the criteria for Task I and Task II
 Resolve the apparent contradiction
 End with a bang to make your essay memorable

Explore and define the terms in the statement in the first paragraph
 If unusual then it will contribute to the depth
Clarify main idea and plan
 Do you want to agree/disagree with statement or remain neutral
 Cross out ideas that are superfluous
 Start to select keywords for transitions
 # the points you want to make
 Very sentence length and structure
 DON’T USE
o I
o Clichés, slang, redundancy
Brainstorm
 Make a column of true and false with examples of each
 Help articulate when the prompt is true and false
 Then look for similarities and differences between the two sides

Your tasks Thesis, Antithesis and synthesis


Thesis:
 Start with introductory sentence
 Paraphrase the prompt
 Address vague terms and underlying causes of the prompt
 Give an example that supports the prompt

Antithesis
 Provide a transition sentence
 Present a counterexample
o Must be specific and concrete, NOT HYPOTHETICAL
Synthesis
 Provide a conclusion sentence
o The prompt is neither right nor wrong
o The prompt is sometimes right and sometimes wrong
 Present the conditions
o Conditions under which the prompt is right and wrong
o Conclude succinctly and clearly in a sentence
 Support with examples
o Not new ones but restated to be applicable to both conditions
 Get out gracefully
o Return to first sentence in essay
o End on a feel good note

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