PSAT math

 

 

 

                                                                

 

THE MINDFISH PSAT READING CODE

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The Reading section of the PSAT is made up of two multiple choice sections that test vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. There are two main types of Reading questions on the test: Reading Passage and Sentence Completions questions.  Sentence Completion questions ask you to fill in one or two blanks in a sentence.  Reading Passage questions ask you to read short passages and answer questions based on your understanding of this material.

The Mindfish Reading Code prioritizes the most important concepts within these general topic areas. Each concept appears in the order of its frequency on the PSAT, which is recorded next to the concept as a percentage.

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Table of Contents

General

A System for Getting Good Answers on the Critical Reading........... 2

Practice Question Answer Key ........... 36

Reading Passages

Big Strategy: Reading Passages........... 3

Crucial Considerations for Reading Passages........... 4

Three Types of Passages ........... 5

Line References ........... 6-7

Vocabulary in Context ........... 8-9

Technique ........... 10-11

Hypotheticals ........... 12-13

Assumptions ........... 14

Except / Not / Least ........... 15

Big Picture ........... 16

Suggestions / Inferences ........... 17-18

General Comparisons ........... 19

Specific Comparisons ........... 20

Tone ........... 21

Specific Questions ........... 22

Sentence Completions ........... 23-36

Big Strategy: Sentence Completions ........... 23

Standard One-Blank Sentence Completions ........... 24-25

One-Blank Sentence Completions: Definitions ........... 26-27

One-Blank Sentence Completions: Change-Ups ........... 28-29

Standard Two-Blank Sentence Completions ........... 30-32

Two-Blank Sentence Completions: Relationships ........... 33-34

Two-Blank Sentence Completions: Parallel Clues ........... 35

 

 

 

A System for Getting Good Answers on the Reading Sections

A big challenge on the Reading portion of the PSAT is that the test requires a different type of reading than what you're used to in your classes.  Although you are often encouraged to interpret readings in literature classes, there is no room for interpretation on the PSAT. You must confine yourself to answers you can prove.  In order to do this, we need a system with which to approach Reading questions. Regardless of the question type, following this approach will help to make sure you get the right answer. Here it is:

1.     READ THE QUESTION WITH INTENT

• Underline the most important key words in the question.

2.     FIND THE INFO YOU NEED

• Dig deeper into the sentence or passage to find the information the question is asking about.

3.     MAKE UP YOUR OWN ANSWER

• Make up your own response. Act as if the question were fill-in-the-blank, not multiple choice.
• Do not look at the answer choices until you have your own answer.

4.     ELIMINATE THREE BAD ANSWERS

• Here is how reading answers are set up: three really bad choices, one choice that is almost right (pretty good), and only one right answer.
• Get rid of the three really bad answers first.
• Doing this will give you a 50-50 chance of picking the best choice and make the final selection process much easier.

5.     CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER

• Be specific! The difference between the right answer and the second best answer (which is just as wrong as the worst answer) is usually only one or two words.
• Is there proof? The right answer has to be supported by concrete evidence. If you think an answer "could be right," "might be right," or "is sort of right," it is probably wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIG STRATEGY: READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGES

There are three sections of Reading Passages on the PSAT.  The passages range from one or two paragraphs to a page in length.  You'll be asked to answer questions about your understanding of the author's idea and style.

Why the Reading Passages seem so hard:

           

1.     No interpretation

In school you are often encouraged to interpret. This is part of the beauty of literature. But remember, on the PSAT, however, we cannot interpret. There is only one right answer, and you must have proof for this answer.

2.     This stuff is BORING!

PSAT passages are usually about history, science, or literature. They are basically written to be boring on purpose.

3.     Most people do not have a process for getting good answers

Think about math. Even if you hate math, you know that there is a procedure that you must go through to get the right answer. Solving for a variable? Take the necessary steps to isolate the variable and you have got your answer. The problem with Reading is that most people do not know what steps to work through, so here they are:

Remember the Five Steps:

1. Read the question. Know what you are looking for when you start reading. Ask yourself big questions: what is the author's main point? What is the author's attitude or tone?

2. Find the proof you need by referring back to the passage. You must have proof for your answer. Contrary to what we often do in English class, you cannot interpret the material in a reading passage. You must search the passage and find solid evidence for every one of your answers. Specific answers will only be right if there is direct support for them.

3. Make up your own answer. DO NOT look at the provided answers before completing this step.

4. Eliminate three answers that do not work.

5. Choose the BEST answer.

 

Crucial Considerations for Reading Comprehension Passages

Although the general five-step process for answering questions should always be applied to this section, there are some additional things that you might want to keep in mind when tackling the Reading Comprehension Passages:

Read With Intent-Know what you are looking for when you start reading. Ask yourself big questions: what is the author's main point? What is the author's attitude or tone? 

Manage Your Time-Many students find it difficult to finish the reading sections. Your goal when reading is to find the main idea of each passage, not to understand every tiny detail. Do not read anything two or three times! Do not worry about the details-keep moving! You must find a reading style that works well for you. Here are three possible reading strategies:

1. Read the whole passage. If you are a quick and comfortable reader, you can read the entire passage. But remember, do not slow down or go back to read anything twice.

2. Skim the whole passage. If you have experience skimming and are comfortable doing so, you can skim quickly through the entire piece.

            3. Read in the outline style.

a. Read the entire first paragraph.

b. Read the first and last sentences of all of the other paragraphs.

c. Read the entire last paragraph.

Outline reading works because the above components of the passage give you the most important information quickly and do not slow you down with unnecessary details.

Work from Specific to General-After you read the passage, answer the questions with line references first. After you are done with the line reference questions, go back and tackle the general questions.

Read Around the Line Reference-Be sure to read four or five lines before and after the line reference. For example, if the question refers to line 15, begin reading at line 10 or 11 and read through line 19 or 20.

Find the Proof-You must have proof for your answer. Contrary to what we often do in English class, you cannot interpret the material in a reading passage. You must search the passage and find solid evidence for every one of your answers. Specific answers will only be right if there is direct support for them.

Avoid Extreme Language-Most correct answers in the Reading sections feature moderate, bland language. Avoid extremely positive or extremely negative language, including words like "all," "always," "never," "none," or "completely."

 

 

Three Types of Reading Passages

All of the Reading questions are based on three types of passages. There are:

1.     Short Passages

• There are four short passages (one to two paragraphs) on each PSAT.
• Read the questions first and then read the passage with the questions in mind. Make sure that your answers are supported by proof from the passage.

2.     Long Passages

• Long passages are one-half page to a full page long.
• Read the passage in your preferred style. Then answer the questions from specific to general.

3.     Dual Passages

• Dual passages present two passages together: Passage 1 and Passage 2. These sections can be made up of either short or long passages.
• For short dual passages, read both passages first and then answer the questions.
• For long dual passages, read Passage 1 and answer the questions that only refer to it. Then read Passage 2 and answer questions about it. Save questions referencing both passages for last.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  READING PASSAGES: LINE REFERENCE (22%)

-These questions refer to a specific line(s) in the passage. Line reference questions ask about the meaning of these lines.

-Do these questions first. Here are the big techniques to remember:

• You must look up the PROOF on Line Reference questions.
• Read four or five lines before through four or five lines after the actual reference.
• The right answers to these questions must have evidence to specifically support the answer. If the answer includes an idea that is not specifically mentioned in the passage, it is probably wrong.

 

 

 

 

2.  READING PASSAGES: VOCABULARY-IN-CONTEXT (8%)

Description-Vocabulary-in-context questions ask you to define the meaning of a specific word in the context of the passage. These questions are often phrased as follows: "In line 37, 'fair' most nearly means..."

Approach-You will probably already be familiar with the word in a Vocabulary-in-Context question. However, do not simply pick the "normal" definition of the word. Here's the strategy:

1.     Treat these questions like Sentence Completion questions (see the end of this packet for the strategy).

2.     Make up your own definition for the word before looking at the answers provided.

3.     For easy words, the right answer will usually not be the most common definition of the word!

Remember: The word MUST fit into the context of the sentence.

A Sample Vocab-in-Context Question

Here's an excerpt for a sample Reading passage: 

"Due to his undying passion for rare birds, the traveler's mind was fired by thoughts of viewing the elusive Quetzal."

In context, what is the meaning of "fired" in the above lines?

A) warmed  B) dismissed  C) rejected  D) inspired  E) cooked

3.  READING PASSAGES: TECHNIQUE (5%)

Description-Technique questions ask about the author's writing style. You will be asked to comment on how the author constructs the passage or why the author made certain decisions.

Approach-Ask yourself how and why the author chose to write the passage in the exact way that it appears. These questions can be specific or general.

• Specific technique questions might look like this: "In line 40, quotation marks are used to" or "The author uses which of the following techniques in the fourth paragraph?"
• General technique questions require you to think about the whole passage and draw connections between individual paragraphs. They might look like this: "What is the role of the last paragraph in relation to the passage as a whole?"

Key Literary Techniques

Tone questions often ask about how the author of the passage uses the following literary devices.

Literary Device	Meaning
Metaphor	a comparison that does not use "like" or "as"
Simile	a comparison that uses "like" or "as"
Hyperbole	Exaggeration
Anecdote	a short story often used to illustrate a point
Understatement	a technique that downplays the importance or true nature of the idea or subject matter
Personification	the use of human qualities to describe something non-human (i.e., a thing)
Analogy	a comparison between two things or ideas
Foreshadowing	a hint about something that will happen in the future
Irony	something unexpected; a description or discussion that means the opposite of what it appears to mean
Paradox	an apparent contradiction or absurd statement
Allusion	a reference to something (usually history or literature)
Figurative language	language that is not meant to be taken literally
Flashback	a scene that took place in the past

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. READING PASSAGES: HYPOTHETICALS (4%)

Description-Hypotheticals ask you to comment on a situation similar to the ideas presented in the passage. This hypothetical situation, however, is not specifically discussed in the passage.

Approach-Find a similar idea in the passage. To answer hypothetical questions we need to draw parallels among the ideas that are in the passage. Find something that relates and go from there.

A Sample Hypothetical:

For example, suppose the author of a passage makes the following claim: "recent college graduates are always better job candidates than people without college degrees."

Which of the following hypothetical job applicants would the author believe to be most qualified for a job at his clothing store?

            A) a recent high school graduate

B) a young woman who reads many books about clothing

C) a middle-aged former owner of a clothing store

D) a recent college graduate who studied economics

E) a teenage fashion model

Answer D is the only one that matches the author's idea that "recent college graduates are always better job candidates than people without college degrees," and is therefore the right answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. READING PASSAGES: ASSUMPTIONS (1%)

Description-Assumption questions ask what the author must believe to be true in order to write the things she does. These questions can be tricky because the assumption is usually not stated in the passage.

Approach-The correct answer to an assumption question describes an idea that is necessary for the author to believe her own statements in the passage. In other words, if this assumption were not true, it would change many of the ideas in the passage.

A Sample Assumption Question:

Statement: "Very little is known about the true style of Benjamin's music because, although there are many surviving pages of Benjamin's sheet music, we have no recordings of his work."

Assumption: An important assumption in the above sentence is that recordings of music help us to understand the music's true style. The author's statement can only be true if this assumption is true.

 

6. READING PASSAGES: EXCEPT / NOT / LEAST (1%)

Description-"Except / Not / Least" Questions will look something like this: "The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT:" These questions can be specific or general and cover any topic in Reading: technique, tone, specific subject matter, general concepts, etc.

Approach-Even though it will be written in CAPS, underline the "EXCEPT," "NOT," or "LEAST." Many students forget that they are looking for the bad answer. These questions are basically five questions in one; look at each answer and dig back into the passage to determine which of the answers does NOT work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. READING PASSAGES: BIG PICTURE (7%

Description-Big Picture questions ask about the overall idea of the passage.

Approach-Do these questions after you finish the line reference questions. Your answers to the Line Reference questions should cumulatively prove the answers to the Big Picture questions.

-when you're done reading the passage, take a second to state the main idea to yourself before you start answering questions

8. READING PASSAGES: SUGGESTIONS / INFERENCES (11%)

Description-These questions ask what the author suggests or implies.

Approach-Even though Suggestion questions seem open to interpretation, they are not. You still must find evidence for the right answer.

-Find the Proof: the answer to a suggestion question must agree with other ideas that the author has actually stated.

A Sample Suggestion / Inference Question

Here's an excerpt from the passage:

"The bizarre existence of insects is one of the most feared and misunderstood realms of the natural world. Many of the world's 'pests' actually play essential and beneficial roles for both humankind and nature."

It can be inferred from the use of quotation marks ('pests') that the author of the passage

(A) considers some people to be annoying

(B) disagrees with the negative tone of the word 'pests'

(C) questions whether insects are helpful

(D) finds many people to be comical

(E) does not know the scientific term for insects.

Answer B is the only choice that is strongly suggested in the excerpt from the passage.  The author states that, although insects are viewed negatively, they actually play a positive role.

 

9.  READING PASSAGES: GENERAL COMPARISONS (5%)

Description-General comparisons ask you to compare the main ideas of two passages. They will often refer to the authors' tones, techniques, and overall opinions.

Approach-The answers to these questions should summarize the main ideas of both passages. The authors in a dual passage section will usually disagree with each other. Therefore, if the question asks where both authors would agree, the answer is usually very vague, the type of idea about which almost anyone could find agreement.

-scratch down the main idea after you're done reading each passage; this will help you compare and contrast them quickly

 

10. READING PASSAGES: SPECIFIC COMPARISONS (2%)

Description-Specific Comparisons deal with dual passage Reading sections. They often look like this: "What would the author of Passage 1 most likely claim about the information presented in lines 45-48 of Passage 2?"

Approach-Get specific!

• Go back to the lines referenced and make sense of them.
• Try to find a discussion of the same topic in the other passage.
• Remember that the two authors will usually disagree.

11. READING PASSAGES: TONE (3%)

Description-Tone questions ask about the author's tone, attitude, or feeling towards some aspect of the passage. These questions can be general (the author's overall tone throughout the passage) or specific (the author's tone towards one specific idea).

Approach-The tone should match the author's overall opinion throughout the passage. Extreme language is usually wrong! Answers that use immoderate (extreme) language or resemble the following examples will usually be incorrect answers for tone questions:

• "Supreme confidence"
• "Hatred"
• "The author is completely uninterested in this idea"

12. READING PASSAGES: SPECIFIC QUESTIONS (2%)

Description-These questions refer to certain parts of the text even though they do not have line number references. Specific questions often indicate certain parts of the passage by saying, "In the last paragraph," "In the first sentence of the third paragraph," "the author's discussion of beetles," or through other specific references.

Approach-Even though these questions do not contain line references, you must look back at the part of the passage referenced in the question. Don't be lazy and rely on your memory!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIG STRATEGY: SENTENCE COMPLETION QUESTIONS

Sentence Completion questions are vocabulary questions. Learn as many vocabulary words as possible to maximize your chances!

• Although studying vocabulary is essential, you can still get sentence completion questions right even if you do not know all of the words.

You Can Only Deal with What You Know

• It is not worth your time to think about words that you do not know.
• However, do not eliminate words that you do not know. They may be the right answers!
• Do not make up definitions for words that you do not know, either.

What Would Merriam-Webster Do?

• The dictionary definition of the right answer must fit the sentence exactly.
• It is not enough to think that an answer "might" fit or "could" fit. You cannot create a story or scene in your mind to justify a "sort of" right answer.
• The correct answer's definition either works for the sentence 100% or not at all!
• Ask yourself the hard question: "Is this word right or not?"

Pay Attention to Punctuation

• Take note of any punctuation (commas, colons, and semi-colons) in the sentence, because the important information is probably nearby.
• If a colon or semi-colon appears, the key to the sentence immediately follows it every time.

 

 

The only two questions that really matter on Sentence Completion

 

For every Sentence Completion answer, ask yourself

 

1. Do I know this word?

            -be honest

            -if not, there is nothing you can do; just leave it!

2. OK, I know this word...does it work?

            -does the dictionary definition of the word fit the sentence exactly or not

            -if not, it's not the answer

 

 

 

 

 

1.  ONE-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: STANDARD ONE-BLANKERS (9%)

Description-One-Blank Sentence Completions ask you to complete a sentence by filling in a single blank with an appropriate vocabulary word.

Approach-We will apply the strategy we outlined earlier:

1.     READ

2.     FIND

3.     MAKE-UP

4.     ELIMINATE

5.     CHOOSE

 

(We'll get more in depth with these steps in just a second...)

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The following question will help outline our One-Blank Sentence Completion strategy:

Although some of the revelations in the movie star's memoirs will surprise even his most ardent fans, much of his story is quite -------.

(A) significant   (B) familiar   (C) impressive   (D) explicit   (E) thorough

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FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL ONE-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS

1.     Read the sentence all the way through. Do not simply stop at the blank and look for the answer.

2.     Diagram the main ideas of the sentence.

• Underline the key to the sentence. It will be about half of the sentence.
• What is the key to the practice question above?

__________________________________________________________

• Circle any change-up words. Change-ups are words like "but," "however," "although," "even though," or "yet." They change the definition of the sentence.
• What should you circle in the practice question above?

_________________________________________________________

3.     Make up your own word or concept for the blank.

• What word would you put in the blank in the question above?

4.     Eliminate three bad answer choices.

• Which three answers definitely don't work?

5.     Choose the best answer.

• Remember the dictionary!!!
• The answer here is B (familiar).

2.  ONE-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: DEFINITIONS (6%)

Description-Defintions are one-blank sentence completion questions that include a precise definition of the word needed in the blank.

Approach-Look for punctuation. Definition sentences will almost always be broken up by some form of punctuation.

The Power of Punctuation

The purpose of punctuation is to break up a sentence. Therefore, the key to many sentence completion questions is near punctuation marks.

• Colons and semi-colons: the key to the sentence will almost always be right after a colon or semi-colon
• Commas: the key to many sentences is either before or after a comma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  ONE-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: CHANGE-UPS (2%)

Here are your change-up words

But

However

Although

Yet

Even though

Without

Description-Change-Ups are words like "but," "however," "although," or "yet." These words change the meaning of the sentence and imply that the right answer is the opposite of the sentence's key.

 

Approach-Circle any change-up words. If you have something circled in the sentence, the right answer will be the opposite of the key (the part you underlined earlier).

 

A Sample Change-Up Question

Check out how this question is diagrammed:

Although many people associate the Rocky Mountain region with heavy snowfall, the region is actually quite -------.

1.     Underline the key: many people associate the Rocky Mountain region with heavy snowfall

2.     Circle the change-up: Although

3.     Make-up your own answer: we are looking for the opposite of "heavy snowfall"-we need something like "dry," "warm," or "pleasant" for the blank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.           TWO-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: STANDARD TWO-BLANKERS (9%)

Description-Two-Blank Sentence Completions ask you to complete a sentence by filling in two blanks with appropriate vocabulary words.

Approach-Do One Blank At a Time

• Most answers to two-blank sentence completion questions are half right; one of the words will work and the other one will not. It is always easier to start with just one of the blanks.
• To master two-blank sentence completions we'll add one step (#5) to our one-blank approach.

1.     READ

2.     FIND what you need

3.     MAKE-UP a word for one of the blanks

4.     ELIMINATE answers that do not work for that blank

5.     PLUG-IN the answers that are left over

Unline one-blank questions we have to plug the second word into the sentence

6.     PICK the one that fits best for both blanks

The following question will outline our Two-Blank Sentence Completion strategy:

Weighing over seventy tons, Brachiosaurus was ------- creature, yet its brain was quite -------.

(A) an intelligent . . enormous   (B) a gargantuan . . small   (C) a minute . . tiny   (D) a prodigious . . fossilized   (E) an extinct . . extant

FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL TWO-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS

1.     Read the sentence all the way through. Do not stop at the blank and look for the answer.

2.     Diagram the main ideas of the sentence.

• Underline the key to the sentence. It will be about half of the sentence.
• What is the key to the practice question above?

_________________________________________________________________

• Circle any change-up words. Change-ups are words like "but," "however," "although," "even though," or "yet." They change the definition of the sentence.
• What should you circle in the practice question above?

_________________________________________________________

3.     Make up your own word or concept for the blank that you have more information about.

• In the question above, which blank do we know more about?
• What word would you put in that blank?

4.     Eliminate three bad answer choices

• Which three answers definitely do not work?

5.     Plug-In the answers that are left over.

6.     Choose the best answer.

5.  TWO-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: RELATIONSHIPS (4%)

Description-Relationship-Based Sentence Completions are two-blank questions for which the answers depend on the relationship between the two blanks. Often, the relationship between the blanks is one more consideration to add to the techniques described above (i.e., diagram the sentence; make up your own word; etc). Sometimes, however, the relationship between the blanks will be the only key to the sentence and will be all you need to choose the right answer.

Approach-For each two-blanker, ask this: are the blanks similar to or different from each other? If there is a change-up (but, however, etc) between the blanks, they are probably opposites. If there is a word like "and," "even," or "because" between the blanks, the blanks are probably similar. Here's the strategy:

1. What is the relationship between the two blanks in the sentence: similar or different?

            2. Which answer choices have the wrong relationship? Cross these off!

            3. What's left over?

Remember: BOTH words have to fit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.  TWO-BLANK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS: PARALLEL CLUES (1%)

Description-Sentence Completions with Parallel Clues have two solid clues (one for each blank) that are presented in the same order as the blanks they define.

Approach-Find the clue for each blank. The first clue will define the first blank; the second clue will define the second blank. Because these sentences contain strong definitions for both answer words, they are quite similar to One-Blank "Definition" questions.

1.            The musician's style was ------- and -------; each song was fresh and innovative, and well-performed at that.

(A) mundane . . flashy (B) novel . . adept   (C) boring . . adroit

(D) spontaneous . . proficient   (E) cacophonous . . tolerable

 

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 [AB1]Don't know if this is a concern or not, but I think that some of this might be easier to read through and digest if there were more transition-type things...intros and that kind of thing. Also, boxing off key ideas is really helpful to get bits of information across quickly.