Day of Procedures
What do you need the day of?
Chromebook and charger
The first thing you SHOULD do on reading questions.
Read the question
If you try on one of artist Nick Cave’s signature Soundsuits, you can expect to swish, rustle, or clang every time you move. Cave makes his suits out of found objects, everything from ceramic birds to broken record players. He carefully considers the sound an object makes before using _______ in a suit.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) this B) that C) these D) it
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested here is pronoun?antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun “it” agrees in number with the singular antecedent “object.”
An archaeological team led by Piotr Bieliński and Sultan al-Bakri found remnants of a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age board game at a site in Oman. Little is left of the game except a stone board, which is carved with a grid and has places to hold game pieces. Some scholars claim that the game was largely played by traders.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the scholars’ claim?
A) Other examples of the game dating to the same period have been found in the remains of several homes in the region, including in one home that may have belonged to a trader.
B) Similar games have been found in other sites dating to the same period that were connected to the site in Oman via trade routes.
C) The other known examples of the game dating to the same period have been found along routes that seem to have been used primarily by traders at the time.
D) Remnants of other goods have been found at the site in Oman that probably also reached the location through trade.
Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support the scholars’ claim about the board game. The text explains that the remains of a 4,000-year-old board game were found in Oman. The text then states that scholars claim this board game was played mostly by traders. If the other known examples of this board game from the same time period were discovered along routes that seem to have been used primarily by traders, this finding would directly support the scholars’ claim because it suggests that the game was largely played by traders who brought it with them for entertainment as they traveled.
The PSAT is scheduled for this date.
April 3
True or false: You can use your phone during the break
False - You can't access personal items until all tests are done
This strategy encourages test taker to form answer prior to reading the multiple choice answers.
Predicting
In 1873, Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal observed that brain fibers have distinct boundaries with clear end points, a finding that went against earlier assumptions about the brain. _______ scientists had assumed that the brain was a continuous web of fused fibers, not a vast network of distinct, individual cells.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A) However, B) Previously, C) As a result, D) Likewise,
Choice B is the best answer. “Previously” logically signals that the fused fiber theory came before Ramón y Cajal’s discovery.
San Francisco is known for the colorful murals painted on many of its buildings. The densest collection of murals is found on Balmy Alley in the Mission District neighborhood. In the 1970s, Latina artists painted vivid scenes of community life on walls along this block. As the original murals have faded, later generations of artists have painted new ones over them. As a result, Balmy Alley has become a living showcase of San Francisco’s artistic spirit, with its murals reflecting changes in the cultural life of the city.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A) To compare the Balmy Alley murals to other murals in San Francisco
B) To offer an overview of the history and importance of the Balmy Alley murals
C) To urge people to protect the murals of San Francisco from decay
D) To describe the rise of mural painting in San Francisco beginning in the 1970s
Choice B is the best answer because it best states the main purpose of the text. The text begins by briefly stating that San Francisco is known for its murals, then transitions to a discussion of a single collection of murals, which is found on Balmy Alley in the city’s Mission District. The text explains that the murals in this area were originally created in the 1970s, then observes that they have changed over time: as some have faded through the decades, others have been painted in their place. The text ends by emphasizing that these murals are significant because they reflect San Francisco’s artistic spirit and cultural life. Therefore, the text provides an overview of the history and importance of the Balmy Alley murals.
How long is the Reading and Writing Section?
64 Minutes
Name 2 things you can bring the day of, but cannot have on your desk during testing
Phone, bag, water, food, notebook, etc.
This is the strategy used when time is expiring.
Choose a designated letter for all unanswered questions.
Objects ranging from the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle to the Yamaha VMAX motorcycle to the Komachi bullet train _______ designed by twentieth-century industrial designer Kenji Ekuan.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) was B) is C) has been D) were
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The plural verb “were” agrees in number with the plural subject “objects.”
The trees in their spring beauty sent through her restive mind a sharp thrill of pleasure. Seductive, charming, and beckoning as cities were, they had not this easy unhuman loveliness.
As used in the text, what does the word “beckoning” most nearly mean?
A) Demanding B) Signaling C) Inviting D) Shifting
Choice C is the best answer because as used in the text, “beckoning” most nearly means “inviting,” or attractive. The text portrays a woman who is looking at “trees in their spring beauty.” She compares them to cities, which have their own pleasures even if they do not have the “easy unhuman loveliness” of trees: she thinks of cities as “seductive” and “charming,” both adjectives that signify something that is enticing, or attractive. Therefore, cities that are seductive and charming would also be described as inviting people closer to them.
This is the average time allotted for each Reading question.
A little over 1 minute
Where are you going to be testing?
In your homeroom - On this floor
This strategy helps you find the answer by discounting answers that you know are not the answer choice.
Process of elimination
Human-made (synthetic) fibers used in clothes and many other consumer products are more durable than most natural plant _______ the manufacture of synthetic fibers requires toxic chemical solvents that can pollute air and water.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) fibers, B) fibers but C) fibers D) fibers, but
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the coordination of main clauses within a sentence. This choice correctly uses a comma and the coordinating conjunction “but” to join the first main clause (“Human-made... fibers”) and the second main clause (“the manufacture...water”).
Bioluminescent beetles called fireflies may seem to create flashes of light randomly, but each species of firefly actually has its own special series of repeated flashes and pauses. These unique _______ allow fireflies of the same species to find each other.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) quantities B) decorations C) patterns D) agreements
Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the flashes created by fireflies. In this context, “patterns” means distinct and predictable sequences. The text indicates that although the flashes that fireflies produce appear to occur randomly—that is, without any particular sequence or rhythm—each species actually produces its own special series of flashes and pauses. Indeed, these series of flashes are so unique that fireflies can use them to find other members of their species. Therefore, this context supports the idea that fireflies produce flashes in distinct and recognizable patterns.
How many questions is the Reading and Writing Section?
54
When can you leave the classroom?
During breaks / at the end (11:30)
This strategy helps you find the definition to a word you may not know.
Context clue?
The fine, powdery substance that covers the Moon’s surface is called regolith. Because regolith is both readily available and high in oxygen _______ scientists have wondered whether it could be used as a potential source of oxygen for future lunar settlements.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) content and B) content, C) content D) content, and
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subordinate clause and a main clause. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the subordinate clause (“Because...content”) and the main clause (“scientists...settlements”).
Some people have speculated that two helmets with attached horns discovered in Denmark in 1942 belonged to Vikings, but scholars have long been skeptical. Archaeologist Helle Vandkilde and colleagues recently provided radiocarbon dates for the helmets, and their findings _______ scholars’ skepticism: the helmets date to the Nordic Bronze Age, centuries before the Vikings existed.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) anticipate B) inspect C) reveal D) justify
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the helmets found in Denmark. In this context, “justify” means confirm or give reasons for. The text indicates that scholars have long been skeptical about the supposed Viking origin of two helmets found in Denmark. The radiocarbon dating of the helmets conducted by Vandkilde and colleagues demonstrates that the helmets date from the Nordic Bronze Age, making the helmets too old to have belonged to Vikings. This context supports the idea that the scholars’ skepticism is justified.
Name Ms. Grilley's 3 goals for the PSAT 8/9 test takers.
Read each question carefully, answer every question, and TRY YOUR BEST