SAT Preparation Course–English Reading and Writing

Description

This course addresses the SAT Verbal exam and mastery of the SAT essay. Although the SAT Verbal is a problematic section of the exam, it is a learnable test that can be mastered—through hard work, analytical thought, and training one to think like a test writer. This course entails reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and essay writing specific to the exam.  Dr, O’Hearn-Amman (Dr. Tama) will introduce students to numerous analytic techniques that will help them immensely, not only on the SAT but also in any English course that requires critical thinking, analysis, grammar knowledge, and writing ability.  Studying for the SAT in this manner is a rewarding and satisfying experience.  Knowledge of essay prompts and how the test writers think will give one useful insight into the problems and make them less mysterious.  Moreover, familiarity with the SAT’s structure will help reduce anxiety.  The more one knows about this test, the less anxious she/he will be to tackle this and other standardized exams that also require one to be an evaluative writer with formal language and grammar skills.

Learning Outcomes:

• Write compelling, formal essays.
• Think critically about reading passage
• Evaluate persuasive writing.
• Demonstrate problem-solving ability in mastering SAT strategies.
• Learn and assimilate techniques for SAT mastery
• Learn the structure and changes for the 2021 SAT Verbal section.
• Integrate analysis and time management strategies for SAT reading comprehension.
• Interpret the different types of questions for the SAT Reading comprehension.
• Understand the SAT Essay rules and specific structure,
• Know and apply the specific types of grammar and usage questions for the SAT sentence completion.
• Learn root words and positive/negative charges words for unrecognized SAT vocabulary.
• Excel in quickly completing practice sections of the SAT Verbal and the written essay.
• Implement grammar skills to succeed on SAT sentence completion.
• Employ reading strategies to eliminate incorrect answers.

Week 1

SAT Verbal preparation will help exam success and elevate any student as a reader, grammarian, and writer for English courses!

Structure and current information on 2021 SAT Verbal exam

Plan:  Introduction to vocabulary building and grammar programs used in the course.  Vocabulary game and writing diagnostic.  Also, how SAT verbal preparation will also improve one’s English class reading and writing.

Week 2

SAT Reading is designed to challenge, and strategy is critical.

Reading comprehension:  Strategies to approach reading comprehension questions and the types of literature the SAT covers.  Analyze SAT passages and questions for reading comprehension.  Take practice Test #1 and receive feedback on diagnostic.

Plan:

• Students will annotate the text in ways that will be helpful for the questions that follow.
• Identify information and ideas explicitly stated in the text.
• Draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from a text.
• Cite the textual evidence that best supports a claim or point.
• Students will answer ten reading comprehension practice questions using this lesson.

Week 3

Author’s Purpose

What is the Author’s Purpose?

Receive feedback on Practice test one and continue to examine key issues and approaches to SAT reading comprehension questions.

Plan: Examine the types of questions raised in reading passages

• The function a phrase serves in the passage.
• The tone, style, perspective, and attitude of the author.
• Analyzing data based on diagrams, charts, and graphs.
• The central theme or main idea of the passage.
• Inference of a phrase in a paragraph.
• Arguments or evidence that supports the author’s stance.

Deductive Thinking and Techniques for the SAT

Learn strategies to deduce possible answers to SAT questions

Plan:

• Techniques are how students answer questions in each different section. There are specific techniques for the English/Writing, Reading tests.
• Determine the “level” of each question: is it a “cheap” question (Level 1) where it tells us which lines the answer is located, is it a “scan” question (Level 2) where it gives the word or phrase to scan for (…Bill heard the knock on the door…) or a general location of the answer (…in the first paragraph…), or is it a “skim” question (Level 3) that asks a general question about the entire passage.
• Answer the “cheap” questions first because they are the easiest, and each question counts the same. Then we answer the “scan” questions, and, by the time we have those questions answered, we have a good enough grasp of the passage that we can answer most or all the general questions and “skim” if we need additional information.
• Rules are how students answer a specific type of question. We apply specific Inductive and Deductive Reasoning to specific questions to make it easy to identify wrong answers and eliminate them.
• We will use these processes as an approach to answering practice test questions.

Week 5

SAT Essay:  Students only have 50 minutes to read a 650-750-word passage, analyze the author’s devices to structure her/his argument, and write a full-fledged essay.

 Introduction to SAT Essay Writing

Plan:  Introduce students to the format and skills required to write an essay different from school essays.   Discussion of Bloom’s Taxonomy (briefly) as it relates to SAT essay.  We will read an SAT prompt, analyzing its contents, discussing how to construct an evaluative analysis.  Dr. Tama will provide a PowerPoint on formal writing tips and literary terms.

Week 6

The SAT relies on specific types of grammar knowledge for which it repeatedly tests.  There are patterns that one must understand to succeed!

Week 7

One must not only master literary devices but apply formal grammar rules to the SAT Essay.

Week 8

“One can study multiple vocabulary lists, but not know the double meaning or definition of some words.”

Week 9

The SAT Essay writing is different from what one will encounter in high school, college, or college admissions essays.

Week 10

Trickier SAT readings require the ability to synthesize

Week 11

SAT Reading Comprehension Review

Plan:  Students will take three assessments for SAT reading comprehension, using the three types we went over in class.  These will be timed, just like the SAT exam.  Dr. Tama will grade these and review the problem areas with students.

Week 12

SAT timed essay

Plan:  Students will read and write from a prompt and write the times essay.  Dr. Tama will grade these and provide feedback and determine if each student requires more SAT preparation or are ready to tackle the exam!

 

Tamara O’Hearn-Amman, Ph.D., is a graduate of the University of Virginia and specializes in SAT Verbal preparation.  She is a former director and teacher for the SAT Preparation Outreach Program for Purdue University. She works as an online teacher to help students achieve high SAT scores and better English reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and formal essay writing.   She is currently an online teacher and rater for College Board (SAT Verbal Exam and English AP Exam).  tension, grammar, vocabulary, and formal essay writing. Dr. Tama will grade these and provide feedback and determine if each student requires more SAT preparation or are ready to tackle the exam