Admissions Intel – Sophia’s ACT & SAT Tips

ACT/SAT Pro Tip: Commas

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Sophia Olender

The SAT and ACT English sections commonly confuse students into thinking punctuation is required where it’s not. If it doesn’t NEED punctuation, then don’t use it. There are only three cases in which the comma should be used on the test.

1. Removable Clauses

Removable clauses are clauses that can be removed from the sentence without altering the point or the meaning of the sentence.

Jenny, a fan of Gossip Girl, went to the store to buy the series on DVD.

The bolded section should be sectioned off with commas, because it is entirely removable.

2. Introductory Clauses

Introductory clauses introduce a sentence. If they are deleted, what remains is still a complete sentence (subject, verb). The rest of the sentence stands on its own, even if it’s not as clear without the introductory clause.

If you want to be an Olympic athlete, you must train hard every single day.

You must train hard every single day. Still a full sentence.

3. Lists

Lists need commas, as you know! Separate each item in a list with a comma.

It is necessary to train dogs, cats, and horses.

People disagree about whether or not there should be a comma before “and.” You will never be tested on this rule.

There, that’s it! Only use a comma in these three situations. Don’t let an answer choice with extra commas convince you that extra commas are necessary.

ACT/SAT Pro Tip: Direct and Inverse Variation

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Sophia Olender

“Three chocolate cakes requires 9/4 cups of cocoa powder. Twelve cups of cocoa powder is enough for how many chocolate cakes?”

While the multiplying and dividing of fractions can be tricky, this problem is a simple ratio. Cakes divided by cocoa equals cakes divided by cocoa. Cross multiply and solve for your variable. This is called direct variation – y increases as x increases, and y decreases as x decreases. Since this concept is learned early in one’s academic career, and is even used often in day-to-day life, many students confuse problems of inverse variation (situations in which y increases as x decreases, and vice versa) with the more common direct variation.

“It takes eight men 15 hours to build a shed. How long would it take 12 men to build a shed?” Muscle memory tells you men divided by hours equals men divided by hours, but on second thought, increased manpower would actually decrease the amount of time spent on a project. Where the formula for direct variation is y/h = x/k, the formula for inverse variation is yh = xk, or in this case, man times hours equals man times hours.

Think logically before you begin these problems. Are x and y moving in the same direction, or in opposite directions? Then, choose the appropriate formula.

If you solved the above problems, the correct answers are 16 and 10, respectively.

ACT/SAT Pro Tip: How to Tackle the Paired Passages

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Sophia Olender

Within the Reading portions of the SAT and the ACT, there is a unique section in which you must evaluate and analyze two passages at once. This section is daunting; in whole, it is longer than the others, and it requires focus on two authors with differing opinions.

Instead of tackling this section like the others, split it up, creating two painless reading sections, and reap the benefits of forethought! First, glance at the questions. Questions will fall into three categories – label them P1, P2, and Both. P1 questions solely discuss the first passage; P2 questions solely discuss the second passage; and Both questions require an understanding of both the first and second passages. Draw two lines on your test booklet to separate the three categories of question.

Now, it’s smooth sailing! You will simply work through this section as if it is two separate passages. Read Passage 1; Answer P1 questions; Read Passage 2; Answer P2 questions; Answer Both questions. No more racking your brain for which author said what!