Using SAT® Skills Insight™

Using SAT® Skills Insight™

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SAT Skills Insight is only a general guide. Its goal is to help you determine and improve your current skill levels in the areas tested on the SAT.

Review Your Options: Begin by determining the level your skills are at right now. Look at each score band to see what types of skills it requires. Decide how comfortable you feel with the skills described. Don’t worry if you’re not an exact match for any one score band; it’s normal to have some of the skills in the next higher or lower band.

Make Your Selection: Start by looking at the scores you earned on the PSAT/NMSQT®, SAT, and any practice tests you have taken. Then choose a separate score band for each section of the SAT—for example, 300–390 for math, 400–490 for critical reading, and 500–590 for writing.

Once you’ve chosen your bands, you can look at the areas that need improvement to help you achieve more.

Critical Reading Skill Groups: 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Determining the Meaning of Words

Academic Skills

A typical student in this score band can do the following:

  • SKILL 1: Use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of words needed to complete a compound or complex sentence
  • SKILL 2: Recognize and understand less common words and specialized vocabulary (terms used in a particular occupation or field of study)
  • SKILL 3: Use context clues (such as an embedded definition) to select missing vocabulary at the sentence level
  • SKILL 4: Use the context of a sentence or a short section of text to clarify the meaning of unknown words (when definitions may or may not be embedded in the text) or to select the appropriate meaning of familiar and simple words that have multiple meanings
  • SKILL 5: Use sentence structure to negotiate the meaning of the sentence
  • SKILL 6: Make sense of complex sentences with logical constructions that include terms such as but, although, or, if, then, and not

Suggestions for Improvement

To prepare for the next score band, try the following:

  • As you read a text, identify a compound or complex sentence. Break it down into smaller parts and think about how those parts work together. How does the structure of the sentence set up relationships among the ideas in the sentence?
  • When you come across an unknown word or a word with multiple meanings in your reading, look at the context of the sentence for clues to what the word means.
  • As you read a text (such as a newspaper or magazine article) about a subject you aren’t familiar with, look for words that might be part of a specialized vocabulary—that is, words that are primarily used within a certain field—and determine their meaning. Choose a subject and find a book written by a specialist for other specialists in that field, looking for specialized vocabulary words as you read.

Skill Examples

The example questions below demonstrate the Academic Skills found in this score band. Without looking at the answers, try out the questions to see how comfortable you feel with the skills they test.

Skill 1—Example

Use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of words needed to complete a compound or complex sentence

The university’s aggressive transformation from a
teaching-centered college to a major research institution has
brought ------- that teaching is now being -------.

  • suspicions . . promoted
  • recommendations . . discussed
  • accusations . . neglected
  • insinuations . . praised
  • recriminations . . emphasized
Answer: C
Skill 2—Example

Recognize and understand less common words and specialized vocabulary (terms used in a particular occupation or field of study)

His mouth stinging and burning, Virgil hurried to the kitchen for water to wash away the dish’s ------- taste.

  • earthy
  • exotic
  • cloying
  • acrid
  • succulent
Answer: D
Skill 3—Example

Use context clues (such as an embedded definition) to select missing vocabulary at the sentence level

Certain plant seeds are able to remain ------- for years, appearing lifeless when in fact they are merely inactive.

  • conspicuous
  • verdant
  • pliant
  • dormant
  • stunted
Answer: D
Skill 4—Example

Use the context of a sentence or a short section of text to clarify the meaning of unknown words (when definitions may or may not be embedded in the text) or to select the appropriate meaning of familiar and simple words that have multiple meanings

"Cloning" is the creation of a new individual from the unique DNA (or genetic information) of another. The successful cloning of a sheep named Dolly in 1997 sparked a debate over the implications of cloning humans. The passage below was written in 1997.

  
      Cloning creates serious issues of identity and individual-
  ity. The cloned person may experience concerns about his
  or her distinctive identity, not only because the person will
Line be in genotype (genetic makeup) and appearance identical to
5 another human being, but, in this case, because he or she
  may also be twin to the person who is the "father" or
  "mother"—if one can still call them that. What would be
  the psychic burdens of being the "child" or "parent" of your
Line twin? The cloned individual, moreover, will be saddled
10 with a genotype that has already lived. He or she will not
  be fully a surprise to the world.
      People will likely always compare a clone's perfor-
  mance in life with that of the original. True, a cloned
Line person's nurture and circumstances in life will be different;
15 genotype is not exactly destiny. Still, one must also expect
  parental and other efforts to shape this new life after the
  original—or at least to view the child with the original
  vision always firmly in mind. Why else then would they
Line clone from the star basketball player, mathematician, and
20 beauty queen—or even dear old dad—in the first place?
      Since the birth of Dolly, there has been a fair amount of
  doublespeak on this matter of genetic identity. Experts have
25 rushed in to reassure the public that the clone would in no
Line way be the same person, or have any confusions about his
  or her identity; they are pleased to point out that the clone
  of film star Julia Roberts would not be Julia Roberts. Fair
  enough. But one is shortchanging the truth by emphasizing
  the additional importance of the environment, rearing, and
Line social setting: genotype obviously matters plenty. That,
30 after all, is the only reason to clone, whether human beings
  or sheep. The odds that clones of basketball star Larry Bird
  will play basketball are, I submit, infinitely greater than
  they are for clones of jockey Willie Shoemaker.

In line 21, "fair" most nearly means

  • considerable
  • pleasing
  • ethical
  • just
  • promising
Answer: A
Skill 5—Example

Use sentence structure to negotiate the meaning of the sentence

The author agreed to submit a complete manuscript accompanied by a -------, a brief summary of the overall thesis.

  • premise
  • roster
  • synopsis
  • portfolio
  • rebuttal
Answer: C
Skill 6—Example

Make sense of complex sentences with logical constructions that include terms such as but, although, or, if, then, and not

The spot remover dissolved the concentrated stain but also allowed it to -------, spreading across much of the fabric.

  • coagulate
  • disintegrate
  • disperse
  • condense
  • evaporate
Answer: C