PSAT/NMSQT Prep with Practice Tests - Princeton Review 2021

Introduction to writing and language strategy
PSAT/NMSQT prep

CAN YOU REALLY TEST WRITING ON A MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST?

We’d say no, but the PSAT (and a heck of a lot of other tests) seems to think the answer is yes. To that end, the PSAT is giving you 35 minutes to answer 44 multiple-choice questions that ask about a variety of grammatical and stylistic topics. If you like to read and/or write, this test may frustrate you a bit because it may seem to boil writing down to a couple of dull rules. But as you will see, we will use the next few chapters to suggest a method that keeps things simple for pro- and anti-grammarians alike.

It is worth noting also that the breakdown of the test is exactly that of the SAT. While other sections of this test may provide slightly easier or shorter versions of what is to come on the real SAT, the Writing and Language Test is a carbon copy. Even the topics tested and the difficulty levels are likely to be the same.

WHERE DID ALL THE QUESTIONS GO?

One thing that can seem a little strange about the Writing and Language section of the PSAT is that many of the questions don’t have, well, questions. Instead, many of the questions look something like this:

The history of standardized 1 testing although it may seem pretty dull, is in many ways a story about beliefs about how people learn and succeed.

1. A)NO CHANGE

B)testing, although it may seem pretty dull

C)testing, although it may seem, pretty dull,

D)testing, although it may seem pretty dull,

How are you supposed to pick an answer when there’s no question?

Well, actually, what you’ll find throughout this chapter and the next two is that the PSAT gives you a lot of information in this list of answer choices. (The answer is (D), by the way, but stick with us for a second here.)

Look at these pairs, and you’ll see just what we mean. As you read through these pairs of answer choices, think about what each question is probably testing.

1. A)could of

B)could have

2. A)tall, dark, and handsome

B)tall, dark and handsome

3. A)let them in

B)let Sister Susie and Brother John in

4. A)We arrived in Paris on a Sunday. Then we took the train to Nantes. Then we took the train to Bordeaux.

B)We arrived in Paris on a Sunday. Then we took the train to Bordeaux. Then we took the train to Nantes.

If you were able to see the differences in these answer choices, you’re already more than halfway there. Now, notice how the differences in these answers can reveal the question that is lurking in the heart of each list of answer choices.

1. The difference between the word “of” and “have” means that this question is asking Is the correct form “could of” or “could have”?

2. The difference between having a comma after the word “dark” and not having one there means that this question is asking How many commas does this sentence need, and where do they belong?

3. The difference between “them” and “Sister Susie and Brother John” means that this question is asking Is “them” adequately specific, or do you need to refer to people by name?

4. The difference in the order of these sentences asks What order should the sentences be in?

Therefore, what we have noticed in these pairs of answer choices is something that may seem fairly simple but which is essential to success on the PSAT.

THE ANSWER CHOICES ASK THE QUESTIONS

At some point, you’ve almost certainly had to do the English-class exercise called “peer editing.” In this exercise, you are tasked with “editing” the work of one of your fellow students. But this can be really tough, because what exactly does it mean to “edit” an entire essay or paper when you aren’t given any directions? It’s especially tough when you start getting into the subtleties between whether things are wrong or whether they could merely be improved.

Look, for example, at these two sentences:

It was a beautiful day outside birds were singing cheerful songs.

It was a beautiful day outside; birds were singing cheerful songs.

You’d have to pick the second one in this case because the first has a grammatical error: it’s a run-on sentence. Or for the non-grammarians out there, you have to break that thing up.

Now, look at these next two sentences:

The weather was just right, so I decided to play soccer.

Just right was how I would describe the weather, so a decision of soccer-playing was made by me.

In this case, the first sentence is obviously better than the second, but the second technically doesn’t have any grammatical errors in it. The first may be better, but the second isn’t exactly wrong.

What made each of these pairs of sentences relatively easy to deal with, though, was the fact that you could compare the sentences to one another. In doing so, you noted the differences between those sentences, and so you picked the better answer accordingly.

Let’s see how this looks in a real PSAT situation.

In particular, the early history of standardized 2 tests that reveals some of the basic assumptions about what education was supposed to do.

2. A)NO CHANGE

B)tests they reveal

C)tests reveals

D)tests, which revealing

Here’s How To Crack It

First, look at what’s changing in the answer choices. The word tests remains the same in each, but what comes after it changes each time. This question, then, seems to be asking, Which words will best link the two ideas in the sentence?

Choices (A) and (D) make the sentence incomplete, so those should be eliminated. Choice (B) creates a run-on sentence, so that should also be eliminated. It looks like only (C) appropriately links the ideas without adding new errors.

Notice how that entire process started with asking What’s changing in the answer choices? With that question, we figured out what was being tested, and we used POE to do the rest.

Let’s try another.

In many ways, a civilization’s self-image can be assessed through what that civilization expects 3 their citizens to know.

3. A)NO CHANGE

B)they’re citizens

C)their citizen

D)its citizens

Here’s How To Crack It

As always, start with what is changing in the answer choices. It looks like the main change is between the words their, they’re, and its with a minor change between the words citizen and citizens. As such, this question seems to be asking, What is the appropriate pronoun to use in this context, and just how many citizens are we talking about?

Start wherever is easiest. In this case, we’re talking about many citizens, not just one, so (C) can be eliminated. Now, let’s work with the pronoun. What does it refer back to? In this sentence, it seems that the pronoun refers back to civilization, which is a singular noun (even though it describes a lot of people). Therefore, the only possible answer that could work is (D), which contains the singular pronoun “its.”

LEARN FROM THE ANSWER CHOICES

Let’s think about the previous question a bit more. If someone said to you a civilization’s self-image can be assessed through what that civilization expects their citizens to know, you might not necessarily hear that as wrong. That’s because the way we speak is often very different from the way we write. The PSAT is more concerned on this test with how we write and with the stricter set of rules that go along with writing.

As such, not only can the answer choices tell us what a particular question is testing, they can also reveal mistakes that we might not have otherwise seen (in the original sentence) or heard (in our heads). In the previous question, we might not have noted the mistake at all if we hadn’t looked at what was changing in the answer choices.

Let’s see another.

A good standardized test can be an effective way 4 to try a different tact at assessing student learning.

4. A)NO CHANGE

B)to try a different tack

C)for those trying a different tact

D)for those trying a different tack

Here’s How To Crack It

First, as always, check what’s changing in the answer choices. In this case, that step is especially important because you can’t really hear the error. People misuse this idiom all the time because they so rarely see it written; each pair of answer choices sounds basically the same. The fact that they are not the same, that they change, tells us precisely what to pay attention to when we use POE.

Start the Process of Elimination. There’s no good reason to add a bunch of extra words that don’t make things any more precise, so eliminate (C) and (D). Then, if you’re not sure, take a guess. The correct form of the saying here is (B).

Notice, though, that looking at the answer choices revealed the problem that you might not have otherwise been able to see or hear. Then, POE got you the rest of the way.

POE DOES THE BIG WORK

Once you have a sense of what the question is testing, POE can get you closer and closer to the answer. POE is especially helpful when you’re dealing with sentences that have lots of issues, like this one:

It may seem that what you learn in school is too different from what you 5 are doing on the test. However, they would say that the underlying skills are the same.

5. A)NO CHANGE

B)do on the test, however, they’d

C)are doing on the test; however, the creators of the test would

D)do on the test; however, the creators of the test would

Here’s How to Crack It

First, as always, check what’s changing in the answer choices. In this case, there are three things changing: the difference between do and are doing, the difference between they and the creators of the test, and some differences in punctuation. While this may seem like a lot, this is actually a huge POE opportunity! Start with the one you find easiest, and work backward from there.

Because the semicolon is not commonly used, let’s save the punctuation part for last. Hopefully we can get the right answer without having to deal with the punctuation at all. Let’s start with the difference between they and the creators of the test. If we use the pronoun they, it’s not entirely clear whom the sentence is talking about, so eliminate (A) and (B). Then, to choose between the last two, do is more concise and more consistent with the rest of the sentence than is are doing, which makes (D) better than (C). In this instance, we got to the correct answer without having to deal with all of the messiness in the question!

ALL OF THE QUESTIONS CAN’T BE WRONG ALL OF THE TIME

Now that our strategy is basically set, let’s look at one more tough one.

6 Your attitude toward these test creators may not be entirely sympathetic, but it might make you feel better to know that the tests were designed with you in mind.

6. A)NO CHANGE

B)You’re attitude toward these test creators may not be entirely sympathetic,

C)Your attitude toward these test creators may not be sympathetically entire,

D)You’re attitude toward these test creators may not be sympathetic or entire,

Here’s How to Crack It

As always, check the answers first. In this case, here’s what’s changing: the answers are switching between your and you’re and some weirdness with entire and sympathetic. Let’s do the easy parts first!

First of all, we’ll need the word your, because this is the attitude that belongs to you, thus eliminating (B) and (D). Then the choice is between entirely sympathetic, which is fine, and between sympathetically entire, which is really weird, so (C) is no good either. Choice (A) must be the one.

Remember, NO CHANGE is right sometimes! Some people pick it too much. Some people don’t pick it enough, but if you’ve done the other steps in the process and have eliminated all the other choices, go ahead and pick (A)!

HOW TO ACE THE WRITING AND LANGUAGE SECTION: A STRATEGY

· Check what’s changing in the answer choices.

· Figure out what the question is testing and let the differences reveal potential errors.

· Use Process of Elimination.

· If you haven’t eliminated three answers, pick the shortest one that is most consistent with the rest of the sentence.

In the next few chapters, we’ll get into some of the more technical issues in Writing and Language, but we’ll be using this strategy throughout. Try the drill on the next page to get some of the basics down.

Writing and Language Drill 1

Click here to download a PDF of Chapter 7 Writing and Language Drill 1.

The purpose of this drill is to get a basic idea of what each question is testing from only the answer choices. Check your answers in Part IV.

1. A)NO CHANGE

B)singers’ preferred songwriters

C)singer’s preferred songwriter’s

D)singers’ preferred songwriters’

What’s changing in the answer choices?