Week 3, Day 1: Chapter 5 - Sentence Equivalence

 

About Sentence Equivalence:

·       About 20% of each Verbal section

·       About 4 questions for passages of one sentence with one blank

·       Always 6 answer choices

·       You ALWAYS have to select EXACTLY TWO answers for each

·       Pick two answers which best complete the sentence; these are often synonyms but not always!

·       Note that the shapes next to the answer choices will be SQUARES not circles or ovals; this is true for “select all that apply” answers also

·       Remember, this is NOT word equivalence, it is SENTENCE equivalence

·       NOT just synonyms, but BOTH words must make the sentence as a whole:

o   Make sense

o   And have equivalent meaning

·       Read the WHOLE sentence

·       Identify significant words

·       Look for clues and structural indicators

·       Try to generate you OWN words to fill the blanks

·       Double-check your answers

·       Check for logic, grammar, style, and that the sentence will mean the same thing with both words

·       Focus on the completed whole – the answer words may not be synonyms but the sentence as a whole will mean similar things

·       Strategy:

o   Very similar to Text Completion strategy

o   Find clues & transition words, directional indicators, etc.

§  Clues: Who or what is the blank describing? What else provides insight into that person or thing?

§  Directional indicators:

·       Opposite direction: but, although, however, despite, instead, even though, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, though, on the other hand, or, previously, rather than, still, though, unfortunately, whereas, while, yet

·       Same direction: and, so, because, since, therefore, accordingly, consequently, for example, furthermore, hence, in addition, moreover, next, similarly, thus, too, ;, :, e.g., i.e., that is, etc.

o   Generate your own word

o   Read every answer

o   Use scratch paper to triage the choices (check, cross, question)

o   DO NOT stop evaluating answer choices because you find a pair of synonyms – ALWAYS check all answers just in case

o   Reevaluate your interpretation of the meaning of the sentence if you have more than two good choices

o   OR see which words make the sentence closest in meaning to each other

·       Best defense against guessing: a robust vocabulary!

·       Second best defense: root words!

o   Examples:

§  bene = good, male/mal = bad (benevolent/malevolent, benign/malign)

§  anthropo = human (anthropology)

§  andro = man (androcentric)

§  gyne = woman (gynecology, androgynous)

§  zoo = animal (zoology)

§  homo/hominis = human (hominid) BUT

§  homo = same, hetero = different (homosexual, heterosexual)

§  cise/cide = cut, strike, kill (homicide, incision)

§  gene/gen = origin, kind, type (genus, genitive, gender, genital)

§  morpho/morph = form, shape (morphology, amorphous)

§  voli/vol = will, intention (involuntary, volunteer, volition)

§  ante = before (antebellum, antecede)

§  anti = against (antibiotic, anti-fascist)

§  circum = around (circumference, circumlocution)

§  hyper = over, above (hyperactive, hyperglycemic)

§  trans = across (transgender, transcontinental, transubstantiation)

§  able/ible = adjective for ability (tangible, potable, mutable)

§  ism = noun for doctrine or belief (fascism, pluralism, communism)

§  less = adjective for absence (worthless, guileless, peerless)

§  ful = adjective for presence (hopeful, pitiful, fretful)

§  ly = adverbs formed from adjectives (politely, hopefully, lately)

§  ous = adjective for having to do with (hydrous, sensuous, contentious)

§  tion/sion/cion = noun/verb form (motion, position, question)

o   Etymonline.com is a great website for researching the word origins of thousands of words

o   Dictionary.com is a surprisingly good website for word origins and archaic definitions

o   Ixl.com word roots under 6^th grade English language quizzes can be useful

·       Process of Elimination for vocabulary-based questions on both Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion:

o   First determine whether you know the given words – be honest with yourself! Don’t dwell!

o   Then triage (check, cross, question)

o   If there are too few checks and too many questions, look for clues and transition words, directional indicators, etc.

o   Look for indicators of positive, negative, or neutral connotation

§  Remember that “ugly” sounding words can mean beautiful things (e.g., “pulchritude” means “beauty”) and vice versa (e.g., “defenestration” means “throwing something/someone out the window”).

§  Some words really are neutral: “sizzle” is just a word for a sound (onomatopoeia).

§  Eliminate what cannot fit the blank (if the sentence is positive with no opposite direction indicators, eliminate negative words, for example)

·       For sentence equivalence, look for synonyms ONLY as a last resort, when you know the words but struggle with the clue

o   Seek a pair of words similar in meaning

o   If there are two or more pairs, use the pair which does what the blank needs

·       Advanced difficulty is created with:

o   Tricky transitions (no indicator word or innocuous indicators)

o   Harder vocabulary in the question and/or the answers – i.e., secondary and tertiary definitions, archaic meanings, technical jargon

o   Again: ask who or what is being described and what else in the sentence provides insight into that person or thing

o   Find the transitions whether obvious or implied

o   Generate even a very simple word to fill in the blank and compare with the answer choices

o   If the sentence is confusing, try paraphrasing it more simply and then compare the answer choices

o   If the question is very difficult, avoid obvious pairs as possible traps