SAT Literature Subject Test

Part III

The Practice SAT Literature Subject Tests

12 How to Take the Practice SAT Literature Subject Tests

13 Practice Test 1

14 Practice Test 1: Answers and Explanations

15 Practice Test 2

16 Practice Test 2: Answers and Explanations

17 Practice Test 3

18 Practice Test 3: Answers and Explanations

19 Practice Test 4

20 Practice Test 4: Answers and Explanations

Chapter 12

How to Take the Practice SAT Literature Subject Tests

TAKING THE PRACTICE TESTS

Try to re-create test conditions as closely as possible. This means no water breaks, no IM breaks, and no yelling-at-your-little-brother breaks. Sit down in a place where you won”t be interrupted and get a reliable watch or clock to measure one hour. Cross off answers as you eliminate them, and practice bubbling your answers on the sheet provided at the very end of the book. If you do this, you”ll get a good idea of how the test works and what you need to improve upon.

As you take the test, mark questions that you guessed on with a “G.” This will help you gauge how well you”re guessing.

After Each Practice Test, Ask Yourself…

Did You Get a Lot of “Easy” Questions Wrong?

Sometimes, when you look back and review, you can”t believe you got such an easy question wrong. Slow down. Did you read the question correctly the first time around? Did you pick the right answer but circle an incorrect choice? Rushing is the major cause of avoidable errors.

Whoa, Nelly!

Don”t rush. This only
results in careless errors.

Did You Mismark Answers on Your Answer Sheet?

It”s pretty easy to mismark answers when you”re skipping around (as you should be). Don”t forget to pick a bubbling method (discussed in Chapter 2) and stick with it. It is really a huge bummer if you get the answers right but don”t get credit because you filled in the wrong bubble.

Assessing Your Performance

Don”t just sit back and drink a glass of lemonade after you complete your practice test. Study your results so you can improve your score. Fill in the lines below. It”ll help … really.

1. How many easy questions did you get wrong? (Easy questions are the ones you can”t believe you got wrong.)

2. Why did you get these wrong? (Maybe you didn”t read the question closely enough, didn”t read the right place in the passage, or misread the answer choices.)

3. How many hard questions did you get wrong? (Hard questions are the ones you really have to study to understand why the right answer is right.)

4. How many questions did you guess on?

5. How many of those did you get right?

Wrong?

6. If you got the guessed answers wrong, did you narrow down the answer choices to two or three (or even four)?

 Was the right answer among those?

 If so, guessing was the right move. How can you improve your guessing?

7. Did you feel more comfortable with the poetry or the prose?

8. What parts of the book should you go over again before you take the next practice test or the real SAT Literature Subject Test?