Analyzing Part-Whole Relationships
D. By utilizing a dependent clause within the two hyphens, therefore creating a digressive tone
This question asks you to consider the first sentence in context of the rest of the article; you must pick out specific words and phrases that establish a tone in order to accurately answer the question. Consider Option A. The sentence does, in some way, include a fact -‐-‐ vampires are indeed dead. But the tone in the remainder of the article is hardly objective; the author uses a lot of strong language (“foisted upon us,” “half baked,” “varyingly successful,” “fail to understand,”) to establish a clear and obvious opinion. Answer A can therefore not be correct. (This is why it pays to read the entire answer choice!) B is clearly incorrect: the author does not
indeed utilize fiery language. C is correct -‐-‐ there is a pun here (vampires are dead in the literal sense, but they are also “dead” in the sense that they are culturally
irrelevant), and the tone of the article is indeed dry (the quote “vampires have had their moment in the sun” and the inclusion of “rockstars masquerading as college students” in a list of undead/unknown creatures both indicate that the writer has a somewhat wry sense of humor about this topic.) D is half-‐correct as well -‐-‐ there is a dependent clause hidden within those two hyphens -‐-‐ but it does not necessarily create a digressive tone, as the article stays on focus the whole time, demonstrating that vampires were once culturally relevant and now no longer are, or should be. Don’t be impressed by D’s “grammar-‐speak;” this is the SAT’s transparent attempt to try and trick you into choosing an answer just because it sounds like it might be right.
Which sentence in the selection introduces a shift in focus?
A. “The pale, the tortured, the lonely...” because it shifts the focus of the article back to when vampires were culturally relevant.
B. “They are dead…” because it shifts its focus from vampires to other creatures.
C. “In short order…” because it shifts the focus of the article to writers and movie producers
D. “What these varyingly successful attempts…” because it introduces the author’s premise
This is a difficult question because it asks you both to understand what the focus of the article is as well as how the author creates a subtle shift in focus. From reading the paragraph, it should be clear that the focus of the article isn’t necessarily going to remain on vampires, so you need to be able to make a logical inference about where the focus of the article will later rest.
Look at A. The second sentence of the article is still about vampires, and in fact categorizes all these different types of vampires in order to demonstrate that yes, all
of them are now culturally irrelevant (“their long dark night has finally come”), so A can’t be correct.
B reinforces the idea that vampires are dead, and introduces creatures who, like vampires, command our attention as a culture -‐-‐ perhaps signaling a shift from vampires to other creatures. B is actually a good answer, so let’s keep it in our back pocket until we read the other answer choices. C is an example of a thought that B introduces, so it can’t be the “shift,” because it’s dependent on another sentence. D, however, is the best answer -‐-‐ it shifts away from vampires and all the other
supernatural creatures that our culture is obsessed with, and establishes a premise -‐ -‐ that all of these books and films about supernatural creatures are missing a
treasure trove of literary inspiration (from humans). D indicates (correctly) that the preceding example of vampires just serves to introduce or set up the premise -‐-‐ that the human psyche could be a darker/better inspiration for literature than made-‐up creatures. Though B is a good answer, D is better.
Support
Expository texts will make claims; a good expository text will support those claims. The SAT will test your understanding of how these supports / evidence work. For example, it is pretty clear from the following two examples that the second sentence supports the first by giving some sort of reason or explanation for it:
• I hate animals. They smell bad.
Don’t be fooled by sentences like this, though, which look like they are making a well-‐supported claim:
• The person who wrote the above sentence is clearly a sad, sad human being. Animals are awesome.
While both sentences are true, the writer doesn’t take the time to demonstrate the relationship between them, leaving the reader to make the connection. But in truth,
these are two disparate clauses that have nothing to do with one another -‐-‐ so make sure that the sentences actually do support each other.
Test your understanding of supports with the following excerpt:
Team Voldemort is not exactly what it sounds like. This group of 12 fifteen-‐ year-‐old girls from British Columbia has no interest in magic, spells, or world domination -‐-‐ though they do often enter the field with two red slashes painted under their eyes. “It symbolizes the blood of our enemies,” says Katie Canuckie, the cheerful, pigtailed tenth-‐grade captain of the team. “We’re preparing for victory and we will win.” She flashes a smile that glints with heavy orthodontia.
The award-‐winning girls’ lacrosse team, which has broken three international records with its 15-‐year winning streak, was renamed in 2002 to symbolize “that we should be taken seriously,” quoth Brenda Ballyhoo, the team’s coach and a former Olympic hopeful, who was behind the name change.
“Look,” she says, speaking frankly, “people don’t take girls’ sports seriously. That is a documented fact. How much attention does the WNBA receive as compared to the NBA? How about women’s soccer in comparison to football, or to the World Cup nationwide? Women’s hockey as opposed to men’s? Face it: people don’t care about girls’ sports. Well, we’re here to change that. Our name might be cutesy, but we’re dead serious about our mission.” When asked
whether she was concerned about the message that the name Team Voldemort sends, Brenda laughed darkly. “We’ll see who’s concerned when we’re done with our season.”
Which sentence provides the best support for Brenda’s claim that “people don’t take girls’ sports seriously”?
A. “Our name might be cutesy, but we’re dead serious about our mission.” B. “We’ll see who’s concerned when we’re done with our season.”
C. “That’s a documented fact.”
D. “How much attention does the WNBA receive as compared to the NBA?”
Ballyhoo’s assertion is that no one cares about girls’ sports. Claims made in A and B about the “dead serious-‐ness” of Team Voldemort are a response to the idea that “no one cares about girls’ sports,” NOT a refutation of it. C is a plausible choice -‐-‐ but it doesn’t actually support the claim because without actual statistics or verification, it’s an easy claim to make, and it doesn’t need to be proven in any way. The best answer for this question is D, because it provides an example of what Ballyhoo is talking about -‐-‐ she says that no one cares about girls’ sports and gives a clear example of a type of sport in which women are underrepresented or neglected by the public.
How does the writer of the article support the assertion that “Team Voldemort” is “not what it sounds like”?
A. By asking the coach whether she is concerned about the message implied