On the SAT [and ACT] gender matters. Answers are often biased in favor of female authors and characters. Like every rule, this one can be bent a little.
The passage goes like this.
This passage is about an Asian-American author. She feels conflicted between pursuing her passion for the arts and her family's expectations of academic success.
1] Everyone knows that I am Asian and they simply expect me to get an A in Calculus then get into an Ivy League school. My mother is no exception. She is from a small village in China and has spent her life raising my sisters and I to be academic successes in America.
6]My older sisters have accepted this as their fate. They rejoice in their lives as a doctor and lawyer. My younger sister will probably be an engineer. Goodness, a doctor, a lawyer and an engine chief!
10] Mother feigns interest in artistic pursuits. I guess she would approve if I had won a contest or had been accepted to Harvard for writing. But I can feel her disappointment...
Question:
The author author uses the term "feigns" to express her mother's attitude of:
A) Displeasure
B) Sarcasm
C) Irony
D) Pretense
E) Pride
Using the "Gender Bias" rule blindly the answer would be E. It is the only positive answer regarding a question about an ethnic woman. But the "Daughter Clause" trumps the Gender Bias. Here the mother is negative towards the daughter.
Mothers of ethnic and female characters can be critical. Especially in the best interest of the child or involving a new situation like coming to America.
Daughters and ethnic sons can be critical of their mothers. Then they come to understand them.
I like the daughter clause, it works well. And it was taught to me by my daughter, Ali.
Showing posts with label sat critical reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sat critical reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Gender issues: women rule
When answering questions in the SAT Critical Reading sections take note of gender bias. I tell my students to view every answer concerning women was written about Hillary Clinton. Look for adjectives that are strong and powerful.
A female is NEVER weak. Nor is she frightened. She may not yet understand what is happening as a girl, but she will reflect on the whole later in life.
Non-caucasian women are particularly strong. Asian and Latino women and girls have made a regular appearance on recent tests. If you are studying for the SAT, get together with some high school friends and see if they have their old SAT booklets. Search for the critical reading passages that concern ethnic females and then look at the right and wrong answers.
Train your eye to pick up on the bias written into the test.
Up next: The daughter clause.
A female is NEVER weak. Nor is she frightened. She may not yet understand what is happening as a girl, but she will reflect on the whole later in life.
Non-caucasian women are particularly strong. Asian and Latino women and girls have made a regular appearance on recent tests. If you are studying for the SAT, get together with some high school friends and see if they have their old SAT booklets. Search for the critical reading passages that concern ethnic females and then look at the right and wrong answers.
Train your eye to pick up on the bias written into the test.
Up next: The daughter clause.
Monday, September 10, 2012
SAT Critical Reading Bias, use it to score.
SAT Critical Reading is biased in many ways. Learn how and use the test's biases against it for an improved score. In this new series of blogs, I will show the most blatant bias, how the writers of college entrance exams have a tendency to be politically correct. Though this is not always true, it is mostly true and therefore a technique to know and follow.
They lean toward positive comments regarding females, as well as ethnic and racial minorities. Why? I don't really know, though I could speculate. But I don't really care. All I care about is that my students have an increased score. I do know this much, it does exist, it is recognizable, and mastering the technique of using the bias creates a higher score.
Today's CollegeBoard.org's question of the day is such a classic example that it was the catalyst to write about their leanings. The sentence completion question was about Shakespeare heroines. The answer choices were:
A). imperious
B). suffering
C). excitable
D). resourceful
E). precocious
The obvious answer is D, simply because it is the only 100% positive, pro-female, politically correct response. The first clue from the sentence that the answer MUST be positive is the use of "heroine" to identify the characteristic of the women. The second clue is that the answer is a modifier of a female.
Answer choices A, B, and C are not 100% positive and pro-female. E is not necessarily negative, but precocious means premature development and is used to modify a child. The term "women" in the sentence refers to mature females and not children.
Look for the positive responses in regard to SAT Critical Reading sentences and passages that deal with women and ethnic or racial minorities.
They lean toward positive comments regarding females, as well as ethnic and racial minorities. Why? I don't really know, though I could speculate. But I don't really care. All I care about is that my students have an increased score. I do know this much, it does exist, it is recognizable, and mastering the technique of using the bias creates a higher score.
Today's CollegeBoard.org's question of the day is such a classic example that it was the catalyst to write about their leanings. The sentence completion question was about Shakespeare heroines. The answer choices were:
A). imperious
B). suffering
C). excitable
D). resourceful
E). precocious
The obvious answer is D, simply because it is the only 100% positive, pro-female, politically correct response. The first clue from the sentence that the answer MUST be positive is the use of "heroine" to identify the characteristic of the women. The second clue is that the answer is a modifier of a female.
Answer choices A, B, and C are not 100% positive and pro-female. E is not necessarily negative, but precocious means premature development and is used to modify a child. The term "women" in the sentence refers to mature females and not children.
Look for the positive responses in regard to SAT Critical Reading sentences and passages that deal with women and ethnic or racial minorities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)