Writing

  • Overall Strategy

  • When there are no suitable options:

    • Even if you think you don’t understand, about half of them are actually understandable, so chant “Let’s calm down and think again.”
    • Also, strive for explicit thinking.
    • Aim to eliminate redundancy, but if you can explain why an option other than the most simple one is correct, don’t be too swayed by redundancy and choose that one.
  • Points to note:

    • Pronouns should be “who/whom”, not “which”.
    • Do not connect two standalone sentences with a colon.

Here are some miscellaneous notes:

  • Thoughts on /blu3mo-private/SAT_Papers:

    • I still don’t understand the grammar around commas.
    • It seems important to consciously rotate your head.
    • There are many conjunctions that I don’t know, so I want to grasp them (like “to that end”).
  • I get sleepy while solving problems.

    • I want to believe it’s just because of lack of sleep or the effects of cold medicine.
    • Well, I want to be conscious of raising my energy level.
      • I feel like the feeling of “I can probably do it” leads to a lack of tension.
  • Time allocation:

    • 8 * 4 = 32, so about 8 minutes per question.
    • If I’m conscious of the time, I should be able to finish without any problems.
  • Grammar I had forgotten:

    • “whom”

      • Use “whom” when asking “who is it?” and wanting to answer with “him/her/them”.
    • Don’t use “which” to refer to people.

    • “That these are ~~~.”

    • “Having being ~~, ~~.”

    • Correlative conjunctions:

    • Commas:

      • In general, exclude unnecessary ones.
        • Use a comma.
        • Normally (in the case of an essential phrase), a comma is not needed.
        • In the case of a non-essential phrase (”, who came from the US”), enclose it with commas.
      • Ref: SAT Punctuation: Tips for Commas, Colons, and Dashes
      • Others:
        • There are also commas like “He said, ”~~,” and did it.”
        • Do not use a comma sandwich for a profession right before a name.
    • Semicolon:

      • Can be used between two standalone entities.
    • Colon:

      • Used for enumeration or explanation (both dependent and independent clauses).
    • Dash:

      • Used for a colon sandwich or in a colon-like way.
    • Transition words (ones I didn’t know):

      • “Consequently”
      • “Subsequently”
      • “Besides”, “Moreover”
      • “Singularly”, “Chiefly”
      • “Namely”
    • Present perfect/past perfect:

      • If there is no reason to have “had/have”, it is redundant, so generally omit it.
  • SAT Black Book (only noting things I haven’t been conscious of before):

    • Writing:
      • Follow the rules of the SAT.
      • “No change” is equally likely to other options.
    • image
  • Writing, parallelism is important.

    • Matching tenses with the surrounding context.
    • Basis for judgments that are easy to forget.
  • “that”, “those”, “these”

    • In writing, I often choose “unidiomatic” options and get them wrong.
  • Section 2:

    • It seems good to read one page and then solve that part, repeating the cycle.
    • Pay attention to whether the logical relationship is maintained in connecting sentences.
    • Also focus on redundancy and clarity.
    • Additionally, I’m realizing that redundancy is quite important.