SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
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Sentence Completions
THE STRUCTURE
THE METHOD
Each test contains 19 sentence completion questions. These questions are divided into groups of
5, 6, and 8 questions, one group per Critical Reading section.
Read the sentence and look for clues and directions.
Predict the answer.
Eliminate bad answers and then choose the best
answer.
Check your answer by reading it back into the
sentence.
Break apart two-blank questions.
Use context clues.
ORDER OF DIFFICULTY
The questions are arranged from easy to hard.
Roughly the first third will be the easiest and the
last third will be the hardest. The following pages
will include the steps that you will take to ensure
that you answer the questions to the best of your
ability.
Sentence Completions are just fill-in-the blank questions. You are given a sentence with one or two
words eliminated and must use the clues in the sentence to figure out what those words should be. Do
not worry; the SAT makers always leave clues in the sentences for you.
Ready? Let’s get started 
SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
There are two types of sentence completion questions:
Vocabulary-in-context
involved.

Some animals appear to behave ________, actively helping
(A) cooperatively
(B) provocatively
(C) ambiguously
(D) defensively
(E) warily
Explanation:
scribes how the animals behave. Since animals are actively helping each other, the only
cooperatively, which is answer choice A.
Logic-Based
context but also understand the logic of the sentence. Some of these types of sentences

well-acted, intelligent, and altogether _______.
(A) lacking…boorish
(B) perfect…amazing
(C) crude…respectable
(D) poor…amateur
(E) risqué…tasteless
Explanation:
though,” the second begins with “it is.” In order to answer this question correctly,
telling you that although something is true, something else that you think would be
C. If a movie’s
publicity was crude, you would not expect it to actually be respectable.
tip
Information that comes
colons, and colons restate
the word that belongs in
the blank.
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SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
THE CRAM METHOD
1 Read the sentence and look for clues and directions
SAT sentences contain clue words that reveal the meaning of the sentences. Direction
words, or transition words, reveal the relationship between the parts of the sentences.
Jessica hates broccoli; however, her sister ______ it.
Jessica hates broccoli; her sister also _______ it.
Read each sentence. Which words tell you what the sentences are about?
Words such as “hates” are clue words
Words such as “however” and “also” are direction or transitional words
tells you that the missing word is similar to hates.
Common direction
& transition words
If you have trouble understanding a sentence, try re-stating it in your own words.
cram word!
what is the meaning
of the word dubious?
Write your answer in the
space below.
Comparisons
Contrasts
Relating similar words
Relating opposite ideas
as / like / also / thus
since / not only / because
therefore / additionally
furthermore / and,
and so, so
but / yet / granted / while
unlike / whereas / however
except / far from / instead of
unless / rather than /
notwithstanding / although,
though / despite, in spite of /
nevertheless, nonetheless
Activity 1: Looking for clues and directions
Underline all clue words and put a box around all direction words. Next, think of a word
1.
2.
Just as congestion besieges every major highway, so it _____________ the streets of
every city.
3.
Although they are _______ by poison, traps, and shotguns, wolves _______ to feast
SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
Predict an Answer
2
Predicting the answer before you look at the answer choices is an imperative step. You
do not have to make an exact prediction; a rough idea of the word needed will do. By
cram word!
what is the meaning
of the word imperative?
Write your answer in the
space below.
Activity 2: Predicting the Answer
1.
Leonardo da Vinci was a ________ artist; he was a painter, sculptor, inventor, and
architect.
2.
Karen found the movie stubs lying on the table to be _______ evidence that her sisters had gone to the theater without her; it was unquestionable they had seen Hostel
II.
3.
4.
5.
Species of salamanders that are palatable to predators dissuade attack by _________
a closely related but noxious species, which the predator has learned to avoid.
would eventually __________ world food production, resulting in mass starvation.
Hint: Word charge
charges. Just get an idea of the charge of the missing word—whether its meaning is
positive or negative. Next, eliminate the impossible answer choices.
Activity 3: Word Charge
Fill in the blanks with + or –.
1.
Normally ___, Todd was devastated when the publishing house rejected his novel.
2.
Robert was so [–] at his work that he was quickly ___.
3.
Admittedly, Shira was not very [+], but she could at times be quite ___.
4.
Her [+] nature belied her true ___.
5.
___.
note
as predicting the
answer. Some words
like “introverted” and
“administering” are neither
positive nor negative, so be
careful of thinking about
word charges only.
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SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
Eliminate impossible answers; choose the best one
3
Once you have made your prediction, you want to get rid of answer choices that do not
Cross out impossible answer choices.
Keep answer choices that are close to your prediction.
Put a “?” mark next to answer choices with unfamiliar words. Remember if
you do not know it, you cannot get rid of it.
If you are stuck, try to eliminate at least two answer choices. If you can, you
reminder
Remember that SAT
questions have three levels



easy
medium
hard
Activity 4: Eliminating bad answers
-
iar words. Circle the best answer.
1.

Leonardo da Vinci was a ________
artist; he was a painter, sculptor,
inventor, and architect.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.

what is the meaning
of the word indignant?
Write your answer in the
space below.
3.

rebellious
demonstrative
versatile
ambiguous
meticulous
Karen found the movie stubs lying
on the table to be _______ evidence
that her sisters had gone to the theater without her; it was unquestionable that they had seen Hostel.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
cram word!
nominal
indisputable
immaterial
potential
incriminating
_______ in contracts, ambiguities
therefore needed to be revised.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
4.

loopholes
clauses
explanations
forgeries
intervals
Species of salamanders that are
palatable to predators dissuade attack by _______ a closely related but
noxious species which the predator
has learned to avoid.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
spawning
mimicking
infecting
ambushing
contaminating
5.

population growth would eventually
_______ world food production,
resulting in mass starvation.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
pressure
forbid
resist
surpass
confront
SENTENCE COMPLETIONS
Check your answer
4
Once you have decided on the answer choice that best matches your prediction, run it
back through the sentence to make sure that it makes sense.
Attacking two-blank questions
Two-blank questions are sometimes easier because you get two chances to choose the
right answer. Do the following:
Read through the sentence and look for clues.
always, the second blank is the easier one.
Cross out all bad answers.
Predict the second word and cross out the rest of the bad answers.
Check your answer by reading both words back into the sentence.
Activity 5: Attacking two-blank questions
1.
-

4.

doctors considered the facility a
_____ , degrading the entire medical
profession.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.

3.
agitated…a considerable
orderly…an enormous
disheveled…an inordinate
annoyed…an excessive
distracted…an unrealistic
-
ages.
mitigated…promote
induced…renounce
enhanced…neglect
created…destroy
alleviated…subtract
5.

equivocal…divulges
reliable…concedes
abstract…exalts
faulty…probes
genuine…scrutinizes
over the subway system is due not to
that the speakers, which have not
been replaced in years, are _____ .
Janie’s headaches were _____ by
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
spontaneous…spectacle
negligent…travesty
Despite his dog’s _____ appearance,
Kurt spent _____ amount of money
on his grooming.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)

meticulous…debacle
surreptitious…triumph
According to the ancient Greek
philosopher Plato, only philosophy
can provide _____ understanding
because it _____ assumptions that
other areas of study merely take for
granted.
(A) incoherence…prominent
(B) frequency…misplaced
(C) incomprehensibility…antiquated
(D) tardiness…automatic
(E) discordance…manufactured
cram word!
what is the meaning
of the word inordinate?
Write your answer in the
space below.
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