Meaning and sentence completion

Read the complete sentence before looking at the choices. Mark the relationship between ideas: agreement, contrast, cause, example, sequence, or condition. Predict the kind of word needed, then compare choices by meaning and tone.

Worked example

Although the first proposal was costly, the revised plan was ____ and easier to implement.

The signal word although creates a contrast. The blank should describe a plan that is less costly or more practical. Eliminate choices that merely repeat “costly” or do not fit the grammar.

Error recognition and sentence structure

Check one agreement at a time: subject-verb, pronoun-antecedent, tense, modifier placement, parallel structure, and idiomatic use. Ignore long interrupting phrases while locating the true subject and verb.

• Find the sentence core.
• Check whether joined items use the same grammatical form.
• Place descriptive phrases beside the word they modify.
• Read the corrected sentence once for meaning, not only grammar.

Paragraph organization

Look for an opening that introduces the topic without referring backward. Then trace repeated terms, pronouns, chronology, general-to-specific movement, and cause-to-effect links. A conclusion usually summarizes, evaluates, or points forward.

Reading comprehension

Separate what the passage states from what you already know. For main-idea questions, choose the option broad enough to cover the passage but narrow enough to exclude unrelated material. For inference questions, demand textual support; a plausible statement is not automatically an inference.