{"id":1912,"date":"2022-11-22T16:00:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2022-12-01T00:27:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T00:27:58","slug":"psat-writing-and-language-the-kaplan-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-the-kaplan-method\/","title":{"rendered":"PSAT Writing and Language: The Kaplan Method"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Kaplan Method for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-prep-lessons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PSAT Writing &amp; Language test<\/a> is a technique you can use to boost your score.&nbsp;By understanding what the question is looking for, how it relates to the passage, and the questions you should ask yourself on Test Day, you will maximize the number of points you earn. Use the Kaplan Method for Writing &amp; Language for every PSAT Writing &amp; Language Test <a title=\"PSAT Writing and Language: Passage Types\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-passage-types\/\">passage and question<\/a> you encounter, whether practicing, completing your homework, working on a Practice Test, or taking the actual exam on Test Day.<\/p>\n<p>The Kaplan Method for the PSAT Writing &amp; Language test has three steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue\n<ul>\n<li>If there\u2019s an infographic, apply the Kaplan Method for Infographics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue<\/li>\n<li>Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at each step.<br><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_icon_box  avia-builder-el-first '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><article  class=\"iconbox iconbox_left_content    avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_hr  \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"iconbox_icon heading-color\" aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue83f' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'  ><\/div><div class=\"iconbox_content\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h3 class='iconbox_content_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Remember!<\/h3><\/header><div class='iconbox_content_container  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p>The PSAT will expect you to be able to recognize errors in organization, pronouns, agreement, comparisons, development, sentence structure, modifiers, verbs, wordiness, style, tone, and syntax.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><br><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_icon_box  el_before_av_heading '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_iconlist  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >The Kaplan Method<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div  class='avia-icon-list-container   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_testimonials '><ul class='avia-icon-list avia-icon-list-left av-iconlist-big avia_animate_when_almost_visible avia-iconlist-animate'><li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue803' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p><b>This means:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rather than reading the whole passage and then answering all of the questions, you can answer questions as you read because they are mostly embedded in the text itself.<\/li>\n<li>When you see a number, stop reading and look at the question. If you can answer it with what you\u2019ve read so far, do so. If you need more information, keep reading until you have enough context to answer the question.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li><br><li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue847' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p><b>Eliminating answer choices that do not address the issue:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increases your odds of getting the correct answer by removing obviously incorrect answer choices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li><br><li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue812' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p><b>Correct, concise, and relevant<\/b>&nbsp;means that the answer choice you select:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Makes sense when read with the correction<\/li>\n<li>Is as short as possible while retaining the information in the text<\/li>\n<li>Relates well to the passage overall<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Answer choices should not:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Change the intended meaning of the original sentence, paragraph, or passage<\/li>\n<li>Introduce new grammatical errors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li><br><\/ul><\/div><br><div   data-autoplay='1'  data-interval='5'  data-animation='fade'  data-hoverpause='1'  class='avia-testimonial-wrapper avia-grid-testimonials avia-grid-1-testimonials avia_animate_when_almost_visible   '><section class ='avia-testimonial-row'><div class='avia-testimonial av_one_full flex_column no_margin avia-testimonial-row-1 avia-first-testimonialavia-last-testimonial' ><div class='avia-testimonial_inner'  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia-testimonial-image'  itemprop=\"image\"  ><\/div><div class='avia-testimonial-content '  ><div class='avia-testimonial-markup-entry-content'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>There is no wrong answer penalty on the PSAT. When in doubt, eliminate what you can and then guess. You won\u2019t lose points for guessing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class='avia-testimonial-meta'><div class='avia-testimonial-arrow-wrap'><div class='avia-arrow'><\/div><\/div><div class='avia-testimonial-meta-mini'  itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><strong  class='avia-testimonial-name'    itemprop=\"name\" >Laura<\/strong><span  class='avia-testimonial-subtitle '    itemprop=\"jobTitle\" >Kaplan PSAT Expert<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><br><\/div><br>When you encounter a Writing &amp; Language question, use the Kaplan Method, asking yourself a series of strategic thinking questions. By asking these strategic thinking questions, you will be able to select the correct answer choice more easily and efficiently. Pausing to ask yourself questions before answering each question may seem like it takes a lot of time, but it actually saves you time by preventing you from weighing the four answer choices against each other; it&#8217;s better to ask questions that lead you directly to the correct answer than to debate which of four answers seems the least incorrect.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at the following Writing &amp; Language passage and questions. After the passage, there are two columns. The left column contains test-like questions. The column on the right features the strategic thinking a test expert employs when approaching the passage and questions presented.<br><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_testimonials  el_before_av_icon_box '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><article  class=\"iconbox iconbox_left_content    avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_hr  \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"iconbox_icon heading-color\" aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue83d' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'  ><\/div><div class=\"iconbox_content\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h3 class='iconbox_content_title  '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >On Test Day<\/h3><\/header><div class='iconbox_content_container  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p>If you have to guess, eliminate answer choices that are clearly wrong and then choose the shortest one\u2014the PSAT rewards students who know how to be concise.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><br><div   class='hr hr-short hr-center   avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_icon_box  el_before_av_heading '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_one_half  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Sample PSAT Writing and Language Question<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-10  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  \" ><div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-11  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>Interest in developing wind power as an alternative renewable energy source has increased in recent years. In the eastern United States, exposed summits or ridge crests in the Appalachian Mountains have high wind power potential, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2016\/08\/psatwriting1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2016\/08\/psatwriting1.png\" alt=\"psatwriting1\" width=\"13\" height=\"13\"><\/a>&nbsp;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">numerous wind power projects are being proposed by power companies.<\/span> While generally supportive of energy development from renewable sources, the U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife Service, state wildlife agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the public are concerned about potential impacts of wind power development on wildlife.<br \/>1.<br \/>(A) NO CHANGE<br \/>(B) numerous wind power projects have been proposed.<br \/>(C) numerous wind power projects will be proposed.<br \/>(D) power companies have proposed numerous wind power projects.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><br><div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-12  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  \" ><p><div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-13  el_before_av_hr  avia-builder-el-first \" ><section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-1\">Step 1: Read Passage &amp; Identify Issue<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li><em>Can you identify a grammatical issue?<\/em> No, the underlined phrase is grammatically correct.<\/li>\n<li><em>When there is no apparent grammatical issue, check style, tone, and syntax. Are there any style, tone, or syntax errors?<\/em> The sentence is written in the passive voice: the subject\u2014\u201cpower companies\u201d\u2014comes after the object: \u201cwind power projects.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/><div  style='height:50px' class='hr hr-invisible   avia-builder-el-14  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br \/><div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-15  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_hr \" ><section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-2\">Step 2: Eliminate Answer Choices<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li><em>What answer choice(s) can you eliminate?<\/em> Eliminate (B) and (C) because they just change the verb tense rather than addressing the error.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/><div  style='height:50px' class='hr hr-invisible   avia-builder-el-16  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '><span class='hr-inner ' ><span class='hr-inner-style'><\/span><\/span><\/div><br \/><div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-17  el_after_av_hr  avia-builder-el-last \" ><section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-3\">Step 3: Select Most Correct, Concise, &amp; Relevant Answer<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li><em>What is the answer?<\/em> Choice (D)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section><\/div><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Previous:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-passage-types\/\">PSAT Writing and Language: Passage Types<\/a><br><strong>Next:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/psat\/psat-writing-and-language-infographics\/\">PSAT Writing and Language: Infographics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kaplan Method for the PSAT Writing &amp; Language test is a technique you can use to boost your score.&nbsp;By understanding what the question is looking for, how it relates to the passage, and the questions you should ask yourself on Test Day, you will maximize the number of points you earn. Use the Kaplan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[240],"tags":[195,329],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1912"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42493,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions\/42493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}