SESSION 13Strategy · All DomainsHandout

Distractor Analysis & POE

The SAT writes wrong answers on purpose, and there are only six kinds. Once you can name the trap, you can eliminate it — and the right answer is whatever survives.

Objectives

By the end of this session

  • Name and recognize all six distractor types on sight.
  • Pre-answer: form your own answer before reading the choices.
  • Apply Process of Elimination — cross out wrong answers before choosing the best one.
  • Label the distractor type of every wrong answer on a mixed set.
The six traps

Every wrong answer is one of these

Trap 1

Too Broad

Says more than the passage supports — a sweeping claim where the text made a narrow point.

Tell "always," "all," "in general," whole-field claims.
Trap 2

Too Narrow

True of one detail but presented as the main point; misses the scope the question asks for.

Tell a real fact from one line, offered as the whole answer.
Trap 3

Extreme

Right idea, dialed too far. The passage hedged; the answer is absolute.

Tell "prove," "never," "impossible," "completely."
Trap 4

Outside Passage

True in the real world, or plausible, but never stated or supported by the text.

Tell "sounds right" but you can't point to a line.
Trap 5

Half-Right

One clause is correct, the other is wrong. The familiar opening hides the bad ending.

Tell read the whole choice; the error is usually late.
Trap 6

Wrong Relationship

Uses the passage's words but flips the logic — cause for effect, support for objection.

Tell right nouns, reversed direction.
The sequence

Pre-answer, then eliminate

Pre-answer

On Words-in-Context, Central Ideas, and Evidence questions, decide what the answer must do before reading the choices. You're now matching, not shopping.

Eliminate by type

Read each choice and ask "which trap is this?" Cross out anything you can name as Too Broad, Extreme, Outside, etc. Naming is faster and surer than re-justifying.

Defend the survivor

Point to the line that proves the remaining choice. If you can't, you mislabeled one — go back. The right answer is always defensible from the text.

Why POE beats "find the right one"Hunting for the best answer makes you rationalize a plausible trap. Eliminating forces you to find a concrete reason each wrong choice fails — which is exactly the skill the test rewards.
Pre-answer template

Say this in your head

Question asks: ____________________
My pre-answer: ____________________
A is: ✓ / ✗  type: ________
B is: ✓ / ✗  type: ________
C is: ✓ / ✗  type: ________
D is: ✓ / ✗  type: ________
Survivor & proof line: ________
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