New SAT Writing and Language : New SAT Writing and Language
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for New SAT Writing and Language
All New SAT Writing and Language Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Avoiding Ambiguity And Redundancy In A Sentence Fragment
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
Which of the following is the best alternative to the underlined phrase, "yelled in a loud voice"?
yelled loudly
yelled in a loud manner
NO CHANGE
yelled
yelled, in a loud voice
yelled
The word "yelled" implies that the boy was doing so loudly. Therefore, the addition of "in a loud voice" is redundant. The same is true of saying "yelled in a loud manner" and "yelled loudly." The phrase can just be left as "yelled."
Example Question #464 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
Which of the following would NOT be an acceptable alternative for the underlined word, "bellowed"?
vociferated
blared
clamored
announced
sniveled
sniveled
The definition of "bellow" is to utter in a loud deep voice. This is an almost direct opposite to the definition of the word "snivel," which is to weep or cry with sniffling. Therefore, it would not make an adequate replacement for the word; however, the definitions for the other words would be logical replacements in the sentence.
Example Question #3 : Avoiding Ambiguity And Redundancy In A Full Sentence
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
NO CHANGE
They came, running.
The townspeople came running.
He or she came running.
They all came running.
The townspeople came running.
The phrase "they" is ambiguous. The replacement of "they" with "the townspeople" clarifies who the pronoun refers to. "They all" does not fix the problem of ambiguity, "he or she" is illogical in this sentence, and the addition of a comma is unnecessary. "The townspeople came running" is the best answer.
Example Question #32 : Correcting Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Errors
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
NO CHANGE
was
who
that
he
who
In this sentence, "who" is used to add a phrase modify the subject, which is the boy. "Whom" would be used if the boy was the indirect object of the sentence, but he is not. "He," "was," and "that" do not introduce the modifying phrase correctly. "Who" does introduce a modifying phrase and refers to the subject of the sentence, so it is the correct choice.
Example Question #548 : Sat Writing
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
The author is thinking of inserting the following sentence: "Wolves were a common threat to the people in the village, in fact a 'wolf curfew' had even been imposed the previous winter." Where should this sentence be inserted?
The sentence is completely irrelevant and cannot sensibly be added to the passage
At the very end of the passage
After "the boy laughed" at the beginning of the the third paragraph
At the very beginning of the passage
After "they came running" at the beginning of the second paragraph
After "they came running" at the beginning of the second paragraph
This sentence helps to explain why the boy's actions were regarded poorly, and why the townspeople would reacted to his "cries" the way they did. Placing this sentence after the first major reaction of the townspeople to the cries of wolf ("they came running"). Knowing that a wolf curfew had been imposed the previous winter certainly helps to contextualize the townspeople's reaction. None of the other places specified make contextual or logical sense.
Example Question #42 : Moving Sentences
There once was a shepherd boy whom sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He was hot and exhausted fanning himself, rapidly in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. On top of that, he had never been so bored before. To amuse himself, he decided to play a joke. He put his hands around his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”
They came running. They asked the boy, “What’s going on? Did you yell ‘A wolf is chasing the sheep?’”
The boy laughed. “It was just a joke, everyone.”
The people fumed, but they all returned to their homes.
The next day, the boy bored again decided to amuse himself again. He bellowed, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the townspeople came running. Once they arrived and witnessed the laughing boy, they realized they’d been tricked a second time. Nonetheless, they returned home and irritated resolved to never fall for the trick again for third time.
The next day, the boy was watching his sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared from behind the bushes. With its teeth bared, the boy cowered as the wolf approached the sheep. Terrified, he called, “Help! A wolf! A wolf is here!” The people ignored his cries. “That mischievous boy,” they all said to one another. “He must think he can fool us again.” But not one of them came running.
No one was there to witness as the wolf ate every last sheep on the hillside, as the boy helplessly cowered behind a bush. As the boy hid, he shook his head. “I shall never fib again,” he resolved to himself.
To where should the underlined sentence be moved, so as to best fit the logical flow and content of the paragraph?
To the end of the paragraph it currently opens
NO CHANGE
To the beginning of the final paragraph
At the end of the first paragraph
After the sentence that currently follows it
NO CHANGE
The sentence introduces the third instance of the boy crying wolf, it logically and chronologically follows from what precedes it. None of the suggestions for moving the sentence make sense, or follow in the flow of the writing. The sentence is in its correct place in the paragraph.
Example Question #1 : Revising Word Choice, Style, And Tone
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
break
NO CHANGE
hack
cut
gouge
cut
This question asks you to correct a word choice error. The use of the word “chop” is awkward in context, and it is a stronger word than necessary to describe an act most likely being done with household scissors. The best choice to replace “chop” is “cut,” which better describes the act of clipping out coupons in the home.
Example Question #305 : Sat Writing
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
friends, neighbors and your family
your friends, your neighbors, and your family
your friends and neighbors, and your family
friends, your neighbors and family
NO CHANGE
your friends, your neighbors, and your family
This question asks you to correct a parallel structure error. In parallel structure, items on a list are in the same format to increase clarity and convey the equal importance of all items. The original phrasing, “your friends, your neighbors, and family,” does not follow a parallel structure. To improve it, we can add the word “your” in front of family, so that the list reads, “your friends, your neighbors, and your family.”
Example Question #611 : Improving Paragraphs
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
How should the underlined section be corrected?
Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life...
NO CHANGE
Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life.
Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life;
Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life?
Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life?
This question asks you about the grammatically correct use of an exclamation point. Generally, exclamation points should be used to give emphasis to an interjection or to express a strong feeling. An interjection like this could end with an exclamation point if it were a statement, but since it begins with the interrogative form "Have you," we know that it is a question. Even when it is an interjection, a question should always end with a question mark, not an exclamation point.
Example Question #1 : Separating Sentences
Are you trying to stick to a budget? Using coupons for purchases, also known as “couponing,” is a great way to save money on groceries. Coupons are a little piece of paper that can give you a discount on what you buy. You will be amazed at the great bargains and amazing savings you can get!
It’s easy to get started. When you open up your daily newspaper, one might find a glossy insert full of coupons. Some of the coupons will be for things you don’t buy, some will be for things you buy all the time. Go through the coupons and chop out the ones you can use.
The key to successful couponing is getting multiple copies of coupon circulars. Ask your friends, your neighbors, and family if they have any extras. Some coupon users even go through the recycling at their office to find more coupons! Have you ever heard of such a thing in your life! Completely devoted, these circulars help coupon users to get even more savings.
Couponing might sound like hard work, but for many people, it’s also a hobby. Not only does it help them save hundreds of dollars per year, but also it gives them a fun challenge every time they do their shopping.
How can the underlined sentence be separated into two distinct and grammatically complete sentences?
Couponers use coupons for purchases. Having saved one's coupons, also known as "couponing."
Having had use of the coupons for purchases. "Couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries.
These two clauses cannot be separated
Using coupons for purchases; also known as “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries.
Also known as using coupons. For purchases, “couponing” is a great way to save money on groceries.
These two clauses cannot be separated
The underlined sentence includes a dependent introductory clause, and thus cannot be separated without significant alteration to the meaning and content of the sentence. All of the other answers either create a sentence fragment, or make the sentence too wordy while altering its meaning.
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