New SAT Writing and Language : New SAT Writing and Language

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for New SAT Writing and Language

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Example Questions

Example Question #151 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away. 

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

whom he had to pass every day; on his way to school

NO CHANGE

whom he had to pass every day on his way to school

whom he had to pass. Every day on his way to school

Correct answer:

whom he had to pass every day on his way to school

Explanation:

This question asks you to correct a sentence fragment. As written, the sentence "On his way to school" contains no verb, and therefore it is a fragment. To correct this error, we can eliminate the period and connect it to the preceding sentence to form a single complete sentence.

Example Question #152 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away. 

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

neither confidence nor a reassuring tone

either confidence or a reassuring tone

NO CHANGE

either confidence nor a reassuring tone

Correct answer:

neither confidence nor a reassuring tone

Explanation:

This question asks you about the correct use of correlative conjunctions. The correlative conjunctions "neither...nor" are used to express negation, and both should be used together. It is not correct to use "or" with "neither," or "either" with "nor." This sentence requires negative correlative conjunctions, so the form "neither confidence nor a reassuring tone" is correct.

Example Question #153 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away. 

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

The dog, he realized, barking for hours, was bored and just needed a friend.

He realized the dog, barking for hours, was bored and just needed a friend.

He realized the dog was just bored and needed a friend, barking for hours.

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

He realized the dog, barking for hours, was bored and just needed a friend.

Explanation:

This question asks you to correct a misplaced modifier. A modifier should be placed as close as possible to the phrase it modifies to avoid confusing the reader. In this case, the original structure, "Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend," incorrectly suggests that Josh was the one who was barking for hours. The correct structure places the modifying phrase, "barking for hours," next to the noun it modifies, "dog," correctly suggesting that the dog was the one who was barking. 

Example Question #154 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away. 

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

He wasn't sure if his mother's advice would prove true.

He wasn't sure if his mother's advice would prove true;

He wasn't sure? If his mother's advice would

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

He wasn't sure if his mother's advice would prove true.

Explanation:

This question asks you about the grammatically correct use of a question mark. Even though this sentence expresses uncertainty, it is in the form of a statement, not a question. Therefore, a question mark should not be used. Since it is a complete statement, it should not be broken up with additional punctuation, and should end with a period.

Example Question #155 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away.

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

NO CHANGE

more scary

scariest

scary

Correct answer:

scariest

Explanation:

This question asks you to select the correct comparative or superlative form of an adjective. Mr. Green's dog is not being compared to any other dogs, but is being singled out as the worst. Therefore, the context of this passage calls for a superlative adjective, not a comparative adjective like "scarier." The correct superlative form of the adjective "scary" is "scariest."

Example Question #156 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away.

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

one day he was having enough

one day he had had enough

NO CHANGE

one day he will have had enough

Correct answer:

one day he had had enough

Explanation:

This question asks you about the correct tense for a verb. The past perfect, "had had," should be used here to convey that a past action occurred before another past action. The phrase "had enough" must therefore be preceded with another "had" to communicate that it took place before Josh's next action, realizing the dog was bored.

Example Question #157 : New Sat

Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend. He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away.

How should the underlined section be corrected?

Possible Answers:

To his surprise; the dog

NO CHANGE

To his surprise the dog

To his surprise. The dog

Correct answer:

NO CHANGE

Explanation:

This question asks you about the grammatically correct use of a comma. The sentence is correct as written because a parenthetical element like "To his surprise" should be set off from the main part of the sentence with a comma. The phrase "To his surprise" is not a complete sentence and therefore it should not end with a period or exclamation mark. If the comma is removed, the sentence becomes a run-on.

Example Question #158 : New Sat

[1] Josh suffered from a fear of dogs ever since he is a little boy. He would shiver in his boots thinking of a dog barking at him, biting him, or that could chase him. He had never met a single dog he liked. The scarier dog he had ever seen was Mr. Green’s dog, whom he had to pass every day. On his way to school. This dog barked so loudly it made Josh’s hairs stand on end.

She said that there was no need to be afraid. Josh’s mom told him that dogs only barked because they were excited to see him. She told him that he just needed to be confident and not act afraid of this dogs’ barking, and speak in a reassuring tone. Then the dog would quiet down and act more friendly.

Josh felt that neither confidence or a reassuring tone would make any difference. [2] He didn’t think he would ever get over his fear. However, one day he had enough. Barking for hours, he realized the dog was bored and just needed a friend.  He wasn’t sure if his mother’s advice would prove true? Hiding his fear, he approached the dog and spoke to it in a reassuring tone. [3] To his surprise, the dog wagged it’s tail and quieted down right away.

What is the most logical place for the author to insert the sentence: "Josh realized that he had been wrong to be so afraid."?

Possible Answers:

Before Sentence 3

After Sentence 3

Before Sentence 1

After Sentence 2

Correct answer:

After Sentence 3

Explanation:

The passage tells us, at the beginning, that Josh is clearly afraid of dogs, and has been "since he [was] a little boy." Since the sentence uses the "had been" construction, we know that it is talking about something that has happened in the past, so it does not make sense for it to introduce the passage. Also, logically, sentence 1 tells us about Josh's fear, so it logically should precede a sentence implying that Josh has overcome this fear. Sentence 2 specifically tells the reader that Josh is not yet over his fear, so we need some new information before this sentence, in order for it to make sense. In fact, the fear had not been resolved until after Sentence 3, and thus the given sentence must follow this statement.

Example Question #159 : New Sat

Although vegetarianism is sometimes considered a recent phenomenon, the practice actually has roots in both ancient India and ancient Greece. In Greece, being vegetarian was a way to abstain from eating ‘beings with souls,’ and vegetarianism was primarily practiced by small religious sects or certain philosophical thinkers. Ancient Indian vegetarianism may have been more widespread, as it was mandatory for many Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Buddhist scholars argue whether Gautama Buddha ever ate meat. Obviously, vegetarianism is a constantly evolution practice that has changed considerably over the past several thousand years.

During the Middle Ages, vegetarianism remained largely outside the cultural milieu in Europe. Certain aseptic religious sects may have avoided eating meat, but the practice didn’t truly gain ground in Western Europe until the Age of Enlightenment. During and before that time, many people still argued that animals existed only for the benefit of humankind. They were opposed by other people who thought that that was an anthropocentric viewpoint.

Over time, vegetarianism gradually gained diction with influential thinkers and by the twentieth century, organizations such as the International Vegetarian Union, the North American Vegetarian Society, and the Animal Aid were appearing. What new form will vegetarianism take in the future?

What transitional word or phrase should begin the underlined sentence?

Possible Answers:

Although,

Erstwhile,

On the other hand,

Henceforth,

Correct answer:

On the other hand,

Explanation:

The third sentence describes vegetarianism in ancient India, contrasting it with the previous sentence about vegetarianism in ancient Greece. The only phrase that accurately and grammatically expresses this contrasting relationship is “On the other hand.” "Although" would suggest that vegetarianism in Greece would somehow prevent or inhibit vegetarianism in India.

Example Question #160 : New Sat

Although vegetarianism is sometimes considered a recent phenomenon, the practice actually has roots in both ancient India and ancient Greece. In Greece, being vegetarian was a way to abstain from eating ‘beings with souls,’ and vegetarianism was primarily practiced by small religious sects or certain philosophical thinkers. Ancient Indian vegetarianism may have been more widespread, as it was mandatory for many Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Buddhist scholars argue whether Gautama Buddha ever ate meat. Obviously, vegetarianism is a constantly evolution practice that has changed considerably over the past several thousand years.

During the Middle Ages, vegetarianism remained largely outside the cultural milieu in Europe. Certain aseptic religious sects may have avoided eating meat, but the practice didn’t truly gain ground in Western Europe until the Age of Enlightenment. During and before that time, many people still argued that animals existed only for the benefit of humankind. They were opposed by other people who thought that that was an anthropocentric viewpoint.

Over time, vegetarianism gradually gained diction with influential thinkers and by the twentieth century, organizations such as the International Vegetarian Union, the North American Vegetarian Society, and the Animal Aid were appearing. What new form will vegetarianism take in the future?

Which sentence should be deleted from the passage?

Possible Answers:

"Buddhist scholars argue whether Gautama Buddha ever ate meat."

"Although vegetarianism is sometimes considered a recent phenomenon, the practice actually has roots in both ancient India and ancient Greece."

"Certain aseptic religious sects may have avoided eating meat, but the practice didn’t truly gain ground in Western Europe until the Age of Enlightenment."

"Obviously, vegetarianism is a constantly evolution practice that has changed considerably over the past several thousand years."

Correct answer:

"Buddhist scholars argue whether Gautama Buddha ever ate meat."

Explanation:

The fourth sentence digresses from the main topic of the reading – vegetarianism’s history – and is too specific to match the scope of the rest of the passage, for instance, no specific figures in Medieval history are mentioned. Also, the fundamental topic of this sentence is actually a scholarly religious debate, as opposed to a debate about vegetarianism as a practice.

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