PSAT Writing : Identifying Other Errors or No Error

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Writing

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Example Questions

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Example Question #101 : Identifying No Error Questions

Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.

The Black Death, which struck Europe around 1350 CE, was introduced through the Port of Venice and killed between one third and one half the population of Europe. No error

Possible Answers:

one third and one half

and killed

No error

Death, which

around 1350 CE

Correct answer:

No error

Explanation:

There is no error in this sentence. 

Example Question #2 : Identifying Sentences That Contain No Errors

When I get home from school, I like to relax by playing my guitar, eating a snack, watching a television show, and taking a nap.

Possible Answers:

When I get home from school, I like to relax by playing my guitar, to eat a snack, watching a television show, and to take a nap.

(No changes to original)

When I will have gotten home from school, I like to relax by playing my guitar, eating a snack, watching a television show, and taking a nap.

When I get home from school, I like to relaxing by playing my guitar, eating a snack, watching a television show, and taking a nap.

When I got home from school, I like to relax by playing my guitar, eating a snack, watching a television show, and taking a nap.

Correct answer:

(No changes to original)

Explanation:

There is no error in the original sentence.

Example Question #83 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors

Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.

After days of indecision, the school's Board of Athletic Safety and Welfare has decidedto delay further discussion of the new agenda until its next annual meeting. No error

Possible Answers:

No error

indecision

of the new agenda

has decided to delay

further

Correct answer:

No error

Explanation:

This sentence is correct as written.

Example Question #1 : Identifying Other Errors

The United States has been a country of immigrants since its foundation. This is still true today. The United States allows more people to immigrate to it then any other country. This stream of immigration have resulted in an extremely diverse population with many different cultures and languages. As most public schools in the United States provide a monolingual education, immigrant parents are often unsure of whether or not they should teach their children their heritage language.  

There are many myths surrounding the idea of bilingual education that prevent its widespread implementation in public schools. However, bilingual education has actually been shown to produce higher achievements in both languages. As well as enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills. Because some public school systems have successfully implemented bilingual education, there are still enormous difficulties in terms of resources and support from the U.S. Board of Education.

Which of the following sentences contains an error in subject-verb agreement?

Possible Answers:

As the United States School system provides a monolingual education, immigrant parents are often unsure of whether or not to teach their children their heritage language. 

However, bilingual education has actually been shown to produce higher acheivements in both languages.

There are many myths surrounding the idea of bilingual education that prevent its widespread implementation in public schools.

As most public schools in the United States provide a monolingual education, immigrant parents are often unsure of whether or not they should teach their children their heritage language.

This stream of immigration have resulted in an extremely diverse population with many different cultures and languages.

Correct answer:

This stream of immigration have resulted in an extremely diverse population with many different cultures and languages.

Explanation:

The sentence which contains an error is "This stream of immigration have resulted in an extremely diverse population with many different cultures and languages." The verb used should be "has" rather than "have" because the subject of the sentence is the singular "stream."

Example Question #1 : Modifiers

The Sagrada Familia has stood, incomplete, as part of the Barcelona skyline since the early phases of its construction in 1882. The project, originally intended to be a cathedral in the gothic style, was begun by the bookseller Joseph Maria Bocabella under the direction of the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Del Villar and Bocabella imagined a basilica modeled on the Gothic revival churches Bocabella had seen on trips to Italy. However, Bocabella’s ideal basilica never came to be. In 1883 del Villar resigned from the project, and 30-year old Antoni Gaudi, 1 he was a young but already well-known architect from Catalonia, took over as lead architect.

Possible Answers:

DELETE the underlined portion.

his being

Gaudi was

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

DELETE the underlined portion.

Explanation:

Whenever you are asked to join two thoughts with a comma, you should make sure that the sentence that is created is both not a run-on and a complete sentence. In this case, your hint should be the second comma after "Catalonia" later in the sentence. The portion directly after the first comma is meant to be a piece of additional information bracketed within commas. It therefore shouldn't have a verb, since having a verb would create a run-on sentence. That should allow you to eliminate all choices except for "DELETE the underlined portion."

Example Question #681 : Identifying Sentence Errors

The Sagrada Familia has stood, incomplete, as part of the Barcelona skyline since the early phases of its construction in 1882. The project, originally intended to be a cathedral in the gothic style, was begun by the bookseller Joseph Maria Bocabella under the direction of the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Del Villar and Bocabella imagined a basilica modeled on the Gothic revival churches Bocabella had seen on trips to Italy. However, Bocabella’s ideal basilica never came to be. In 1883 del Villar resigned from the project, and 30-year old Antoni Gaudi, a young but already well known architect from Catalonia, took over as lead architect.

Gaudi decided to depart from del Villar’s original Gothic design in favor of a more modern design. The new design was 1 ambitious, and featuring eighteen tall spires and four different facades on different sides of the basilica. But work on the new building was slow. Decades passed, and the work was still incomplete. In 1915, Gaudi - now 63 years old - abandoned all other work in favor of dedicating himself to the completion of the monumental church, but progress on the building was still slow. When pressured to speed up work on the monumental building, Gaudi was said to have replied, “My client is not in a hurry.”  By the time Gaudi died in 1926, the basilica was only somewhere between 15 and 20 percent complete.

Possible Answers:

ambitious, featuring

ambitious, it featured

ambitious; featuring

NO CHANGE

Correct answer:

ambitious, featuring

Explanation:

This sentence presents you with two major decision points: between the comma and semicolon and between "and featuring" and "featuring". Check the difference between the comma and semicolon first. Remember that a comma cannot be used to link two complete sentences without a conjunction and that a semicolon can only be used to link two complete sentences. "ambitious; featuring"  can be eliminated since what follows the semicolon is not a complete sentence, and "ambitious, it featured" can be eliminated because there is a complete sentence on either side of the comma without a conjunction. Since the sentence is not a list and what follows after the comma isn't a complete sentence, "and featuring" does not make sense. "ambitious, featuring" turns the second part of the sentence into an appositive, allowing you to use the comma.

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