PSAT Writing : PSAT Writing Skills

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #40 : Identifying Parallel Structure Errors

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

Ultimately, he concluded that having a surprise party on a gloomy day was better than his birthdayNo error

Possible Answers:

concluded that having

than his birthday

gloomy

on

No error

Correct answer:

than his birthday

Explanation:

This sentence does not compare between two like things. The two sides of the comparison should be formatted in a parallel way. The corrected sentence reads, "Ultimately, he concluded that having a surprise party on a gloomy day was better than one on his birthday."

Example Question #161 : Psat Writing Skills

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

Having my uncle over for dinner is never much fun; he talks loudly, makes rude comments, and, although the food is always delicious, complaining is constant about the quality of what we eat. No error

Possible Answers:

what we eat

talks loudly

Having

No error

complaining is constant

Correct answer:

complaining is constant

Explanation:

The clause "although the food is always delicious" might distract some people into missing the paralellism used, because it is set apart by commas. Considering "talks" and "makes," we see the present form of some verbs used in succession. For the best sentence structure, the final action should also follow the normal present verb form, like "talks" and "makes." "Complaining is constant" does not follow this, and so (C) contains the error. It would be best to say "complains constantly" or something similar.

Example Question #162 : Psat Writing Skills

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

It will rain tomorrow, so I will jog in the park, practice soccer, and playing baseball in my backyard today. No error

Possible Answers:

will rain tomorrow

will

No error

playing

I

Correct answer:

playing

Explanation:

This is a parallelism error. The verbs "jog" and "practice" begin the parallel elements in the sentence, and they are each in present tense. The verb "playing" should also be in present tense so that it matches "jog" and "practice." So, "playing" should be "play."

Example Question #793 : Identifying Sentence Errors

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

There are two things Jean knows how to do well: how to cook and mountain-climbingNo error

Possible Answers:

how to

mountain-climbing

No error

are

knows

Correct answer:

mountain-climbing

Explanation:

The sentence needs to remain parallel. If it had said "cooking," "mountain-climbing" would be ok.

Example Question #163 : Psat Writing Skills

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

At the deli, the sandwiches are very similar to the cafeteria, except they are slightly larger and contain less fat. No error

Possible Answers:

less fat

slightly larger

No error

similar to the cafeteria

except

Correct answer:

similar to the cafeteria

Explanation:

This is a faulty comparison. "Sandwiches" cannot be compared to a cafeteria. Use "similar to those at the cafeteria" or something like that instead to correct the sentence's error.

Example Question #795 : Identifying Sentence Errors

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

I must admit that your mom's chocolate chip cookies are quite tasty, but they are not as good as my grandmother—hers are the bestNo error

Possible Answers:

as my grandmother

No error

must admit

at the mall

as good

Correct answer:

as my grandmother

Explanation:

When making comparisons you must be careful to compare like things. In this case, the sentence as written makes a comparison between "cookies" and "my grandmother." You want to compare cookies to cookies. You can fix this error by making "grandmother" into a possessive, singular noun, "grandmother's." This way, it is inferred that the subject being spoken about is the speaker's grandmother's cookies, not the speaker's grandmother herself.

Example Question #164 : Psat Writing Skills

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

The woman slowly became fascinated by the aliens’ strange culture, their intelligence, and their telling of hilarious jokesNo error

Possible Answers:

No error

became fascinated by

strange

telling of hilarious jokes

slowly

Correct answer:

telling of hilarious jokes

Explanation:

This sentence lacks parallel structure between the elements in the list. Items in a list should be formatted in the same way grammatically. The corrected sentence reads, "The woman slowly became fascinated by the aliens’ strange culture, their intelligence, and their hilarious jokes."

Example Question #800 : Identifying Sentence Errors

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

My apartment is on a higher floor than my bossNo error

Possible Answers:

No error

higher

is

boss

my

Correct answer:

boss

Explanation:

Only like things can be compared. "My apartment" can be compared to "that of my boss" or my "boss'."

Example Question #165 : Psat Writing Skills

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

Napa Valley is known for having amazing food, high quality wine, and attracts a wealthy clientele. No error

Possible Answers:

is

having

for

No error

attracts

Correct answer:

attracts

Explanation:

It is important for a sentence to use correct parallelism, which means that listed items should take on the same grammatical form. Here, the first two listed items are nouns ("amazing food" and "high quality wine"). Therefore, the third item should also be a noun; however, “attracts” is a verb, and therefore is incorrect. To fix the sentence, one might omit the word "attracts," leaving simply "amazing food, high quality wine, and a wealthy clientele," three nouns.

Example Question #1 : Identifying Punctuation Errors: Other Punctuation

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

There was outrage in the elementary school; the childrens’ recess was shortened by a full ten minutesNo error.

Possible Answers:

childrens' recess

No error.

shortened by a full ten minutes.

There was

school; the

Correct answer:

childrens' recess

Explanation:

Because “children” is an irregularly formed plural, the normal apostrophe rules do not apply. The apostrophe goes before the "s": "There was outrage in the elementary school; the children’s recess was shortened by a full ten minutes."

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