SAT Writing : Identifying Phrase, Clause, and Sentence Errors

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Identifying Other Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors

Adapted from “Our Amateur Poets, No. III. — William Ellery Channing” in The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Vol. XI: Literary Criticism by Edgar Allan Poe (1843, ed. 1902)

In speaking of Mr. William Ellery Channing, who has just published a very neat little volume of poems, we feel the necessity of employing the indefinite rather than the definite article. He is a, and by no means the, William Ellery Channing. He is only the son of the great essayist deceased. He is just such a person, in despite of his clarum et venerabile nomen, as Pindar would have designated by the significant term τις. It may be said in his favor that nobody ever heard of him. His book contains about sixty-three things, which he calls poems, and which he no doubt seriously supposes so to be. They are full of all kinds of mistakes, of which the most important is that of their having been printed at all. They are not precisely English; perhaps they are Channingese. We may convey some general idea of them by two foreign terms not in common use—the Italian pavoneggiarsi, “to strut like a peacock,” and the German word for “sky-rocketing,” schwarmerei. They are more preposterous, in a word, than any poems except those of the author of “Sam Patch;” for we presume we are right (are we not?) in taking it for granted that the author of “Sam Patch” is the very worst of all the wretched poets that ever existed upon earth.

In spite, however, of the customary phrase about a man’s “making a fool of himself,” we doubt if any one was ever a fool of his own free will and accord. A poet, therefore, should not always be taken too strictly to task. He should be treated with leniency, and, even when damned, should be damned with respect. Nobility of descent, too, should be allowed its privileges not more in social life than in letters. The son of a great author cannot be handled too tenderly by the critical Jack Ketch. Mr. Channing must be hung, that’s true. He must be hung in terrorem—and for this there is no help under the sun; but then we shall do him all manner of justice, and observe every species of decorum, and be especially careful of his feelings, and hang him gingerly and gracefully, with a silken cord, as the Spaniards hang their grandees of the blue blood, their nobles of the sangre azula.

The overall style of the author here is __________.

Possible Answers:

acerbic

serious

playful

demanding

Correct answer:

playful

Explanation:

The author is being playful with his criticisms of Channing's work even as he gives good reasons why he dislikes it.

Example Question #41 : 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.

Molly was very ambitious— she played varsity field hockey, a lot of girls looked up to her, took all AP classes, and could recite Shakespeare by heart. No error

Possible Answers:

took

by heart

a lot of girls looked up to her

was

No error

Correct answer:

a lot of girls looked up to her

Explanation:

This sentence error exemplifies a problem of parallelism as well as verb-verb disagreement. This type of error is common when the sentence contains a list. In a list, the structure of each clause (or each part of the list) should be the same. In this case, the list is composed of verb phrases: Molly "played Varsity field hockey," "took all the AP classes," and "could recite Shakespeare by heart." The only item in the list that breaks the pattern is the error: "a lot of girls looked up to her." For this sentence to be correct, each item in the list must be an active verb, in the past tense describing something Molly does, and then an object. "Inspired a lot of her peers" could work, or "encouraged the younger players," or even "commanded respect." When in doubt, read it back into the sentence.

Example Question #31 : Identifying Phrase, Clause, And Sentence 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 is grammatically incorrect and must be modified?

Possible Answers:

This is still true today.

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

As well as enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills.

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

The United States has been a country of immigrants since its foundation.

Correct answer:

As well as enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Explanation:

"As well as enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills" is a sentence fragment because it is missing a subject. "As well as" is not a subject and does not do the action of the verb.

Example Question #32 : Identifying Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors

Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.

Your paper initially seemed very complex, but after I read it. I understood it to be much simpler than I had initially thought.

Possible Answers:

but after I read it. I understood it

but after I read it, I understood it

but after I read it; I understood it

but after I read it, I have understanding that it

but after reading it and understanding it

Correct answer:

but after I read it, I understood it

Explanation:

"After I read it" is not an independent clause, and it is being used as one, because it is forming the second half of a compound sentence. Compound sentences can only be constructed out of independent clauses that could each make sense and be grammatically complete on their own. So, to fix this error, we need to combine the two sentences into one, so that the prepositional phrase "after I read it" is part of a complete independent clause. The answer choice changing the sentence's period out for a semicolon does not solve the grammatical issue at all, so it cannot be correct. The answer choice that introduces the phrase "I have understanding that it" is unnecessarily awkwardly phrased, so it can't be correct either. The answer choice that uses "and" to connect the two sentences might look like a potentially correct answer, because it is combining the two sentences into a compound sentence, but "and understanding" merely extends the prepositional phrase "after I read it" into "after reading it and understanding it to be much simpler than I had initially thought." So, it merely exacerbates our initial problem, because the second part of the newly-created compound sentence has no verb. So, the correct answer is "Your paper initially seemed very complex, but after I read it, I understood it to be much simpler than I had initially thought."

Example Question #1 : Identifying Conjunction 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 library normally only allows patrons to check out three books at a time, and when I explained that I needed to check out more than that because I was working on a term paper, they allowed me to do soNo error

Possible Answers:

time, and

when I explained that I needed to check out more than that

My library normally only allows

they allowed me to do so

No error

Correct answer:

time, and

Explanation:

This sentence's error is one that has to do with the logic of conjunctions. The conjunction "and" is used to join two sentences that do not contradict each other. This is not the case with these two sentences: based on the first sentence, you would think that the speaker would only be allowed to check out three books, but this is not the case. So, "and" is not the correct conjunction to use; changing "and" to "but" would correct the sentence's error.

Example Question #1 : Identifying Conjunction 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 would bake more cookies, and every time I do, my oven burns themNo error

Possible Answers:

every time I do, my oven

No error

and

would

them

Correct answer:

and

Explanation:

This sentence begins with "I would bake more cookies" but then the speaker gives a reason why he or she does not bake more cookies, "every time [he or she] tries to bake cookies, [his or her] oven burns them." So, "and" is not the correct conjunction to use in this sentence. A conjunction like "but" is needed to contrast the two parts of the sentence and convey why the speaker does not bake more cookies even though he or she "would."

Example Question #3 : Identifying Conjunction Errors

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

Jonathan was a devoted fan of music of almost any kind, and he just could not tolerate reggae. No error

Possible Answers:

and

No error

could not tolerate

devoted

almost any

Correct answer:

and

Explanation:

This sentence is not coordinated correctly. Logically, the second half contradicts the message of the first, so the conjunction “but” would be more appropriate. The corrected sentence reads: Jonathan was a devoted fan of music of almost any kind, but he just could not tolerate reggae.

Example Question #1 : Identifying Conjunction Errors

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

Only six students attended the football game on Saturday, and many students went instead to the school dance. No error

Possible Answers:

and

to

on

attended

No error

Correct answer:

and

Explanation:

This sentence contains an error in the logical expression of ideas. The original text uses the conjunction "and," which fails to capture the cause and effect relationship between low attendance at the football game and students going to the dance instead. A better conjunction to express the cause and effect relationship would be "because."

Example Question #2 : Identifying Conjunction Errors

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

Jack was the one who got us into this dangerous situation, but he has absolutely no right to complainNo error

Possible Answers:

dangerous

No error

to complain

the one

but

Correct answer:

but

Explanation:

This sentence isn’t coordinated correctly. The conjunction “but” does not describe the logical connection between the two parts of the sentence. A better alternative would be, "John was the one who got us into this dangerous situation, so he has absolutely no right to complain."

Example Question #1 : Identifying Conjunction Errors

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

As his friends cut the triple layer chocolate cake, the author felt cheerful but newly energizedNo error

Possible Answers:

felt

No error

but

As

newly energized

Correct answer:

but

Explanation:

This sentence uses the wrong coordinating conjunction. Since “cheerful” and “newly energized” are similar, the conjunction “and” should be used. The corrected sentence reads, "As his friends cut the triple layer chocolate cake, the author felt cheerful and newly energized."

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