SAT Writing : Improving and Correcting Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #3091 : Sat Writing

1 The job is similar to a music editor, who creates and merges songs, background music, and other sound effects to create a particular atmosphere. 2 While most Americans today are cognizant of film jobs such as director, producer, actor, and even screenwriter. 3 Few know much about the role of film editor. 4 This job involves mostly post-production work, with the editor choosing that parts of the raw footage to move, combine, or separate. 5 Without the film editor, there would only be a bewitching jumble of disordered chaotic images. 6 Sometimes more than ten times as much film is shot than is used in the final cut of the movie. 7 Film editors, also have the ability to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as he sees fit. 8 Film editing truly is a critical and undervalued art. 

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 7 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

imposing experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as he sees fit.

to the imposition of experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation, as they see fit.

imposing experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as they see fit.

to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as he sees fit. (no change)

to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as they see fit.

Correct answer:

to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as they see fit.

Explanation:

Here, we have a pronoun/antecedent error. The subject of the passage is “film editors,” a plural noun, so the pronoun should also be plural (“they”) to match. (Moreover, choosing “he” instead of “he/she” is unnecessarily excluding the female gender.)

Example Question #121 : Rewriting A Sentence Fragment

1 They will look hideous, but in some part of the world gooseneck barnacles are trendy delicacies. 2 They are harvested mainly in northern Spain and Portugal, where they are known as, percebes, and in California. 3 Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in boiling water and hot ash. 4 It is remarkable for its rubbery texture, ugly black color, and claw like shape. 5 Barnacles are also difficult to collect, living on cliff sides and rocks in tumid coastal zones. 6 They are commonly served with lemon, garlic aioli, parsley, and melted butter. 7 They are sometimes even eaten raw! 8 In medieval times people actually believed that gooseneck barnacles gave birth to a species of black goose, henceforth the name.

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 4 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

It is remarkable that its

They are remarkable for their

Being remarkable for their

Being remarkable for its

It is remarkable for its

Correct answer:

They are remarkable for their

Explanation:

Since the main subject of the passage and of the preceding sentences is “barnacles,” a plural noun, the pronouns should be made plural (“They” and “their”) to match.

Example Question #122 : Rewriting A Sentence Fragment

1 They will look hideous, but in some part of the world gooseneck barnacles are trendy delicacies. 2 They are harvested mainly in northern Spain and Portugal, where they are known as, percebes, and in California. 3 Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in boiling water and hot ash. 4 It is remarkable for its rubbery texture, ugly black color, and claw like shape. 5 Barnacles are also difficult to collect, living on cliff sides and rocks in tumid coastal zones. 6 They are commonly served with lemon, garlic aioli, parsley, and melted butter. 7 They are sometimes even eaten raw! 8 In medieval times people actually believed that gooseneck barnacles gave birth to a species of black goose, henceforth the name.

In Sentence 8, where should a comma be inserted?

Possible Answers:

after “believed”

No comma should be inserted.

after “that”

after “birth”

after “times”

Correct answer:

after “times”

Explanation:

Since “In medieval times” is an introductory clause, we need a comma between it and the main part of the sentence.

Example Question #241 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 They will look hideous, but in some part of the world gooseneck barnacles are trendy delicacies. 2 They are harvested mainly in northern Spain and Portugal, where they are known as, percebes, and in California. 3 Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in boiling water and hot ash. 4 It is remarkable for its rubbery texture, ugly black color, and claw like shape. 5 Barnacles are also difficult to collect, living on cliff sides and rocks in tumid coastal zones. 6 They are commonly served with lemon, garlic aioli, parsley, and melted butter. 7 They are sometimes even eaten raw! 8 In medieval times people actually believed that gooseneck barnacles gave birth to a species of black goose, henceforth the name.

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in (no change)

Barnacles, cooked in a variety of ways, including in

Barnacles can be cooked in varieties of ways including with

Barnacles, which can be cooked in a variety of ways including in

Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways, including in

Correct answer:

Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways, including in

Explanation:

Here, we need a single comma to separate two otherwise errorless clauses: the main independent clause (“Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways”) and the dependent clause (“including in boiling water and hot ash”).

Example Question #123 : Rewriting A Sentence Fragment

1 They will look hideous, but in some part of the world gooseneck barnacles are trendy delicacies. 2 They are harvested mainly in northern Spain and Portugal, where they are known as, percebes, and in California. 3 Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in boiling water and hot ash. 4 It is remarkable for its rubbery texture, ugly black color, and claw like shape. 5 Barnacles are also difficult to collect, living on cliff sides and rocks in tumid coastal zones. 6 They are commonly served with lemon, garlic aioli, parsley, and melted butter. 7 They are sometimes even eaten raw! 8 In medieval times people actually believed that gooseneck barnacles gave birth to a species of black goose, henceforth the name.

In Sentence 2, what punctuation mark should replace the commas around the word "percebes?"

Possible Answers:

Quotation marks

Commas (no change)

Dashes

No punctuation is needed.

Semicolons

Correct answer:

Quotation marks

Explanation:

When an author is referring to a specific word in a sentence, he or she should use quotation marks to make that reference clear. This question can also be solved by eliminating the other answer options, adding commas, semicolons, and dashes all have a grammatical impact on the overall structure of the sentence.

Example Question #126 : Rewriting A Sentence Fragment

1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

Ethnographies typically include a description containing

Ethnographies typically include: descriptions with

Ethnographies typically include descriptions of

Ethnographies are typically inclusive of descriptions of

Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of (no change)

Correct answer:

Ethnographies typically include descriptions of

Explanation:

Because colons are generally only used if the part of the sentence preceding the colon is an independent clause, the word “include” rarely requires a colon after it.

Example Question #246 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 5 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, to the critical, the realist

Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, feminist, critical, realist

Ethnographies can take forms including from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist

Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional and the feminist to the critical and the realist

Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist (no change)

Correct answer:

Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional and the feminist to the critical and the realist

Explanation:

When we have a “ranging from” construction, we need to make sure a “to” is included. Grouping the first two and last two types on either side of this “to” makes for the most balanced sentence structure.

Example Question #3095 : Sat Writing

1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.

How should the underlined portion of Sentence 5 be rewritten?

Possible Answers:

and the realist, but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than

and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than (no change)

and the realist however most are qualitative and descriptive rather than

and the realist; but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than

and the realist; but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than

Correct answer:

and the realist, but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than

Explanation:

Here, we have two independent clauses separated by a conjunction (“but”). In this kind of construction, a comma is always required immediately before the conjunction.

Example Question #244 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.

In Sentence 6, what punctuation mark should replace the comma?

Possible Answers:

:

&

, (no replacement)

;

Correct answer:

;

Explanation:

The comma in the original sentence is incorrectly separating two independent clauses, resulting in a comma splice. A semicolon is the correct punctuation mark for this type of sentence construction.

Example Question #249 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.

In Sentence 8, where should a comma be added?

Possible Answers:

After “politicians”

After “Today”

No comma should be added

After “themselves”

After “fully”

Correct answer:

After “Today”

Explanation:

“Today” is an introductory word that, like most introductory words and phrases, requires a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

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