All SAT Writing Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #47 : Increasing The Contextual Relevance Of A Single Word
1 E.J. Bellocq, who was he? 2 Those outside the photography coterie may not have heard of him, but his life’s work inspired innumerable films and works of literature. 3 Born into a rich family in the French Quarter of New Orleans Bellocq made a living, taking official photographs of ships, machinery, and other commercial items for local companies. 4 As a result, he became known for his portraits of Chinatown opium dens, and prostitutes in Storyville, one of the seediest districts of early 20th century New Orleans.
5 Bellocq’s work is categorized by its attention to detail and its rich aesthetic sensibility. 6 In his personal life, he was known for being eccentric, unfriendly, partially crippled, and possibly insane. 7 In his veritable Storyville portraits, the women are nude or clothed, looking at or away from the camera, and posed reclining or standing up, revealing great versatility on Bellocq’s part. 8 Tragically many of his negatives and prints were destroyed or damaged by an uncertain hand (mostly likely his or his Jesuit brother).
In Sentence 2, what word should replace “coterie”?
contingency
cotillion
collodion
coterie (no change)
dovecote
coterie (no change)
While uncommon, “coterie” is the correct choice here. It refers to a small, exclusive group of people with similar interests. A "dovecote" is a structure in which birds live, a "cotillion" is a formal party, a "collodion" is a specific chemical used in developing film, and a contingency is an event – usually an emergency.
Example Question #51 : Increasing The Contextual Relevance Of A Single Word
1 E.J. Bellocq, who was he? 2 Those outside the photography coterie may not have heard of him, but his life’s work inspired innumerable films and works of literature. 3 Born into a rich family in the French Quarter of New Orleans Bellocq made a living, taking official photographs of ships, machinery, and other commercial items for local companies. 4 As a result, he became known for his portraits of Chinatown opium dens, and prostitutes in Storyville, one of the seediest districts of early 20th century New Orleans.
5 Bellocq’s work is categorized by its attention to detail and its rich aesthetic sensibility. 6 In his personal life, he was known for being eccentric, unfriendly, partially crippled, and possibly insane. 7 In his veritable Storyville portraits, the women are nude or clothed, looking at or away from the camera, and posed reclining or standing up, revealing great versatility on Bellocq’s part. 8 Tragically many of his negatives and prints were destroyed or damaged by an uncertain hand (mostly likely his or his Jesuit brother).
In Sentence 7, what word should replace “veritable”?
veritable (no change)
variegated
varied
verisimilitude
verified
varied
Since the rest of Sentence 7 enumerates ways in which Bellocq’s portraits were different from each other, “varied” makes the most sense in the sentence. “Veritable” means true or real, “verisimilitude” means the quality of seeming true or real, “verified” means proven true, and “variegated” means having a pattern of multiple stripes or colorful patches.
Example Question #52 : Increasing The Contextual Relevance Of A Single Word
1 Unlike most languages, Esperanto was created artificially and not arrived naturally from other language’s evolution. 2 If you’ve ever traveled in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, you’ll be familiar with the motives of the creators of Esperanto; a universal language constructed in 1887. 3 It was invented by the linguist L.L. Zamenhof, its name translating roughly to “the hopeful one,” and it was intended as a simple, neutral language that could transfer national differences and promote international harmony.
4 Implementing Esperanto, although, was more difficult than anticipated. 5 Yet more than two million people world-wide are fluent in Esperanto, far more are fluent in so-called global languages, such as English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Hindi. 6 Linguistically, Esperanto relies within a Latin alphabet and a grammar and vocabulary based primarily on Indo-European languages. 7 Luckily, free online resources, local clubs, and interminable school-sponsored instruction have kept this valuable linguistic experiment from dying out altogether.
In Sentence 7, what word should replace “interminable”?
interminable (no change)
intersectional
intervening
intermediary
intermittent
intermittent
“Interminable” means endless or continuing for a long time, and while Esperanto classes may very well be lengthy, the sentence doesn’t indicate that this is the correct word. “Intervening” means coming between two other things, “intermediary” means acting in a mediating capacity, and “intersectional” refers to the idea that people can experience oppression in different configurations and levels of intensity. “Intermittent,” meaning occasional, is the best fit.
Example Question #371 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
In Sentence 2, what word should replace “Allied”?
Alular
Allied (no change)
Alias
Allegiance
Alluvial
Alias
Sentence 2 is clearly stating various pseudonyms, or aliases, for Billy the Kid. None of the other words make sense in the context of the sentence.
Example Question #372 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
What preposition should replace “within” in Sentence 4?
within (no change)
inside
through
during
without
during
Typically, events happen “during” a span of time.
Example Question #373 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The famous artist Man Ray is not nearly as well known as Picasso or Dalí, however, he contributed significantly to 20th century art. 2 Man Ray was particularly influential in Surrealism and Dadaism. 3 He worked in a variety of media including painting and photography, and he renamed a certain type of shadow-image photography “rayographs” after himself. 4 Born in Pennsylvania Ray lived in both New York City and Paris. 5 He also worked with fabric and collage.
In Sentence 3, what word should replace “himself”?
he
his
oneself
himself (no change)
him
himself (no change)
“Himself,” a direct object, is the correct choice for this sentence.
Example Question #374 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The tornado, a dreaded meteorological phenomena and a verifiable force of nature. 2 But what is it really? 3 Also known as a twister or a cyclone, tornadoes are rapidly rotating funnels of air linked between a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water. 4 They are caused by the creation of strong thunderstorms by rotating columns of air, resultantly increased rainfall causes increased downward air movement. 5 Rather than the Richter scale measures the strength of hurricanes the Fujita scale measures the strength of a tornado. 6 This natural disasters’ destructive mite is commemorated in such classic films as the 1996, movie, Twister. 7 And the 2014 “Into the Storm” and even the 2013 sparse “Sharknado.” 8 The Fujita scale, also called the F-scale, was named after an employee at the University of Chicago and originally had 13 different levels. 9 The thirteenth level of the scale is used to describe only the most awe inspiring of tornadoes.
In Sentence 7, what word should replace “sparse”?
pierce
fierce
sparse
farce
parse
farce
Only one of these words is a noun, the part of speech required by this sentence. A farce is a comedic or absurd event or work of drama – a fitting word for the film in question.
Example Question #375 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 Think about medieval Christianity. 2 What do you see? 3 Likely you’re imagining monks, gloomy Gothic cathedrals with flying buttresses, or witches burned at the stake. 4 But what you may not be cognitive of is: the concept of the anchorite. 5 This is the moniker for a religious recluse who elects to be walled up in a small room inside a church. 6 The anchorite was not left to die, however, they were fed through small windows and used the imprisonment to participate more fully in the spiritual life of the community. 7 It is a spiritual calling that is now very rare; few if any anchorites still exist in the world today.
In Sentence 3, what word could NOT be substituted for “gloomy”?
bleak
Cimmerian
lugubrious
Panglossian
morose
Panglossian
All of these words except “Panglossian” (which means extremely optimistic) are synonyms for “gloomy.”
Example Question #3231 : Sat Writing
1 Most of you probably know essays to be boring, tendentious assignments required for English class. 2 However the essay has a fascinating history.3 Did you know that the first known example of an essay came in the 16th-century? 4 Its author was Michel de Montaigne the French philosopher. 5 Today the genre includes such disparate types as the dialectic, the narrative, the critical, the historical, the descriptive, and the lyric essay. 6 The genre progressed with essays such as Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s On Poesy or Art, and Virginia Woolf’s A Room of Her Own.” 7 It remains to be, see how the essay will evolve in the future.
In Sentence 5, what word should replace “disparate”?
diaspora
diffident
dispersed
disparate (no change)
discreet
disparate (no change)
Because Sentence 5 introduces a wide variety of essay types, it makes sense that we’re looking for a word meaning discrete or different. “Disparate” is the only choice among the five that carries this meaning.
Example Question #82 : Rewriting A Single Word
1 That’s why codes of discipline have arisen for raising factual or difficult children. 2 Some experts avow for strict authoritative castigation at all times while others argue for gentle or praise centric approaches. 3 Many parents find themselves confounded with the problem of unruly children. 4 Most adults however can agree that consistency and consequences are two key components of disciplining any child from the most pugilist to the most mild-mannered. 5 Being too permissive or too authoritarian can ultimately result with many instances of bad behavior.
In Sentence 2, what word should replace “avow”?
avenge
aver
advocate
avow
avail
advocate
One can’t "avow" for a certain method of discipline, but one can “advocate” (or argue for/support) it. This inference is supported by the fact that in the second, parallel part of the sentence, the verb used is “argue for.”
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