SAT Writing : Inserting or Deleting Content

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 Have you ever went hang gliding? 2 Sailing smoothly across the sky, hang gliders are a sight to behold and capture humans’ longstanding fascination with self propelled flight. 3 Whereas, it is also a dangerous pastime. 4 Personally, I know many people who are aware of the sport’s relative danger but still enjoy it on a regular basis. 5 With proper technical training and certification, it is possible to avoid some of the most common hang gliding catamounts, stalling near the ground, aerobatic stunts gone wrong, and failure to use helmets or parachutes.

7 In the United States, hang gliding is a relatively new sport and most hang gliders are wealthy and educated devotees. 8 Hang gliding actually originated in the 500s in China, with man-sized kites allowing people to sustain flight for short distances. 9 Continual advances in material technologies’ result in constantly improving hang glider equipment – specialized nylon parachutes and lightweight aluminum alloy frames, for example. 10 Popular hang gliding destinations in the United States include Salt Lake City, Utah, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 11 The most ardent affiliates say there’s absolutely nothing like the joy of soaring miles above the ground for hours.

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"To Hang Glide or Not To Hang Glide"

"Icarus Falls: Hang Gliding Disasters"

"Hang Gliding in History"

"Hang Tight, Hang Glide"

"Hang Gliding Today"

Correct answer:

"Hang Gliding Today"

Explanation:

Two of these answer choices are too vague (“Hang Tight, Hang Glide” and “To Hang-Glide or Not To Hang-Glide”), and two are too specific, honing in on only one aspect of the passage (“Icarus Falls: Hang-Gliding Disasters” and “Icarus Falls: Hang-Gliding Disasters”). The choice that best encompasses the spirit of the whole passage, therefore, is “Hang-Gliding Today.”

Example Question #452 : Sat Writing

1 Tattoos have even been found on ancient Icelandic, Egyptian, and South American mummies.2 On their various voyages to the South Pacific, Captain Cook and other European explorers brought back accounts of colorfully inked natives, and their sailors soon began to adopt the practice. 3 Early medieval Northern European tribes such as the Picts and Visigoths were often heavily tattooed; particularly the warriors. 4 Over the centuries, various cultures have described various meanings to tattoos, with indelible ink signifying everything from royalty to gang membership to magical powers.

5 Interestingly modern-day tattooing’s popularity evolved out of its adoption by wealthy British nobility, and by American celebrities, musicians, and actors. 6 While tattoos do have a dark past, most notably at Auschwitz, where Nazi’s identified prisoners by tattooing numbers on their arms. 7 Tattoos can be signs of joy, belief, or even healing, such as the colorful tattoos that breast cancer survivors use to cover mastectomy scars.

8 Today, there are more options than ever before, tattoo artists often have fine arts training, lengthy apprenticeships, and can offer specialty inks that glow in the dark or are easier to remove. 9 The internet is full of design ideas, tattoo parlor rankings, and even horror stories about bad tattoo experiences. 10 Now more than ever, information about ink abounds. 11 Choose wisely!

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"Tattoos in American Culture"

"Tattoo Design and Typography"

"Ephemeral Tattoos"

"Tattoos: A Lasting Significance"

"Tattoos: Historical Pros and Cons"

Correct answer:

"Tattoos: A Lasting Significance"

Explanation:

This passage is concerned primarily with the development of tattooing over the centuries and tattoos’ significance to various cultures, so the best title is “Tattoos: A Lasting Significance.”

Example Question #32 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 Although agritourism is a fairly recent phenomenon in the Western world; it is proving popular in many countries. 2 Agritourism is broadly defined as any activity or attraction that draws visitors to a farm, and it can include anything from corn mazes and apple picking to vineyard tours, workshops on animal husbandry, and work-stay exchange programs. 3 The practice is particularly prevocalic in North America, Europe, and Australia. 4 With a huge variety of farms and activities available to agritourists. 5 For example: visitors can learn how to run a cattle drive in Wyoming, make cheese in France, harvest olives in Sicily, or pick kiwi fruit in New Zealand.

6 Income generated from agritourism can help small family farms remain soluble as well as educate the public about where their food comes from. 7 Henceforth, most people agree that agritourism is benevolent for everyone involved. 8 While there are some who argue that it is a cheap ploy designed to make selfish tourists feel better about their vacations. 9 All in all, it will be interesting to see how agritourism continues to develop in the future. 

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"Agritourism: Agricultural Tourism"

"Ecotourism or Agritourism: Small Distinctions"

"Pros and Cons of Agritourism"

"An Introduction to Agritourism"

"Is Agritourism Right for You?"

Correct answer:

"An Introduction to Agritourism"

Explanation:

“An Introduction to Agritourism” best encompasses the main idea of the passage. By process of elimination, we could also have arrived at the correct answer. “Agritourism: Agricultural Tourism” is inane, “Is Agritourism Right for You?” asks a question that the passage does not attempt to answer, “Pros and Cons of Agritourism” is addressed only briefly at the end of the passage, and “Ecotourism or Agritourism: Small Distinctions” is not a topic discussed in the passage.

Example Question #31 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 All in all, aviation will likely continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. 2 Long before the famous Wright brothers humans were attempting to fly. 3 The ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows the tantalizing allusion of flight. 4 With large kites’ in China may have been the first successful instance of human flight several thousand years ago. 5 Hundreds of years later and despite many hazings; the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights. 6 Therefore, technology has advanced to the point of supersonic and hypersonic flight, but people are still trying to break new barriers and invent new methods of flight.

Which of the following sentences needs a semicolon added to or deleted from it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 1

Sentence 5

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Sentence 4

Correct answer:

Sentence 5

Explanation:

Sentence 5 incorrectly contains a semicolon; the appropriate punctuation for separating an independent clause (“the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights”) and a dependent clause (“Hundreds of years later and despite many dangers”) is a comma.

Example Question #32 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 All in all, aviation will likely continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. 2 Long before the famous Wright brothers humans were attempting to fly. 3 The ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows the tantalizing allusion of flight. 4 With large kites’ in China may have been the first successful instance of human flight several thousand years ago. 5 Hundreds of years later and despite many hazings; the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights. 6 Therefore, technology has advanced to the point of supersonic and hypersonic flight, but people are still trying to break new barriers and invent new methods of flight.

Where should the following sentence be inserted in this passage? “The advent of activities such as paragliding and parasailing has made recreational flight more accessible than ever before.”

Possible Answers:

After Sentence 4

After Sentence 5

After Sentence 6

After Sentence 3

After Sentence 2

Correct answer:

After Sentence 6

Explanation:

Following the chronological arrangement of the passage, we know that this sentence about contemporary aviation belongs near the end. Since the new sentence builds upon an idea introduced in Sentence 6 (new aviation technologies), it would best fit immediately after Sentence 6.

Example Question #33 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 All in all, aviation will likely continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. 2 Long before the famous Wright brothers humans were attempting to fly. 3 The ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows the tantalizing allusion of flight. 4 With large kites’ in China may have been the first successful instance of human flight several thousand years ago. 5 Hundreds of years later and despite many hazings; the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights. 6 Therefore, technology has advanced to the point of supersonic and hypersonic flight, but people are still trying to break new barriers and invent new methods of flight.

Where should the following sentence be inserted in the text? “Leonardo da Vinci is one famous Renaissance inventor who built lovely but somewhat ludicrous designs for flying machines; luckily, their construction was never attempted.”

Possible Answers:

After Sentence 6

After Sentence 3

After Sentence 1

After Sentence 4

After Sentence 5

Correct answer:

After Sentence 4

Explanation:

Adhering to the chronological order of this passage would require the sentence to be placed between Sentence 4 and Sentence 5, since the Renaissance occurred after ancient Chinese kite building but before the Montgolfier brothers’ innovations.

Example Question #34 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 All in all, aviation will likely continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. 2 Long before the famous Wright brothers humans were attempting to fly. 3 The ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows the tantalizing allusion of flight. 4 With large kites’ in China may have been the first successful instance of human flight several thousand years ago. 5 Hundreds of years later and despite many hazings; the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights. 6 Therefore, technology has advanced to the point of supersonic and hypersonic flight, but people are still trying to break new barriers and invent new methods of flight.

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"Aviation’s Long History of Fascination"

"From Montgolfier to Wright: A Cross-Cultural Triumph"

"History of Airplanes"

"Aeronautical Triumphs and Failures"

"Fatal Attraction: Contemporary Aviation"

Correct answer:

"Aviation’s Long History of Fascination"

Explanation:

The passage is most concerned with providing an overview of humans’ fascination with and attempts at aviation over the centuries, so “Aviation’s Long History of Fascination” is the best fit for the text. The other titles are all honing in on a too-specific element of the passage.

Example Question #35 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

1 All in all, aviation will likely continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. 2 Long before the famous Wright brothers humans were attempting to fly. 3 The ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows the tantalizing allusion of flight. 4 With large kites’ in China may have been the first successful instance of human flight several thousand years ago. 5 Hundreds of years later and despite many hazings; the Montgolfier brothers and other pioneering aviators began experimenting with manned hot-air balloon flights. 6 Therefore, technology has advanced to the point of supersonic and hypersonic flight, but people are still trying to break new barriers and invent new methods of flight.

Which of the following sentences needs an apostrophe added to or deleted from it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 5

Sentence 1

Sentence 2

Sentence 3

Sentence 4

Correct answer:

Sentence 4

Explanation:

Sentence 4 is incorrectly creating a possessive. The "kites" aren’t possessing anything in this sentence, there are just many of them, so there should be no apostrophe.

Example Question #36 : Inserting Content

1 Visitors to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, or other United States are often astounded when they encounter an Amish person. 2 To someone who is not familiar with this religious community, the lifestyle seems to harp back to a bygone era. 3 In particular the Amish are known for their plain garments, their eschewal of modern technology, their use of horses and buggies, and their exquisite handicrafts, including: wooden furniture, intricate quilts, and fruit pies. 4 Contact with the outside world is limited, and communities are often as insolent now as when they emigrated from Switzerland in the 1700s.

5 The people are governed strictly in their auspicious behavior, dress, and lifestyle by a set of rules known as Ordnung, and most speak both Pennsylvania Dutch and English. 6 Their religious beliefs are most closely related to Mennonites, and they observe many common Christian practices: baptism, marriage, and Sunday church services, for example. 7 Whereas, the Amish also practice rumspringa, a period of adolescent exploration, as well as excommunication and shunning to exclude those who do not conform to the community’s beliefs and practices. 8 What does life look like inside an Amish community? 9 Wherewithal, there seem to be both positive and negative aspects to this emphasis on family ties, manual labor, and religious belief.

Which sentence needs a comma added to it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 3

Sentence 5

Sentence 4

Sentence 7

Sentence 6

Correct answer:

Sentence 3

Explanation:

While Sentence 3 already contains a fair number of commas, it needs one more to be grammatically correct. The introductory phrase “In particular” must be set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma.

Example Question #37 : Inserting Content

1 Visitors to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, or other United States are often astounded when they encounter an Amish person. 2 To someone who is not familiar with this religious community, the lifestyle seems to harp back to a bygone era. 3 In particular the Amish are known for their plain garments, their eschewal of modern technology, their use of horses and buggies, and their exquisite handicrafts, including: wooden furniture, intricate quilts, and fruit pies. 4 Contact with the outside world is limited, and communities are often as insolent now as when they emigrated from Switzerland in the 1700s.

5 The people are governed strictly in their auspicious behavior, dress, and lifestyle by a set of rules known as Ordnung, and most speak both Pennsylvania Dutch and English. 6 Their religious beliefs are most closely related to Mennonites, and they observe many common Christian practices: baptism, marriage, and Sunday church services, for example. 7 Whereas, the Amish also practice rumspringa, a period of adolescent exploration, as well as excommunication and shunning to exclude those who do not conform to the community’s beliefs and practices. 8 What does life look like inside an Amish community? 9 Wherewithal, there seem to be both positive and negative aspects to this emphasis on family ties, manual labor, and religious belief.

Which sentence needs a colon either added to or deleted from it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 8

Sentence 1

Sentence 2

Sentence 3

Sentence 7

Correct answer:

Sentence 3

Explanation:

As a general rule of thumb, a colon is not needed after the word “including.” (You can think of “including” itself as a sort of colon, a means of introducing a list.) Therefore, the colon in Sentence 3 is incorrect.

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