SAT Writing : Improving Paragraphs
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Example Questions
Example Question #3092 : Sat Writing
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?
They are remarkable for their
Being remarkable for their
It is remarkable that its
It is remarkable for its
Being remarkable for its
They are remarkable for their
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 #3093 : Sat Writing
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?
after “birth”
No comma should be inserted.
after “times”
after “that”
after “believed”
after “times”
Since “In medieval times” is an introductory clause, we need a comma between it and the main part of the sentence.
Example Question #244 : 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?
Barnacles, which can be cooked in a variety of ways including in
Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways, including in
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 can be cooked in a variety of ways, including in
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 #3094 : Sat Writing
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?"
Semicolons
Quotation marks
Dashes
Commas (no change)
No punctuation is needed.
Quotation marks
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?
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)
Ethnographies typically include descriptions of
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?
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)
Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional and the feminist to the critical and the realist
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 #247 : 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?
and the realist; but 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
and the realist however most are qualitative and descriptive rather than
and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than (no change)
and the realist, but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than
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 #248 : 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?
, (no replacement)
–
:
;
&
;
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?
After “politicians”
After “Today”
No comma should be added
After “themselves”
After “fully”
After “Today”
“Today” is an introductory word that, like most introductory words and phrases, requires a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
Example Question #104 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In 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 8 be rewritten?
ethnographers often, immerse themselves fully
ethnographers often immerses themselves fully
ethnographers often immerse him- and herselves fully
ethnographers often immerse themselves fully (no change)
ethnographers, often immersed fully
ethnographers often immerse themselves fully (no change)
No rewriting is necessary for this phrase. The plural pronoun matches the plural noun and the verb conjugation is correct.
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