SAT Writing : Improving Paragraphs

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #342 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

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.

In Sentence 5, what word should replace “auspicious”?

Possible Answers:

aubade

austral

austere

auspicious (no change)

aubergine

Correct answer:

austere

Explanation:

“Auspicious” means propitious or promising future success, “aubergine” is another word for eggplant, “austral” means relating to the Southern hemisphere, and an “aubade” is a dawn song. By process of elimination, the only word that works is “austere,” or simple, sparse, and unadorned

Example Question #343 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 Many painters have strong sediments about whether oil or acrylic paints produce the best results. 2 On the one hand, oil paints take longer to dry and are therefore more conductive to slow painstaking work and careful blending. 3 While, they also require the use of more toxic chemicals such as turpentine and mineral spirits. 4 Professional artists are often meritorious about the materials they use. 5 Acrylic paints are now favored by more and more artists, not only because they are odorless and nontoxic and also because their colors are not effervescent, they don’t fade when exposed to light. 6 However, many of the worlds’ great masterpieces were created with oil paints. 7 With some artists understandably feel nasturtium when they see oils being replaced by cheaper, more popular acrylics.

In Sentence 5, what word should replace “effervescent”?

Possible Answers:

excrescent

evanescent

effervescent (no change)

omnipresent

excellent

Correct answer:

evanescent

Explanation:

Based on the end of Sentence 5, it seems that we want a word to indicate that acrylic colors won’t fade quickly. “Effervescent” means bubbly or fizzy, “excrescent” describes an ugly outgrowth, “excellent” means extremely good, and “omnipresent” means present at all times. None of these work, so we’re left with “evanescent”: fading quickly.

Example Question #651 : Improving Paragraphs

1 Many painters have strong sediments about whether oil or acrylic paints produce the best results. 2 On the one hand, oil paints take longer to dry and are therefore more conductive to slow painstaking work and careful blending. 3 While, they also require the use of more toxic chemicals such as turpentine and mineral spirits. 4 Professional artists are often meritorious about the materials they use. 5 Acrylic paints are now favored by more and more artists, not only because they are odorless and nontoxic and also because their colors are not effervescent, they don’t fade when exposed to light. 6 However, many of the worlds’ great masterpieces were created with oil paints. 7 With some artists understandably feel nasturtium when they see oils being replaced by cheaper, more popular acrylics.

In Sentence 1, what word should replace “sediments”?

Possible Answers:

sediments (no change)

sentiments

sentience

sentimentality

sentinels

Correct answer:

sentiments

Explanation:

Based on the context of this sentence, we want a word that means feelings or opinions (“sentiments”), not stone or sand (“sediments”).

Example Question #22 : Increasing The Contextual Relevance Of A Single Word

1 Many painters have strong sediments about whether oil or acrylic paints produce the best results. 2 On the one hand, oil paints take longer to dry and are therefore more conductive to slow painstaking work and careful blending. 3 While, they also require the use of more toxic chemicals such as turpentine and mineral spirits. 4 Professional artists are often meritorious about the materials they use. 5 Acrylic paints are now favored by more and more artists, not only because they are odorless and nontoxic and also because their colors are not effervescent, they don’t fade when exposed to light. 6 However, many of the worlds’ great masterpieces were created with oil paints. 7 With some artists understandably feel nasturtium when they see oils being replaced by cheaper, more popular acrylics.

In Sentence 4, what word should replace “meritorious”?

Possible Answers:

meticulous

meritorious (no change)

meretricious

mendacious

mellifluous

Correct answer:

meticulous

Explanation:

The context could suggest that professional artists are careful or picky about the materials they use. “Meritorious” means praiseworthy, “mellifluous” means musical and pleasant sounding, “mendacious” means dishonest or lying, and “meretricious” means somewhat attractive but worthless. That leaves “meticulous,” which means careful and precise.

Example Question #652 : Improving Paragraphs

1 The Moluccas is a chain, or archetype, of islands belonging to Indonesia. 2 Historically, these islands were known as the Spice Islands for their abundance of nutmeg, cloves, mace, and pepper, this profundity of spices eventually drew colonial attention. 3 Spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and pepper were particularly popular during the medieval times. 4 In the 1600s, the Spice Wars arose as a result of competing Portuguese and Dutch interest’s in the Spice Islands. 5 The bloody conflict ended in the deaths of many native Moluccans as well as European traders, wherefore both Portugal and the Netherlands gained and lost territories ranging from Africa and South America. 6 For this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.7 It is located just west of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, and its more than 1,000 islands are home to more than 2 million people today.

In Sentence 1, what word should replace “archetype”?

Possible Answers:

archetype (no change)

archaeopteryx

archipelago

arch-nemesis

archangel

Correct answer:

archipelago

Explanation:

An archipelago is another word for a chain of islands.

Example Question #343 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 The Moluccas is a chain, or archetype, of islands belonging to Indonesia. 2 Historically, these islands were known as the Spice Islands for their abundance of nutmeg, cloves, mace, and pepper, this profundity of spices eventually drew colonial attention. 3 Spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and pepper were particularly popular during the medieval times. 4 In the 1600s, the Spice Wars arose as a result of competing Portuguese and Dutch interest’s in the Spice Islands. 5 The bloody conflict ended in the deaths of many native Moluccans as well as European traders, wherefore both Portugal and the Netherlands gained and lost territories ranging from Africa and South America. 6 For this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.7 It is located just west of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, and its more than 1,000 islands are home to more than 2 million people today.

In Sentence 2, what word should replace “profundity”?

Possible Answers:

proliferation

profligacy

proscenium

profundity (no change)

proclivity

Correct answer:

proliferation

Explanation:

Profundity is another word for profoundness or intellectual depth, which doesn’t fit the context of the sentence. We’re looking for a word that means abundance or rapid increase, which is the definition of “proliferation.”

Example Question #23 : Increasing The Contextual Relevance Of A Single Word

1 One such example of regional cooking could be found in the American South. 2 Wherefore foods such as gumbo, barbecue, fried chicken, and watermelons can now be found all across the country, it was once specific to states south of the Mason-Dixon line. 3 And while Southern cuisine has been influenced by Native American tribes, Scottish immigrants, and Cajun settlers, one of the most significant culinary inspirations came from the South’s black population. 4 Dishes such as cornbread, succotash, collard or turnip greens, pimento cheese, crawfish, and sweet tea all hale from the South, as well. 5 For example, okra, black-eyed peas, and sorghum are all foods brought to America and cultivated by African slaves. 6 Soon, soul food (a sometimes contentious term among black chefs) began to be served in black-owned restaurants in the South. 7 Borne out of competing cultural influences and not-infrequent strife, it should be no surprise that Southern food remains a complex delicious cuisine to this day.

In Sentence 7, what word or phrase needs to be replaced with another?

Possible Answers:

to this day

not-infrequent

competing

borne

should be no surprise that

Correct answer:

borne

Explanation:

Here, the proper verb is “born” (brought into being) and not “borne” (carried, spread, or tolerated).

Example Question #349 : Improving And Correcting Sentences

1 One such example of regional cooking could be found in the American South. 2 Wherefore foods such as gumbo, barbecue, fried chicken, and watermelons can now be found all across the country, it was once specific to states south of the Mason-Dixon line. 3 And while Southern cuisine has been influenced by Native American tribes, Scottish immigrants, and Cajun settlers, one of the most significant culinary inspirations came from the South’s black population. 4 Dishes such as cornbread, succotash, collard or turnip greens, pimento cheese, crawfish, and sweet tea all hale from the South, as well. 5 For example, okra, black-eyed peas, and sorghum are all foods brought to America and cultivated by African slaves. 6 Soon, soul food (a sometimes contentious term among black chefs) began to be served in black-owned restaurants in the South. 7 Borne out of competing cultural influences and not-infrequent strife, it should be no surprise that Southern food remains a complex delicious cuisine to this day.

In Sentence 4, what word should replace “hale”?

Possible Answers:

hide

harken

hake

hail

hale (no change)

Correct answer:

hail

Explanation:

Objects “hail from” a certain place; they don’t “hale from” anywhere. (“Hail” is a verb and “hale” is an adjective generally used to refer to elderly people meaning hearty or healthy.)

Example Question #653 : Improving Paragraphs

1 Glass; a material most people take for granted, is an essential constitute of modern life. 2 Most glass throughout history have been made of silicon dioxide; which is found in sand. 3 Typically glass is made by melting down and refining raw materials in processes that remove bubbles, improve strength, and augur durability. 4 This process can be tailored to create the desired end product, be that stained glass windows for a church and glass fibers for thermal insulation. 5 Because glass blowing can be used to create fanciful shapes and delicate figurines, most glass today is made more quickly and cheaply in factories. 6 These factories can produce everything. 7 From windshields and sterile medical equipment.

In Sentence 1, what word should replace “constitute”?

Possible Answers:

constituent

constitution

consubstantial

constitute (no change)

constant

Correct answer:

constituent

Explanation:

Based on context, we’re looking for a word that means “component” or “part,” and “constituent” is the only word that fits this definition.

Example Question #654 : Improving Paragraphs

1 Glass; a material most people take for granted, is an essential constitute of modern life. 2 Most glass throughout history have been made of silicon dioxide; which is found in sand. 3 Typically glass is made by melting down and refining raw materials in processes that remove bubbles, improve strength, and augur durability. 4 This process can be tailored to create the desired end product, be that stained glass windows for a church and glass fibers for thermal insulation. 5 Because glass blowing can be used to create fanciful shapes and delicate figurines, most glass today is made more quickly and cheaply in factories. 6 These factories can produce everything. 7 From windshields and sterile medical equipment.

In Sentence 3, what word should replace “augur”?

Possible Answers:

augment

augur (no change)

aubade

aught

aubergine

Correct answer:

augment

Explanation:

Based on context, we want a word that means improve, increase, or heighten. To augur is to predict or foretell, an aubergine is an eggplant, an aubade is a poem or song about dawn, and aught is an old-fashioned word for anything or everything. The correct word is augment, which means to increase or add to.

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