SAT Writing : SAT Writing
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing
All SAT Writing Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #74 : Improving Paragraphs
1 Seaweed; a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future. 2 It can be used with a fuel, medicine, fuel source, and even fertilizer. 3 Often being both farmed or foraged. 4 In Indonesia, China, Korea, and the Philippines are among the world’s largest producers of seaweed, it is used for everything from sushi and bread to dessert. 5 Medically, speaking derivatives of seaweed can be optimized in bandages, dental molds, and microbiology cultures. 6 Girls especially will squeal when they hear that seaweed’s components are used to make many pretty makeup products. 7 It should come as no surprise, then, that countries around the world are investing significant capital in seaweed research.
How should Sentence 1 be rewritten?
With regards to seaweed, is a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future.
Seaweed; a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future. (no change)
Seaweed is a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future.
Seaweed; being a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future.
On seaweed being a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future.
Seaweed is a type of algae that’s a promising resource for the future.
Semicolons are generally used to separate two independent clauses, and “seaweed” is not an independent clause. The easiest change to make Sentence 1 an independent clause is to replace the semicolon with an active verb, “is.”
Example Question #73 : Rewriting A Full Sentence
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.
Which sentence in the passage contains a hyphen error?
Sentence 5
None of the sentences contains an error
Sentence 8
Sentence 3
Sentence 6
Sentence 8
After we’ve substituted the correct term in for the erroneous “ex-patriot,” we only have one hyphen remaining in the passage (“blue-collar”), and that hyphen correctly denotes a compound adjective appearing immediately before a noun. No other sentences here lack a hyphen.
Example Question #281 : Sat Writing
1 Dream interpretation has a long and storied past. 2 Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were interpreting dreams thousands of years ago? 3 In ancient Greece, prophecies were often based off dreams; and in English literature including Shakespeare dreams have long held a significant role.
4 Common dream symbols include new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self, hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality, and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities. 5 Books with titles ranging from The Lofty Principles of Dream Interpretation and Dream Alchemy offer advice, and opinions.6 More recently, psychologists have contributed their own analysis to the collaboration of interpretative literature. 7 What did you think your dreams mean?
How should Sentence 4 be rewritten?
Common dream symbols, including new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self; hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality; and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities.
Common dream symbols include new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self, hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality, and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities. (no change)
Common dream symbols, including new rooms (which indicate new discoveries about the self), hair (which is purportedly related to sexuality), and forests (which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities).
Common dream symbols include new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self; hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality; and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities.
Common dream symbols include: new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self, hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality, and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities.
Common dream symbols include new rooms, which indicate new discoveries about the self; hair, which is purportedly related to sexuality; and forests, which alternately signal loss or variegated opportunities.
To increase clarity and facilitate reading, semicolons should be used to separate these three complex items (each containing a comma) in the list. No changes should be made to the unpunctuated “Common dream symbols include.”
Example Question #72 : Improving Paragraphs
1 The job of the cryptozoologist is a taciturn one for sure. 2 Being unlike ordinary zoologists, that study the behaviors and lives of a cathartic variety of animals, cryptozoologists track down mythical animals whose existence has never or rarely been proven.
3 There is the Congolese J'ba FoFi, an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long, the mokèlé-mbèmbé, a deadly African water dinosaur, and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places. 4 The origins of the word “cryptozoologist” come from the ancient Greek, crypto meaning “hidden” and “zoo” meaning animal.5 Some of the most famous of these mythical animals or cryptids are Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and Chupacabra. 6 Many denizens consider cryptozoologists to be pseudoscientists; but, they believe that the discipline’s reliance on anecdotal evidence does not exclude it from the world of serious science.
7 Many of these animals seem too incredible to be believed and yes evidence is often flimsy, but the existence of fossil records sometimes provide evidence to the contrary. 8 As such many doubters attempt to machinate the cryptids’ existence, but cryptozoologists aim to abolish their skepticism.
How should Sentence 3 be rewritten?
There is the Congolese J'ba FoFi; an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long, the mokèlé-mbèmbé; a deadly African water dinosaur, and the phantom cat; an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places.
There is: the Congolese J'ba FoFi (an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long) the mokèlé-mbèmbé (a deadly African water dinosaur) and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places.
There is the Congolese J'ba FoFi, an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long; the mokèlé-mbèmbé, a deadly African water dinosaur; and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places.
There is the Congolese J'ba FoFi, an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long, the mokèlé-mbèmbé, a deadly African water dinosaur, and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places. (no change)
There is: the Congolese J'ba FoFi, an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long, the mokèlé-mbèmbé, a deadly African water dinosaur, and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places.
There is the Congolese J'ba FoFi, an enormous spider with legs allegedly over three feet long; the mokèlé-mbèmbé, a deadly African water dinosaur; and the phantom cat, an abnormally large feline found in various improbably places.
This sentence requires the second (and more obscure) usage of the semicolon. When a sentence contains complex items (items containing commas) in a list, semicolons are used as a sort of “super-comma” to provide clarity. No colon is needed to introduce the list, since the part of the sentence preceding the colon is not an independent clause.
Example Question #71 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 You may not know Gerard Manley Hopkins was a famous English poet. 2 Hopkins led a complicated life as a Jesuit priest, converting to Roman Catholicism in 1866. 3 Born in 1844 the poet was excellent at sketching from an early age and attended the University of Oxford from 1863 to 1867, where he met poets Christina Rossetti, Robert Bridges, and others. 4 According to his personal diaries, Hopkins frequently struggled to repress homoerotic urges, adopting an ascetic lifestyle, many believing that this contributed to his writing. 5 His work itself is characterized by an escarpment of conventional poetic meter, the use of sprung rhythm, frequent vivid imagery, and a careful and creative use of language.6 Sprung rhythm is a particular poetic rhythm that is intended to mimic natural speech and is distinguished by its irregular patterns although it is distinct from free verse.
7 Hopkins died when he was only in his forties, but his contributions to poetry – particularly his experimentation and his use of sprung rhythm – continue to obscure today.
How should Sentence 6 be rewritten?
Sprung rhythm is a particular poetic rhythm, which, intended to mimic natural speech, is distinguished by its irregular patterns, because it is distinct from free verse.
Sprung rhythm, a particular poetic rhythm that is intended to mimic natural speech, is distinguished by its irregular patterns but is distinct from free verse.
Sprung rhythm is a particular poetic rhythm that is intended to mimic natural speech and is distinguished by its irregular patterns although it is distinct from free verse. (no change)
Sprung rhythm is a particular poetic rhythm, it is intended to mimic natural speech, and is distinguished by its irregular patterns, while it is distinct from free verse.
Sprung rhythm: a particular poetic rhythm that is intended to mimic natural speech, is distinguished by its irregular patterns although it is distinct from free verse.
Sprung rhythm, a particular poetic rhythm that is intended to mimic natural speech, is distinguished by its irregular patterns but is distinct from free verse.
The most concise sentence makes several small grammatical changes.
Example Question #81 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture may be gleaned repulsive in another. 2 Octopus is one such food. 3 It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste. 4 It’s cousin, squid, is known as “calamari,” and is also popular in many countries.5 Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive. 6 But be careful: The head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
How should Sentence 1 be rewritten?
By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture, gleaned repulsive in another.
By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture may be gleaned repulsive in another. (no change)
By now it’s common knowledge that a food, maybe considered unctuous in one culture, maybe gleaned repulsive in another.
By now it’s common knowledge that a food, being considered unctuous in one culture, maybe gleaned repulsive in another.
By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture but gleaned repulsive in another.
By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture but gleaned repulsive in another.
The second “may be” in the original sentence must be changed to “but” for grammatical correctness and semantic efficiency. No additional punctuation is necessary.
Example Question #82 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture may be gleaned repulsive in another. 2 Octopus is one such food. 3 It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste. 4 It’s cousin, squid, is known as “calamari,” and is also popular in many countries.5 Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive. 6 But be careful: The head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
How should Sentence 5 be rewritten?
Octopus: it is fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, served raw in sushi, or even eaten alive.
Octopus, which can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, served raw in sushi, or even eat it alive.
Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, served raw in sushi, or even eaten alive.
Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive. (no change)
Octopus can be fried in batter; roast it with herbs, steam and sprinkle with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive.
Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, served raw in sushi, or even eaten alive.
Be careful to avoid faulty parallelism, which is the problem with the original sentence.
Example Question #83 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture may be gleaned repulsive in another. 2 Octopus is one such food. 3 It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste. 4 It’s cousin, squid, is known as “calamari,” and is also popular in many countries.5 Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive. 6 But be careful: The head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
How should Sentence 3 be rewritten?
It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste.
It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable; and others enjoying the unusual taste.
It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable and others enjoying the unusual taste.
It valorizes its audiences; some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable and others enjoying the unusual taste.
It valorizes its audiences; some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste.
It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable and others enjoying the unusual taste.
Simply changing the comma to a conjunction will make this into a flawless sentence. No semicolons are necessary here, since there is only one independent clause.
Example Question #81 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 By now it’s common knowledge that a food may be considered unctuous in one culture may be gleaned repulsive in another. 2 Octopus is one such food. 3 It valorizes its audiences, with some gourmands claiming its rubbery texture is unpalatable, others enjoying the unusual taste. 4 It’s cousin, squid, is known as “calamari,” and is also popular in many countries.5 Octopus can be fried in batter, roasted with herbs, steamed and sprinkled with paprika, serve it raw in sushi, or even eat it alive. 6 But be careful: The head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
How should Sentence 6 be rewritten?
But be careful; the head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
But be careful, the head of the octopus’ can be poisonous!
But be careful; the head of the octopus can be poisonous!
But be careful: The head of the octopus can be poisonous!
But be careful: The head of the octopus’ can be poisonous! (no change)
But be careful: The head of the octopus can be poisonous!
Everything is fine here except for the apostrophe, which is needlessly and incorrectly turning the noun into a possessive. The colon is the correct punctuation mark in this case.
Example Question #85 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Full Sentence
1 Biographies exist in various specialized forms. 2 A hagiography is a biography that discusses a saint or other church leader. 3 Many hagiographies focus on a saint’s miracles, martyrdom, and divine connection. 4 They were especially common in the Middle Ages, often appearing as part of a larger collection or calendar of saints.
5 Historians today value these accounts not because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but also they include good insight into local history. 6 For example, the bestselling Golden Legend was a 13th century compensation of saint stories from more than a hundred different sources. 7 England, Ireland, and the Byzantine Empire were all fertile ground for medieval hagiographies and as such much is known about carnelian life there. 8 These hagiographies also changed focus over the years; shifting from heroic tales of holy warriors and sanctimonious moralistic lessons designed to instruct churchgoers. 9 And gradually fading in popularity.
How should Sentence 5 be rewritten?
Historians today do not value these accounts because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but also they include good insight into local history.
Historians today value these accounts not because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but because they include good insight into local history.
Historians today value these accounts not because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but also they include good insight into local history. (no change)
Historians today value these accounts not only because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but also because they include good insight into local history.
Historians today do not value these accounts because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical, but also are including good insight into local history.
Historians today value these accounts not because the hagiographer is often too worshipful to be critical but because they include good insight into local history.
The meaning conveyed in the original sentence doesn’t fit the grammatical construction, so we need to change the construction to the “not because __________ but because ___________” form.
Certified Tutor
Certified Tutor
All SAT Writing Resources
