SAT Writing : SAT Writing

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #51 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

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.

Which of the following pieces of information would be most relevant to add to the passage?

Possible Answers:

The origin of the name of the Moluccas

A list of the territorial gains made by the Dutch in the Spice Wars

The names of the builders of the Dutch and Portuguese warships

The ship’s log from the first recorded European sightings of the Moluccas

The taxonomy of popular Moluccan spices such as pepper and cloves

Correct answer:

The origin of the name of the Moluccas

Explanation:

Since the passage is mainly devoted to describing the Moluccas’ historical background and geographical location, all of the choices except “the origin of the name of the Moluccas” are too specific and would represent digressions from the main topic.

Example Question #52 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

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.

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"How Did the Moluccas Get Its Name?"

"What Are the Moluccas?"

"Who Conquered the Moluccas?"

"Who Lives in the Moluccas?"

"Where Are the Moluccas?"

Correct answer:

"What Are the Moluccas?"

Explanation:

This passage is primarily concerned with locating the Moluccas in a historical and geographical context. “Where Are the Moluccas” doesn’t adequately encompass the passage’s discussion of the Moluccas’ historical importance, but “What Are the Moluccas” does.

Example Question #471 : Sat Writing

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.

Where would the following sentence best be inserted in the passage? “It is not uncommon for regions of the same country to have drastically different cuisines and culinary influences.”

Possible Answers:

Before Sentence 4

Before Sentence 3

Before Sentence 1

Before Sentence 2

Before Sentence 5

Correct answer:

Before Sentence 1

Explanation:

Because Sentence 1 begins with “One such example,” we can infer that some sort of introductory sentence is missing from the passage. The sentence to be inserted would fit well in this introductory role, since it gives a broad overview of the passage’s main topic and discusses the same idea (regional cooking) as Sentence 1.

Example Question #53 : Inserting Or Deleting Content

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.

What is the best title for this passage? 

Possible Answers:

"Ethnic Cuisines"

"Slave Recipes Revisited"

"National Culinary Identities"

"Revitalizing the American South’s Food"

"Southern Kitchen"

Correct answer:

"Southern Kitchen"

Explanation:

All of these titles except “Southern Kitchen” are too narrow for the passage; that is, they hone in on one specific detail of the passage while failing to encapsulate the main idea.

Example Question #471 : Sat Writing

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.

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"The Manufacturers of Glass"

"The Utility of Glass"

"The Beauty of Glass"

"The Manufacture of Glass"

"The Complexity of Glass"

Correct answer:

"The Manufacture of Glass"

Explanation:

While the passage does touch on the beauty, complexity, and utility of glass, the author is primarily concerned with informing the reader about how glass is made. Therefore, “The Manufacture of Glass” is the title that best encompasses the author’s message.

Example Question #472 : Sat Writing

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.

A sentence about which of the following subjects would be most relevant to add to the passage?

Possible Answers:

Historical taxation of glass products

Municipalities opposed to glass recycling

Artisanal glass studios

Experimental methods of manufacturing glass

A museum devoted to decorative glassware

Correct answer:

Experimental methods of manufacturing glass

Explanation:

The passage is primarily concerned with the manufacture of glass, so including information about new or alternate manufacturing methods would contribute nicely to the text.

Example Question #473 : Sat Writing

1 The purpose of this agricultural practice is to produce large amounts of meat, milk, eggs, and textiles, such as wool and leather, at low costs. 2 It has many negative consequences; however, and many activists have raised concerns about sustainability, environmental risks, and ethics. 3 Factory farming, sometimes known euphonically as intensive animal farming, or industrial farming, is the practice of raising livestock at very high densities in order to decrease the costs of production. 4 On most factory farms, animals are reduced to commodities: bred unnaturally, confined in uncomfortably small cages, and dosed with high strength antibiotics to reduce concomitant infections. 5 Although, the livestock suffers considerately, drug-resistant bacteria become more common, and significant environmental hazards arise from the high quantities of animal waste. 6 Does the phrase manure lagoons sound familiar? 7 As a light of this issue, many people choose to become vegetarian or join anti-factory farming campaigns. 8 What will you do?

Which sentence needs a hyphen added to it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 6

Sentence 2

Sentence 8

Sentence 4

None of these sentences require hyphens.

Correct answer:

Sentence 4

Explanation:

Sentence 4 is lacking a hyphen between “high” and “strength” in order to clarify that we’re not talking about strength antibiotics that happen to be high. As a general rule of thumb, compound adjectives that precede a noun require hyphens for clarity’s sake.

Example Question #474 : Sat Writing

1 It may be hard to believe. 2 But light was once a rare and inviolate commodity. 3 Our ancestors invented willful ways to harness natural light; burning lumps of tallow or animal fat, capturing fireflies in glass jars, and even threading wicks down the throats of a bird called the storm petrel.4 Most of these methods were messy, inconvenient, and costly. 5 So it was fortunate when kerosene became popular. 6 Whale oil was another way to get light, but whaling was a dangerous and deadly occupation. 7 The innovation of the electric light bulb represented another huge leap in convenience and cost-effectiveness. 8 While light is not scarce today; in fact, we often have the opposite problem. 9 Light pollution, or excessive artificial light, which can keep city denizens from ever seeing the stars or appreciating true darkness.

A sentence discussing which of the following topics would be most appropriate to add to this passage?

Possible Answers:

Thomas Edison’s first laboratory

Means of obtaining light from vegetables

Problems with regulating the whaling industry

Ill effects of light pollution

The scientific processes behind lightning

Correct answer:

Means of obtaining light from vegetables

Explanation:

Since the passage presents an overview of ways that our ancestors obtained light, a sentence about obtaining light from vegetable matter would nicely complement the existing sentences about obtaining light from animals and minerals. While the whaling industry is discussed, it is hardly the focus of the passage overall. Thomas Edison was an important figure in the history of light generation, but, again, this answer is too specific, and not germane to the actual language and focus of the text.

Example Question #473 : Sat Writing

1 It may be hard to believe. 2 But light was once a rare and inviolate commodity. 3 Our ancestors invented willful ways to harness natural light; burning lumps of tallow or animal fat, capturing fireflies in glass jars, and even threading wicks down the throats of a bird called the storm petrel.4 Most of these methods were messy, inconvenient, and costly. 5 So it was fortunate when kerosene became popular. 6 Whale oil was another way to get light, but whaling was a dangerous and deadly occupation. 7 The innovation of the electric light bulb represented another huge leap in convenience and cost-effectiveness. 8 While light is not scarce today; in fact, we often have the opposite problem. 9 Light pollution, or excessive artificial light, which can keep city denizens from ever seeing the stars or appreciating true darkness.

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"Light in America"

"Illumination"

"Obscurity"

"A History of Light"

"Lard and Light bulbs: Two Important Innovations"

Correct answer:

"A History of Light"

Explanation:

Most of these titles are either too vague (“Illumination” and “Obscurity”) or too specific (“Light in America” and “Lard and Light bulbs: Two Important Innovations”). Only “A History of Light” accurately captures the intention of the passage: to give a brief overview of light’s evolution through human history.

Example Question #473 : Sat Writing

1 The word wig itself comes from the English word periwig and can demote a variety of styles, materials, and colors. 2 Have you ever wondered what goes into making a wig? 3 Historically wigs have served a variety of functions and took a number of forms. 4 Wigs have been used as fashion accessories, costume components, and to disguise baldness. 5 These days, wigs are most commonly made from synthetic materials, real human hair, or hair from animals, such as goats and yaks.

Which sentence needs a comma added to it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 1

Sentence 5

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Correct answer:

Sentence 3

Explanation:

Sentence 3 lacks a comma between the word “Historically,” an introductory clause, and “wigs,” the start of an independent clause.

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