SAT Writing : SAT Writing

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #316 : Improving Paragraphs

1 Want to book a copacetic hotel, or dine at a premier restaurant? 2Your best bet may be: to consult a Michelin Red Guide. 3 These guides have been published by a French company since 1900 and using anonymous “inspectors” to award establishments either zero, one, two, and three stars. (4 Yes, the same company also manufactures tires. 5 It employs more than 100,000 people. 6 The guides were actually established in order for encouraging people to take more car trips to slavish hotels and exclusive restaurants.) 7 Nowadays the Michelin Guides are regarded by some as the ultimate abetters of taste.

Where should the following sentence be inserted in the passage? “They have expanded well beyond Europe and seek to represent the trendiest fine dining across the modern world.”

Possible Answers:

After Sentence 3

After Sentence 7

After Sentence 5

After Sentence 6

After Sentence 4

Correct answer:

After Sentence 7

Explanation:

This sentence would make for an excellent conclusion in this chronologically organized passage, as it discusses Michelin Guides in the contemporary world and has a pronoun referent that matches the previous sentence.

Example Question #522 : Sat Writing

1 One of the most famous modern dancers of all times, the choreography of Martha Graham had a profound influence of the ballet world. 2 Based on “contraction and release,” the Graham technique, creating theatrical dramatic tension and deeply impassioned routines for audiences to see. 3 Graham used her inconsiderate flexibility to develop many innovative moves originating from the abdomen, back, and pelvis.4 Graham’s work rejected not only the tenants of classical ballet but instead the reactionary rebellions of early modern dance. 5 Like the work of dancer choreographers Helen Tamiris and Agnes de Mille. 6 After age forced her to retire from the stage; Graham sank into a deep depression and had difficulty watching other ballerinas dance her choreography. 7 Today, the Graham technique is taught almost universally between various dance academies, clinics, and universities. 8 Without it the world of modern day dance would indubitably not be the same.

What is the best title for this passage?

Possible Answers:

"The Choreography of Martha Graham"

"19th-Century Ballet and Its Influence on Martha Graham"

"Martha Graham, American Hero"

"Martha Graham: Struggles and Successes"

"Who Is Martha Graham?"

Correct answer:

"The Choreography of Martha Graham"

Explanation:

Since the passage is primarily devoted to explaining Martha Graham’s choreography and dance techniques, the best title indicates just such a focus: “The Choreography of Martha Graham.” The best title is the one that addresses the most fundamental focus of the passage.

Example Question #317 : Improving Paragraphs

1 Have you ever heard of the Arts and Crafts movement? 2 The Arts and Crafts movement was an artistic revival of traditional craftsmanship that occurred in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the British Isles, Europe, and North America. 3 Scholars contempt that the movement was predicted on the assumption that medieval and folk art was superior to contemporary arts and decorations. 4 As such the movement deemed to correct the debasement of the decorative arts and promote beauty and fine craftsmanship.5 It was also a reaction to the increased industrialization of the Victorian age. 6 Some key figures in the movement’s inception were writer, John Ruskin, artist, William Morris, and, architect and designer, A. W. N. Pugin. 7 The movement extended to visual art, interior decorating, architecture, landscaping, and textile design, a widespread influence until it was eventually upstaged by Modernism.

In Sentence 4, where should a comma be added?

Possible Answers:

after “movement”

No comma should be added to Sentence 4

after “such”

after “beauty”

after “arts”

Correct answer:

after “such”

Explanation:

“As such” is an introductory phrase that requires a comma after it.

Example Question #318 : 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.

What is the best title for the passage?

Possible Answers:

"Seaweed’s Advantages and Disadvantages"

"Seaweed’s Asian Ties"

"Snazzy Seaweed"

"Seaweed in the Past, Seaweed in the Future"

"Seaweed: Promising Source"

Correct answer:

"Seaweed: Promising Source"

Explanation:

The passage is all about the various ways that seaweed can be used by humans, so “Seaweed: Promising Source” fits most closely. The best title is the one that reflects the primary focus of the text, not more specific smaller things mentioned within the text.

Example Question #319 : Improving Paragraphs

1 The job is similar to a music editor, who creates and merges songs, background music, and other sound effects to create a particular atmosphere. 2 While most Americans today are cognizant of film jobs such as director, producer, actor, and even screenwriter. 3 Few know much about the role of film editor. 4 This job involves mostly post-production work, with the editor choosing that parts of the raw footage to move, combine, or separate. 5 Without the film editor, there would only be a bewitching jumble of disordered chaotic images. 6 Sometimes more than ten times as much film is shot than is used in the final cut of the movie. 7 Film editors, also have the ability to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as he sees fit. 8 Film editing truly is a critical and undervalued art. 

Which sentence needs a comma added to it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Sentence 1

Sentence 4

Sentence 5

Correct answer:

Sentence 5

Explanation:

In Sentence 5, we have two adjectives preceding a noun. Properly punctuated, it would read “disordered, chaotic images.”

Example Question #321 : Improving Paragraphs

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.

Which sentence needs a hyphen added to it?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Sentence 1

None of these sentences requires a hyphen

Sentence 4

Correct answer:

Sentence 4

Explanation:

In Sentence 4, we need a hyphen to connect “claw” and “like.” (Generally, any time a noun is being combined with the word “like” to create an adjective, hyphenation is called for.)

Example Question #527 : Sat Writing

1 The job is similar to a music editor, who creates and merges songs, background music, and other sound effects to create a particular atmosphere. 2 While most Americans today are cognizant of film jobs such as director, producer, actor, and even screenwriter. 3 Few know much about the role of film editor. 4 This job involves mostly post-production work, with the editor choosing that parts of the raw footage to move, combine, or separate. 5 Without the film editor, there would only be a bewitching jumble of disordered chaotic images. 6 Sometimes more than ten times as much film is shot than is used in the final cut of the movie. 7 Film editors, also have the ability to impose experimental approaches, discontinuity, or emotional manipulation as he sees fit. 8 Film editing truly is a critical and undervalued art. 

What is the best title for the passage?

Possible Answers:

Film: A 21st-Century Revolution

"Film Editors: From Traditional to Avant-Garde"

"Film and Its Editors: An Unlikely Duo"

Film: The Modern Medium

"Film Editors: Obscure but Necessary"

Correct answer:

"Film Editors: Obscure but Necessary"

Explanation:

“Film Editors: Obscure but Necessary” correctly identifies that the focus of the passage is on film editors and not film. It also correctly imparts a main point in the passage: Film editors are often overlooked but always essential to the movie-making process. Because this is a short non-fiction passage, rather than a complete work, the title should be surrounded by quotation marks, not italicized.

Example Question #528 : Sat Writing

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.

What transitional word or phrase should begin Sentence 6?

Possible Answers:

Moreover

Notwithstanding

Specifically

Meanwhile

Subsequently

Correct answer:

Moreover

Explanation:

Since Sentence 6 is supporting the information in Sentence 5 and providing further information, we’re looking for a transitional word that indicates addition. “Moreover” is the only choice that does so.   

Example Question #529 : Sat Writing

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.

What transitional word or phrase should be added to the beginning of Sentence 3?

Possible Answers:

Likewise,

Exemplified,

As such,

For example,

Traditionally,

Correct answer:

For example,

Explanation:

Sentence 3 provides specific examples of subjects that a cryptozoologist might study, so the transitional word should reflect this focus.

Example Question #322 : Improving Paragraphs

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?

Where should the following sentence be inserted in the passage? “However, many interpretative guides differ substantially in the ways they allocate meaning to symbols.” 

Possible Answers:

After Sentence 4

After Sentence 5

After Sentence 7

After Sentence 1

After Sentence 3

Correct answer:

After Sentence 4

Explanation:

Sentence 4 discusses several specific ways that people have allocated meaning to dream symbols, and the new sentence offers a subsequent cautionary point to qualify that discussion. 

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