SAT Writing : SAT Writing
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Writing
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Example Questions
Example Question #701 : Sat Writing
Choose the best punctuation for the blank:
Because it was the only recourse left to me __________ I swallowed my pride and called my high school math teacher.
; (semi-colon)
. (period and new sentence)
, (comma)
No punctuation
— (dash)
, (comma)
If a sentence starts with because, it needs a comma before the main clause starts.
Example Question #205 : Identifying Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Far from passive players in their colonial fate, Africans throughout the nineteenth-century responded to the encroaching European presence with various forms of resistance and negotiation. No error
encroaching
fate, Africans
Far from passive players
No error
nineteenth-century
nineteenth-century
“Far from passive players” correctly modifies the subject, “Africans.” The phrase “fate, Africans” illustrates the correct use of a comma to link a dependent clause with an indepent clause when the dependent clause precedes the independent clause. “Encroaching” is an appropriate vocabulary word to describe the “European presence.” The problem comes with “nineteenth-century.” Because the phrase is used as a noun here, it should not be hyphenated. It would be hyphenated if the two words together were functioning as an adjective modifying a different word, as in the phrase "nineteenth-century problems."
Example Question #702 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The tourists were enamored with the brightly-colored dresses and necklaces, and they nearly bought out the entire market. No error
necklaces, and
No error
they
brightly-colored
enamored with
brightly-colored
Because “brightly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives—two words together functioning as a single adjective—need hyphenation.
Example Question #703 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
As part of their defense, the lawyers presented a ninety page document that asserted their client’s innocence in exhausting detail. No error
asserted
No error
defense,
ninety page document
their client's
ninety page document
“Ninety page” is a compound adjective that appears directly in front of a noun. In standard English, compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns are always hyphenated for clarity’s sake. “Ninety-page document” is the correct form.
Example Question #704 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The heiress wept when she discovered that her favorite two year old horse had broken a leg and would never race again. No error
No error
two year old horse
would never race again
heiress
wept
two year old horse
Here, “two year old” is a compound adjective that appears immediately before a noun, so it must be hyphenated. “Two-year-old horse” is the correct form.
Example Question #705 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or words that need to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may not contain an error.
“If you’ve never seen a group of ninety year olds dance the polka, you’ve never lived,” he laughed. No error
ninety year olds
"If
lived,"
No error
laughed.
ninety year olds
Here, “ninety year olds” needs to be hyphenated as it is functioning as a noun.
Example Question #701 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“In all my years on the force, I’ve never seen such a thinly-veiled attempt at blackmail,” the police captain said. No error
No error
force,
blackmail,"
"In all my years
thinly-veiled
thinly-veiled
Because “thinly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns require hyphenation.
Example Question #702 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I was wondering if, after the fair, we could stop by the farmers market? No error
stop by
market?
fair,
if,
No error
market?
In this sentence, the speaker is making a statement (“I am wondering”), not answering a question (“Am I wondering?”). Even though the sentence is expressing uncertainty, it is not an interrogative sentence and therefore should not end with a question mark. A period is the correct punctuation to use to end this sentence.
Example Question #703 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Bianca and the sister were at odds because although they were members of the same family, they felt differently about their parents' divorce. No error
because
their
the sister
differently
No error
the sister
The error in this sentence arises where we are told that Bianca and her sister disagree over their parents' divorce, but her sister is presented abstractly; the correct usage of "her sister" allows the individual mentioned to be presented in relation to Bianca. Without the "her," we cannot be certain what the relation is, although it is clearly indicated elsewhere in the sentence.
Example Question #704 : Sat Writing
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Since Molly won first place and Meg won second, she was honored at the awards ceremony after dinner. No error
No error
at
won
she was
after dinner
she was
This sentence has an ambiguous pronoun. To whom does "she" refer? You could fix this either by referring to both women with "they," if it is indeed the case that both were honored at the awards ceremony after dinner, or by replacing "she" with the name of the woman being specified.
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