Download The Writing Section: A Brief Overview As you already know, the new

The Writing Section: A Brief Overview
As you already know, the new SAT contains a Writing Section, which consists of
the (dreaded!) essay, as well as multiple choice questions. The essay will be
addressed later in your manual, so let’s focus on the multiple choice questions for
now.
There are 49 multiple choice questions that assess your knowledge of grammar and
usage, your ability to use language in a clear, consistent manner, and your ability to
improve a piece of writing through revision and editing. These questions DO NOT
ask you to define or use grammatical terms and DO NOT test spelling and
capitalization. These questions are worth 70 % of your overall Writing score.
The Writing Section of the SAT looks like this:
25 MIN. SECTION
ESSAY
25 MIN. SECTION
35 QUESTIONS
10 MIN. SECTION
14 QUESTIONS
11 IMPROVING
SENTENCES
18 ERROR
IDENTIFICATION
6 IMPROVING
PARAGRAPHS
14 IMPROVING
SENTENCES
Unfortunately, there is no order of difficulty on the Writing Section, so your
Personal Objectives and Goal score (POG) will be slightly different from the
Critical Reading Section. The best piece of advice is to look at your practice tests
and determine which types of questions you are best at, and focus on answering
those throughout the test. Remember it is okay to skip questions if you can not
eliminate any answer choices – just be sure to skip that particular bubble on your
answer sheet!
On the following pages, you will find a specific review that will help you tackle
the types of questions found in the Writing Section. Feel free to consult any
grammar textbook (such as Warriner’s) if you think you need even more practice –
although the rundown you are about to receive is probably MORE than you’ll
need!
ERRER IDENTAFIKATION
These questions are different from most other multiple choice questions in that
they ask you to choose the answer that contains a mistake.
Some important things to know about Error IDs (aka Identifying Sentence Errors):
 There is never more than one error per sentence.
 If there is an error, it is always underlined. So, for each underlined portion,
first identify the part of speech you’re dealing with, then check for all of the
possible errors for that part of speech.
 Approximately 20% of all Error IDs are correct as written, so don’t be afraid
to pick answer choice E.
 Error IDs are usually short, so you should be able to move quickly through
them and eliminate at least one answer choice. This means you should guess
aggressively on these types of questions!
 As soon as you discover one of the underlined portions is correct, eliminate
it as an answer choice.
IMPROVING SENTENCES: THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
These questions focus on a different skill from Error IDs: the ability to recognize
and write clear, effective, accurate sentences. You are given a sentence, part or all
of which is underlined, and you will have to determine whether the underlined
portion contains an error. If it does, you will be given suggestions for revising that
sentence; you will need to choose the correct revision from the ones offered.
The basic techniques for tackling an Improving Sentences question are:
 Read carefully, maybe even aloud to yourself – very quietly, of course!
 Check for an error in the underlined part. If there is no error, choose answer
choice A, which is a word-for-word repeat of the underlined part. 20% of
the sentences will be perfect as written.
 If you find an error in the underlined part, omit A as an answer choice and
look to eliminate any other answer choices that make the same error.
 If you aren’t sure whether the underlined part contains any errors, look at
your answer choices and try to look for ways in which they vary. If you can
figure out which of the variations is right, you can eliminate choices.
 Look for things that are short and sweet. Conciseness is most important
here.
GRAMMAR 101: A CRASH COURSE FOR THE SAT
For both Error IDs and Improving Sentences there are five main steps you should
follow to find the mistake in a sentence. These five steps are simply the five places
a sentence can go wrong. If you check these five, you will find the mistake:
 Verbs
 Pronouns
 Nouns
 Prepositions
 Random Things
Each of these will be covered at length on the following pages.
VERBS
The three most important things to check about a verb are that it:
 Agrees with its subject
 Is parallel in structure to other verbs in the sentence
 Is in the proper tense
Subject-Verb Agreement
►Singular with singular, plural with plural.
Don’t let ETS distract you with subjects and verbs that don’t agree and lots of
words in between them. Disregard all extra words and look for the actual subject
and verb:
1. The statistics released by the state department makes the economic situation
A
B
look bleaker than it really is. No error.
C
D
E
What is the subject? Singular or plural? __________________________________
What is the verb? Singular or plural? ____________________________________
1. Although Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney both have new books on the
market, only one of the two are successful.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
only one of the two are successful
of them, only one of the two is becoming successful
only one of the two books are successful
only one of the two books is successful
one only of the books has been successful
Collective Nouns and Pronouns
All of the following take singular verbs:
 family (is)
 jury (is)
 group (is)
 audience (is)
 congregation (is)
 United States / any country (is)
 either (is)
 neither (is)
 none (is)
 each (is)
 anyone (is)
 no one (is)
 everyone (is)
►Two singular subjects joined by “and” make a plural subject. Two nouns joined
by “or” can be singular or plural, depending on the last noun given.
 Pam AND Jim, neither of whom takes the bus, ARE now walking to work.
 Pam OR Jim IS walking to work.
 Pam OR Jim’s friends ARE walking to work.
Parallelism
►All verbs in a list must be in the same style, tense, and form (think Eat, Drink,
and Be Merry!)
1. The Halloween party was a great success: the children enjoyed bobbing
A
B
for apples, playing party games, and to put costumes on. No error.
C
D
E
Tense
The three major tenses you will be looking for are present, past, and future. There
should not be a change in tense within a sentence UNLESS it is truly important
that one thing happened before or after something else. First check the tenses of
the verbs in the sentence that aren’t underlined to see whether they match the tense
of the underlined verb.
2. Throughout the Middle Ages, women work beside men, knowing that the effort
A
B
C
of men and women alike was essential to survival. No error.
D
E
“-ing” Words
Beware of “having,” “being,” and other “-ing” words: they are awkward and often
used incorrectly in answer choices.
3. At first, peanut butter was known not as much for its convenience or taste but
for its being easy to digest.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
but for its being easy to digest
the explanation being its digestibility
the explanation was its being easily digestible
but for its being digestion-easy
as for its digestibility
Note here the use of the idiom “not as much _____ as.” Idioms will be covered in
depth in a later section.
PRONOUNS
Whenever you see a pronoun underlined, check for:
 agreement
 ambiguity
 case (subject or object)
Pronoun Agreement
►A pronoun usually stands in for a noun. If the noun being replaced is singular,
the pronoun must be singular. If the noun is plural, the pronoun must be plural.
1. Everyone on the softball team who came up to bat squinted at the pitcher in
A
B
C
order to keep the sun’s glaring rays out of their eyes. No error.
D
E
Notice how ETS has placed the pronoun that refers to the subject far from it in the
sentence? They’re hoping you’ll forget which noun it refers to. Also notice how
they stick the plural noun “eyes” next to “their”? Don’t let them trick you!
Pronoun Ambiguity
There should never be any confusion about which noun a pronoun is replacing.
Take the example “Jerry and Nick decided to paint his room purple.” Whose room
is getting painted, Jerry’s or Nick’s? You’ll never know, because the pronoun is
ambiguous.
Be on the lookout for:
 Pronouns like “it” or “they/them” that show up late in a sentence
 Two singular or two plural nouns that come early in the sentence and a
pronoun that comes at the end of the sentence
3. Many economists feel that taxpayers should pay less, on the theory that
A
B
they will spend more and boost the economy. No error.
C
D
E
What is the pronoun near the end of the sentence? _________________________
To whom could it refer? _____________________________________________
Pronoun Case: Subject or Object
► A subject pronoun is the person or thing performing the action.
Subject Pronouns:
 Singular: I, you, he, she, it, who
 Plural: we, you, they, who
►An object pronoun is the person or thing receiving the action.
Object Pronouns:
 Singular: me, you, him, her, it, whom
 Plural: us, you, them, whom
Look at the example:
Clare is more creative than me.
Clare is more creative than I.
Which one is correct? Why?
__________________________________________________________________
Try these:
5. The leading roles in the widely acclaimed play, a modern version of an Irish
A
B
folktale, were performed by Jessica and him. No error.
C
D
E
7. Linda and her decided to see the movie, which started at 10:00 pm. No error.
A
B
C
D
E
9. Joe went with Marie and I to the Italian restaurant on the corner of Smith Street
A
B
C
D
and Jones Avenue. No error.
E
NOUNS
When you see nouns on the Writing Section, think of numbers; ETS loves to give
you two nouns that refer to each other, but are different in number (singular or
plural). If an underlined noun refers to another noun (or vice versa), make sure the
two nouns match in number.
3. As elections approach, campaign managers pay more attention to swing voters,
A
B
who often don’t make their decision until the day of the election. No error.
C
D
E
If there are many voters, they should have more than one decision, right? Exactly.
PREPOSITIONS AND IDIOMS
Prepositions express relationships between other words, nouns usually, including
relationships of time or space. Here are some common ones:
ACROSS
AFTER
AT
AS
BEFORE
BETWEEN
BY
FOR
FROM
IN
LIKE
OF
ON
OVER
THROUGH
TO
UNDER
UNTIL
UP
WITH
Certain words must be paired with certain prepositions; these phrases are called
idioms. Idioms are simply peculiarities in the English language and they include
clichés such as raining cats and dogs, jump the gun, etc. There are tons of idioms
out there – be on the lookout for these repeat offenders on the SAT:










I am indebted __________ you.
I am resentful __________ you.
I am delighted __________ or __________ you.
I am worried __________ you.
I am astounded __________ you.
The men had a dispute __________ politics.
You have a responsibility __________ take care of your pet.
You are responsible __________ your pet.
My friends are different __________ your friends.
His talent is so huge __________ limitless!
RANDOM THINGS
If you have checked your sentences for the aforementioned areas and you are still
unsure about which answer to choose, take a quick peek for the Random Things
listed below. While these are less common errors, they may pop up occasionally –
so be prepared!
Faulty Comparisons
Think apples and oranges – you can’t compare them, right? No, because they are
different! The same thing goes for verbs, nouns, and pronouns.
What is wrong with the following example?
Debi goes shopping at this store because the prices are better than the other store.
What is being compared? __________________________________________
What should be compared? _________________________________________
Try these:
10. Jack was disappointed because his score on the SATs was not as outstanding as
Rob.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
was not as outstanding as Rob
did not stand out as much as Rob
was not as outstanding as Rob’s score
did not surpass Rob
was not as outstanding than Rob’s
12. Although Ramsey High School’s soccer team seemed to have stronger players,
Bergenfield actually won the game.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Bergenfield actually won the game
Bergenfield have actually won the game
the game was actually won by Bergenfield’s team
Bergenfield’s team actually won the game
the winner actually was Bergenfield’s team
Misplaced Modifiers
Funny things can happen if you don’t put modifiers (single words or phrases) in
the right places. A modifier should be right next to the thing it modifies, which
makes it easy to spot these types of errors.
Be on the lookout for:
 Descriptive phrases at the beginning of a sentence, set off from the sentence
by a comma. Remember, the thing after the descriptive phrase and the
comma MUST BE the subject. (Another approach would be to simply place
the subject in the beginning of the sentence.)
12. While getting ready for the party, the hot water ran out and Mindy was forced
to take a sponge bath with cold water.
What is the descriptive phrase at the beginning?
__________________________________________________________________
What comes right after the comma? _____________________________________
Is that what the phrase is intended to modify? _____________________________
Try it again:
12. Perhaps the most beautiful natural vegetation in the world, the West of Ireland
explodes each spring with a tremendous variety of wildflowers.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Perhaps the most beautiful natural vegetation in the world
In what may be the world’s most beautiful natural vegetation
Home to what may be the world’s most beautiful natural vegetation
Its vegetation may be the world’s most beautiful
More beautiful in its natural vegetation than anywhere else in the world
Adjectives and Adverbs
►Adjectives modify nouns; Adverbs modify verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.
ETS loves to put adjectives where it should use adverbs and vice versa. If you see
an adjective or adverb underlined, look to see what the adjective or adverb is
modifying.
1. The sneaky thief, hoping to evade police, ran quick into the alley after brazenly
A
B
C
D
stealing the jewels. No error.
E
1. If you look close at the prices, you’ll see that the “economy size” of detergent is
A
B
actually more expensive than the smaller trial size. No error.
C
D
E
Countable vs. Not Countable
What is the difference between:
 Many and Much?
 Fewer and Less?
 Number and Amount?
The difference is many, fewer, and number are used when the item you are
describing is countable; much, less, and amount are used when the item you are
describing is not countable.
 MANY people can eat MUCH pudding.
 If I had FEWER classes I could do LESS studying.
 I need a large NUMBER of tomatoes to make a large AMOUNT of tomato
sauce.
Active and Passive Voice
ETS prefers the active voice over the passive voice.
He took the SATs. is much better than The SATs were taken by him.
Active voice is a much stronger form of expression!
Comparison Words
The correct words for comparisons depend on the number of things you are
comparing: two, or more than two.




MORE (for two things) vs. MOST (for more than two)
LESS (for two things) vs. LEAST (for more than two)
BETTER (for two things) vs. BEST (for more than two)
BETWEEN (for two things) vs. AMONG (for more than two)
Try the examples below:
1. Given Nick and Jake as possible dates, Nick is the most appealing one. No error.
A
B
C
D
E
2. I am less likely to be chosen than you are. No error.
A B
C
D
E
3. Taking English is better than taking math. No error.
A
B C
D
E
4. Between the three of us she is the loudest. No error.
A
B
C
D
E
Diction
Every now and again, ETS will give you a diction error question. These are tricky
because many words look so similar that they may seem correct when they aren’t.
Look at the following words and provide the correct definition for each of them.
 IMMINENT _________________ and EMINENT ___________________
 PROSCRIBE _________________ and PRESCRIBE _________________
 INTELLIGENT _______________ and INTELLIGIBLE_______________
 COMPLIMENT_______________ and COMPLEMENT_______________
 INCREDIBLE________________ and INCREDULOUS_______________
 FARTHER_______________ and FURTHER_______________
 IRRITATED_______________ and AGGRAVATED_______________
 STATIONARY_______________ and STATIONERY_______________
 ILLICIT_______________ and ELICIT_______________
 PRINCIPLE_______________ and PRINCIPAL_______________
Try this:
1. After Karen used all of her stationary to complete her thank-you notes that
A
she had written, she mailed them immediately. No error.
B
C
D
E
What did Karen use? _________________________________________________
What does this word mean? ____________________________________________
One last thing…
Sometimes, ETS uses awkward-sounding words or phrases that sound wrong, but
are actually correct. If you come across them, remember that they are RIGHT!






ought not to be
shall
heretofore
notwithstanding
of which
whom
2. The boy whom I adore ought not to be forced to perform such lowly household
A
B
tasks as those to which you allude. No error.
C
D
E
IMPROVING PARAGRAPHS
You will encounter six questions in the Writing Section that require you to make
corrections to a “first draft” of an essay. A few things to note:
 The “20% correct” rule does not apply here.
 There are more flaws in the paragraph than you will be asked about. Don’t
even worry about them – focus on the questions you are being asked!
Step 1: The Passage
The good news is you DON’T HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE THING! It does
not matter if you understand the entire thing or if you can speak intelligently about
the passage once the test is over. What matters is getting the questions right!
Step 1: Skim the passage quickly. Don’t worry about reading every word or
understanding everything about it.
Step 2: Go right to the questions.
The following passage will be used for a number of questions in this section. Start
now by skimming it quickly:
(1) Conservation and ecology are hot topics at our school. (2) Students used
to just throw everything out in one big garbage pail. (3) Sure, it was easy. (4) It
wasn’t good for the environment.
(5) I volunteered to head up the conservation team. (6) My friends and I
decided to map out our strategies. (7) First we needed to get students to become
aware of the problem. (8) Educating was important. (9) A thing to do was
implement a recycling program. (10) We checked with the local town government.
(11) They would supply the recycling bins. (12) We had to supply the people who
would be willing to recycle. (13) The most important thing students had to learn to
do was to separate their garbage. (14) Glass in one container. (15) Plastic in
another.
(16) Our final step was to get the teachers and administrators involved. (17)
Paper can be recycled too. (18) We ran a poster contest. (19) The winners are
hanging in our halls. (20) Reuse, recycle, renew. (21) That’s our new school
motto.
Step 2: The Questions
There are three basic types of questions:
 Revision Questions: You’ll be asked to revise sentences or parts of
sentences.
 Combination Questions: You’ll have to combine two or more sentences.
 Content Questions: You’ll answer questions regarding the content of the
passages.
Revision Questions
These questions are similar to the Improving Sentences questions covered in the
previous section, so you should generally follow the same steps and watch out for
the same things. Here are some additional points to keep in mind:
 Go back to the passage and read the sentences before and after the one
you’re supposed to revise – doing this will give you the necessary context to
make the revision.
 If you spot an error, eliminate any answer choice that repeats it.
 If you don’t spot an error, go to the answer choices and eliminate any answer
choices that contain errors that you can see.
 Be careful of ambiguities like “it” or “they.”
Try one:
36. In context, what is the best way to revise sentence 9?
A thing to do was implement a recycling program.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Next, we needed to implement a recycling program.
Implementing a recycling program was a thing to do.
A recycling program needed to be implemented.
Implementing a program for recycling was the step that would be next.
A program would need to be implemented next for recycling.
Remember the best revision is the one that states the sentence in the most concise,
clear way. Eliminate answer choices that are too wordy or awkward-sounding.
Combination Questions
These ask you to revise two sentences by combining them. You can probably
answer these without even going back to the passage – just look for the answer
choice that is the most concise! Also, note if the two sentences are going in the
same or opposite directions.
37. Which of the following represents the most effective way to combine sentences
20 and 21?
Reuse, recycle, renew. That’s our school’s new motto.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Reuse, recycle, renew and you know our school’s new motto.
The new motto of our school is that: Reuse, recycle, renew.
Reuse, recycle, renew are the new motto of our school now.
The new motto of our school is reusing, recycling, and renewing.
Reuse, recycle, renew is our school’s new motto.
38. Which of the following represents the best revision of the underlined portions
of sentences 7 and 8?
First we needed to get students to become aware of the problem. Educating was
important.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
problem for educating was important
problem of educating. It was important
problem to educate was important
problem: education was important
problem for education was important to us
TIP: When combining sentences, look for a colon or a semi-colon in the answer
choices – they are usually right! And just in case you forgot…
► A colon is used for lists.
► A semi-colon separates two independent clauses.
Content Questions
ETS will sometimes ask you a question regarding the content of the passage.
There are a few different approaches:
I.
II.
III.
Which sentence should immediately follow or precede the passage?
Which sentence should be inserted into the passage?
What is the best description of the passage as a whole?
Types I and II
Be sure to keep as close as possible to the subject matter of the section your putting
a sentence into. Don’t go off on any tangents! Go back to the passage and read a
couple of lines before the sentence in question to establish context.
39. Which of the following sentences, if added after sentence (4) would best serve
to link the first paragraph to the second paragraph?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Unfortunately, the environment suffered.
Clearly, we had to make a change.
Easy things are often not good for the environment.
However, people can be very lazy.
The school was against any change.
Type III
From answering the other questions, you should have a basic idea of what the
passage is about. Think about the main ideas of the passage and the author’s
purpose.