The Writing Multiple Choice Section
In the first 25-minute section, you’ll see a chunk of Improving Sentences questions, then Identifying Sentence Errors questions, and finally, Improving Paragraphs. The last section of the test is always 10 minutes long and includes roughly 14 Improving Sentences questions. You’ll want to be particularly careful on this section because you can rest assured that you’ll be exhausted by the time you reach it.
This section is worth 70 percent of your writing score (plus 30 percent from the essay). Therefore, it is vital that you focus on learning and understanding grammar as a high multiple-choice score can profoundly affect your ultimate score.
Sentences 101
1. No verb, no sentence
Test makers sneak in long-winded sentences with no verb and hope you don’t notice. Think subject-verb agreement! Also make sure that a sentence contains both a subject and a verb in the first place!
Example:
The Peace Treat of 1868, following two years of war between the Sioux and the United States, violated by General Custer in 1874.
a. violated by General Custer in 1874.
b. violating General Custer in 1874.
c. violated in 1874, it was General Custer.
d. was violated in 1874 by General Custer.
e. in 1874, General Custer was a violator.
2. Subject-verb agreement
You may not normally pay much attention to this when you are speaking, but you pair subjects with different forms of the verb depending on whether they are singular or plural. First assess whether the subject is plural or singular. Be aware that some subjects sound plural but they’re actually singular: committee, school, business, due, group, pair, number, every, each. These are all single entities.
These matching rules apply to both the sub/verb of the independent clause (the actual sentence) as well as all of the other sub/verb pairs that appear (dependent clauses).
A note about prepositional phrases as filler: Prepositions are those little words that generally introduce those phrases that tell us where things happen or when they happen (under the refrigerator, after the concert). These can be ignored, which is the key to isolating subjects and verbs to make sure you have agreement.
Bracket the prepositional phrases in the following sentence:
The bird on the ground in the midday sun eat worms. Correction: ______
Example:
A pair of rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper, delineate the peninsula on which the city of Charleston.
a. delineate
b. delineating
c. which delineating
d. rivers that delineate
e. delineates
3. Verbs: conjugation and the infinitive
Rule: When we have two related verbs, we conjugate the first and leave the second as an infinitive (the verb in its “to be” form). She is trying to cut paper. However, in conversation we are prone to ignore this rule.
Wrong: The new security tag uses human DNA in the identification of entering employees.
Right: The new security tag uses human DNA to identify entering employees.
Example:
Kimberly says some forms of massage employs hot stones to relieve sore muscles. No error.
A B C D E
4. Subject and direct object agreement
The object of the verb must match the subject, particularly in number.
Wrong: John and Mark were hoping to become a professional pilot.
Right: ______
Wrong: Our cockatiels have always been twosomes.
Right: ______
(This refers back to singular subjects, as when a number of people form a committee.)
Example:
Many students would like to believe that high grades guarantee that they will be a
A B C
successful business person later in life. No error.
D E
5. Pronouns: That’s what they say
Pronouns represent words in order to keep us from having to repeat nouns. It’s because of pronouns that we don’t have to write sentences like this:
Susan packed Susan’s belongings into Susan’s grandmother’s bag for the trip. Susan had been dreaming about this trip since Susan was six.
Be grateful for pronouns; they make life less annoying.
All pronouns have a relationship with the word for which they stand in. The word the pronoun represents is called its antecedent. On the SAT, every sentence with a pronoun must include its antecedent. SAT test question sentences are standalone sentences, created just for the test, for which we need to have all information included right in the sentence. The point here is that you have to know who they are if they appears in the sentence.
Example:
In many states, they have laws that ban gun sales without a three-day waiting period, but Arizona is one of the exceptions.
a. they have laws that ban gun sales
b. they have laws banning gun sales
c. laws ban gun sales
d. laws banning gun sales
e. there are laws there banning the sale of guns
For those people living in rural areas, hunting is a relaxing way to spend your time that
A B C
developed from a necessity for survival. No error.
D E
Wayne, Dan, and Paul were riding their motorcycles when, sailing over a speed bump, he was suddenly suspended in midair.
a. sailing over a speed bump, he was suddenly suspended in midair.
b. sailing over a speed bump, Wayne was suddenly suspended in midair.
c. a speed bump having been sailed over, he was suddenly suspended in midair.
d. he was suddenly suspended in midair after having sailed over a speed bump.
e. Wayne was suddenly suspended in midair sailing over a speed bump.
6. Direct object pronouns versus subject pronouns
These pronouns stand in for subjects: I, you, he/she, we, they, who
These pronouns stand in for objects: me, you, him/her, we, them, whom
Subject: I’m doing the action. à I rode my bike.
Object: I’m receiving the action. à Ed gave me a rose.
Example:
Excited by the invitation sent by the National Science Fair to my partner and I, we spent
A B C
the afternoon working on perfecting our project. No error.
D E
After perusing its contents, the president asked to who the letter had been addressed.
A B C D
No error.
E
7. Passive voice and subject pronouns
With passive voice, the writer causes the subject of the sentence to receive the action of the verb. The ball was caught by JoAnn. Active voice: ______
Active voice is always considered stronger and preferable. Avoid passive voice when writing your essay; identify passive voice in the MC section, particularly using subject pronouns.
Example:
No one is more excited than me that we have decided to stop taking yoga lessons.
A B C D
No error.
E
Rewrite: ______
8. Reflexive
Some people use the reflexive pronoun (myself) to sound fancy or important; it really just makes them sound wrong.
Jack and myself were trying to fix the DVD player.
Rewrite: ______
The principal prefers that my best friend and myself lead the planning meeting.
Rewrite: ______
Note: There are only two situations where reflexive pronouns are used:
- When the verb’s action is being done to the subject: Carol pulled herself together. Sam gave himself a birthday gift.
- For emphasis: The queen herself addressed the visitor. The factory workers themselves called for longer workdays.
Example:
Jonathan and myself were the proud recipients of the annual award for community
A B C D
service hours. No error.
E
The circus performers theirselves announced that they were convinced that the tiger was
A B C
safe, despite the rumors. No error.
D E
9. Conjunctions
- One-word conjunctions must be used to join two independent clauses with a comma:
FANBOYS: ______
(also while and whereby)
-Two-word conjunctions must be used as pairs.
Not only…but also
Either…or
At once…and
Whether…or
Just as…so also
Between…and
Neither…nor
As much by…as by
No sooner had he…than he
This means that I not only chose to teach you grammar but also attempted to make it tolerable. Whether I have been successful or not, I don’t know.
Example:
The new alligator refuge, allocated 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, and is protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
a. allocated 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, and is protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
b. allocated 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
c. allocated 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, is protected by the Environmental Protection Agency.
d. is allocated 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, protection by the Environmental Protection Agency.
e. the allocation of 200 acres of unspoiled Everglades, and is under the protection by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Example:
Lake Okeechobee provides not only irrigation for surrounding communities but it is also a haven for local wildlife.
a. it is also
b. it also is
c. also
d. also it is
e. as well
Example:
Students in the dual enrollment program find their schedules at once intellectually stimulating but exhausting.
a. but exhausting.
b. but also exhausting.
c. and exhausting.
d. but exhausted.
e. also exhausted.
10. Adverbs
Adverbs describe verbs; the majority of them are created from adjectives. Careful becomes ______. Silent becomes ______. However, be aware of adverbs that don’t end in –ly: thereabout, nowhere, verbatim, later, afoot, piecemeal, soon.
The point is that on the test, you need to be particular careful about identifying all describing words, specifically in the Identifying Sentence Error section. Assess whether your word is describing a noun or a verb (using your common sense) and then decide if it needs the added –ly.
Example:
The shelves full of books in Dan’s office attested to how thorough he had researched his
A B C D
doctoral dissertation. No error.
E
11. Commas
- Connecting clauses when using a conjunction:
Wrong: George carried the firewood around the side of the house, he was careful to avoid splinters.
Right: ______
- Avoiding splices: If your sentence has only one subject and two verbs, do not use a comma.
Wrong: Elena spent the afternoon wondering what she would have done for dinner, and riding around the neighborhood on her bike.
Right: ______
- Appositives and restating: Every element of descriptive material that gets between the subject and the verb needs to be offset by commas. (Look at this singular subject/verb.)
Example:
The nylon supports kept the oldest structure in the state from crumbling, this was a misfortune many preservationists had feared.
a. this was a misfortune many preservationists had feared.
b. this was unfortunate and a fear of many preservationists.
c. a preservationist-feared misfortunate thing.
d. a misfortune many preservationists had feared.
e. preservationists have feared this misfortune.
12. Dangling modifiers
Whenever a sentence starts like this…
Singing loudly in the shower Running as fast as he could
Able to leap over a building in a single bound Lying on the bed
….a comma must come right after the phrase and whoever is doing that singing or running or lying must appear directly after the comma. Watch out for this:
Wrong: Caroling in the winter snow, the neighborhood holiday lights twinkled.
Right: ______
- Famous for its collection of Egyptian art, visitors to New York frequent the Metropolitan Museum. What is famous? ______
- Looking forward to the weekend getaway she had planned with her friend, Marianne’s last day at work seemed to go on forever. Who is looking forward? ______
13. Misplaced modifiers
Keeping sentences organized, clear and concise is the number one most important aspect of quality writing and communication. Keep descriptive prepositional phrases close to the words they modify.
Example:
Harvesting Alaskan king crab legs is expensive, but higher is its cost in human life.
a. higher is its cost in human life.
b. higher is its cost in human lives.
c. higher is its human life cost.
d. higher is its costing of human life.
e. the value of human lives lost is higher.
Sherrie originally living in the Midwest and then in the South, later settling in the Caribbean.
a. Sherrie originally living in the Midwest and then in the South, later settling in the Caribbean.
b. Sherrie first lived originally in the Midwest, in the South, and then settling in the Caribbean.
c. Sherrie had lived in the Midwest and the South, but she later settled in the Caribbean.
d. Sherrie first lived in the Midwest, moved to the South, and later settled in the Caribbean.
e. Sherrie had been living in the Midwest and the South when she was settling in the Caribbean.
14. Parallelism
By now you should be aware that efficient writing is all about keeping things concise and organized. We don’t want sentences that sound sloppy. Watch this in three ways:
- General structure: Mark ate pizza; Elizabeth ate steak.
- List of verbs: The river meandered through the countryside and emptied into the ocean.
- List of nouns: Mr. Wilson is an author, teacher, and speaker.
Wrong: Today many young people hope to become firefighters, teachers, dentists, or other careers.
Right: ______
Wrong: The members of the grass roots organization pledged to return to their respective neighborhoods and they would solicit signatures for the petition.
Right: ______
Wrong: After the boys received the pizza delivery, they began eating immediately and they continued eating until late in the evening.
Right: ______
Wrong: The knight could not ask for the princess’s hand in marriage until he was able to prove his valor and love.
Right: ______
15. Redundancy
Some SAT questions just check to see if you’re paying attention to the need of avoiding redundancy.
Example: In the modern world of today exists many instances of the influences of ancient philosophers, artists and rulers.
a. In the modern world of today exists many
b. In the modern world exists many
c. In the modern world exist many
d. The modern world of today exist many e. Today’s modern world has many
The Writing Multiple Choice Section * Mrs. Moulton