Sample SAT Writing – Answers and Explanations See how you did on our SAT Sample Writing Questions. Read below for the Answers and Explanations.
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Identifying Sentence Errors 1)
B Them is the object form of the personal pronoun that could refer to the wrestlers. But the pronoun serves as a subject in this sentence—them…were desperate—so it should be in subject form, they.
2)
C One and you are not interchangeable in this sentence. Either one and he, or you could be used, but both one and you cannot refer to the same performer of actions within one sentence. Because you is underlined, it can change to be consistent with one.
3)
C The only verb in the sentence is the singular is. But this sentence has two plural subjects, cars and stations. The verb should be plural, are, to correspond with the plural subjects.
4)
D The singular noun position should be the plural noun positions. As the phrase stands in the given sentence, people…without a position of employment seems to say that many persons lack the same position of employment, while of course, many unemployed people lack many different positions.
5)
D The verb phrase in the second clause is has become, a verb in the present perfect tense. The present perfect should express recently completed, or past but continuing action: “times have changed” (and they still do). But the future time established in the first clause requires a future perfect verb in the second clause: the job market…will have become.
6)
E There is no error in this sentence.
Improving Sentences 1)
E This sentence contains a misplaced modifier. The introductory phrase should modify the noun immediately following the comma. In choices E and C, the modified noun, the buds, is in the correct position following the introductory modifying phrase. But notice that choice C introduces a new error when it links the second clause to the first with only a comma. Only choice E corrects the original problem without adding a new one.
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2)
E The semicolon requires an independent clause. Choice C is an independent clause, but the passive verb, were given (away), makes it wordy. Only choice E gives the proper grammatical structure concisely.
3)
D This sentence contains a misplaced modifier, which quicken the erosion of the ozone layer. Choice D correctly places the modifier immediately following the noun it modifies, that is, fluorocarbons.
4)
E The problem with this sentence is faulty logic, rather than grammatical error. A catastrophe, a noun, cannot actually be when…,though it could occur when…Only choice E solves the original problem without introducing a new one. A catastrophe can be, and is, a turning point.
5)
A This sentence is correct as given.
6)
D This sentence uses a both…and…pair, so it requires parallel blocks of words following each half of the pair. Only choice D has a second block of words, how long it endures, similar to the first block, how many people it touches.
Improving Paragraphs 1)
E The word It does not clearly refer to the report, so choices A, B and D are incorrect. Only choice E includes the phrase The report. Furthermore, the rest of this sentence is grammatically consistent with the paragraph as a whole.
2)
B Choices B and E are the only ones that clearly maintain that the editorial, as opposed to the magazine itself, was stating that there could be other, less dangerous reasons for the changes in climate that we’ve been experiencing. However choice E is in the present tense, whereas the rest of the information surrounding the discussion of the report and the editorial is in the past tense. Therefore Choice B is correct.
3)
D The types of products that contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer are certain types of chemicals; therefore, choice D is the most logical and specific answer.
4)
D The essay serves as an entreaty to desist from using harmful chemicals. Therefore, the word but following the first independent clause in choice D – Consumers can definitely choose to purchase any kind of product they desire – consistently carries on the tone and meaning of the essay by suggesting that consumer should be aware of the results of their choices.
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5)
C Since the author is talking about the choices that consumers make and how their choices affect the ozone layer, choice C is best.
6)
B Again, the essay tends to focus on the responsibility consumers have in regard to the condition of the ozone layer, so choice B is best. Choices C and D are too vague in terms of the people and actions they refer to. Though the author would agree with choice A, this is not the main idea of the essay.
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions 3-5 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HA Tel: +44(0)20 7930 3130 | Email: www.kaptest.europe@kaplan.com | Web: www.kaptesteurope.com