psat writing skills - section 5

Writing Skills: Section 5

2010 PSAT/NMSQT Answer Explantations © 2010 The College Board. All Rights Reserved.

Writing Skills Question 1 Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the predication error of the original sentence by providing an appropriate noun phrase (“the use of vibrant colors”) to serve as subject complement after the verb “is”. Choice (A) produces a predication error. The verb “is” is improperly followed by an independent clause (“he uses vibrant colors”) instead of a noun or noun phrase. Choice (B) produces a pronoun error. The singular pronoun “it” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the plural noun phrase “Akira Kurosawa’s later films.” Choice (C) produces a predication error. The verb “is” is improperly followed by a subordinate clause (“when they use vibrant colors”) instead of a noun or noun phrase. Choice (E) produces a predication error. The verb “is” is improperly followed by a prepositional phrase (“by using vibrant colors”) instead of a noun or noun phrase.


Writing Skills Question 2 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the subordination error of the original sentence by using the relative pronoun “that” (instead of the conjunction “while”) to introduce the subordinate clause. Choice (A) produces improper subordination. The concessive conjunction “while” is inappropriately used to subordinate a clause (“it may soon make videotapes obsolete”) that does not contrast with the sentence’s main clause (“The DVD is a recent invention”). There is no logical opposition between the idea that the DVD is a recent invention and the idea that it may soon make videotapes obsolete. Choice (B) produces wordiness. The words “Being that it is” constitute an awkward and unnecessary addition to the sentence “A recent invention, the DVD may soon make videotapes obsolete.” Choice (D) produces a pronoun error. The pronoun “they” has no plural antecedent in the sentence and is, in any case, grammatically unnecessary: the verb “may” already has “The DVD” as its subject. Choice (E) produces a coordination error. The conjunction “and” improperly joins two expressions of unequal grammatical status: a prepositional phrase (“Because the DVD is new”) and an independent clause (“it may soon make videotapes obsolete”).


Writing Skills Question 3 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the error of the original sentence by using a participial phrase (“Having come as far as the Great Salt Lake”) to modify the subject (“the homesteaders”) of the sentence’s main clause. Choice (A) produces improper coordination. The conjunction “and” improperly joins two expressions of unequal grammatical status: a noun phrase (“The homesteaders having come as far as the Great Salt Lake”) and an independent clause (“they did not want to turn back without establishing land claims”). Choice (B) produces wordiness. The pronoun “they” is grammatically unnecessary: the verb phrase “did not want to turn back” already has the noun phrase “the homesteaders” as its subject. Choice (D) produces a verb form error. The infinitive phrase “To come as far as the Great Salt Lake” is improperly used instead of a participial phrase (“Having come as far as the Great Salt Lake”) to express an action occurring before the action of the sentence’s main verb (“did not want”). Choice (E) produces a sentence fragment. The sentence consists of three subordinate clauses (introduced by “When” and “so” and “even though”); it lacks the independent clause needed in a grammatically complete sentence.


Writing Skills Question 4 Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the wordiness of the original sentence by eliminating unnecessary phrases. Choice (A) produces wordiness. The phrase “in length” unnecessarily specifies information implicit in the adjective “shorter,” and the relative clause “he wrote” unnecessarily specifies information implicit in the noun phrase “the original work.” Choice (C) produces an idiom error. The conjunction “because” is inappropriately used (instead of “that”) to complement the noun “reason.” Choice (D) produces an idiom error. The preposition “of” is inappropriately used (instead of the conjunction “that”) to complement the noun “reason.” Choice (E) produces wordiness. The participle “being” is needlessly inserted between the noun “reason” and the conjunction “that.”


Writing Skills Question 5 Choice (A) is correct. The relative pronoun “whom” is appropriately used after the preposition “of” to refer to “powerful entertainment-industry figures.” Choice (B) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“In 1968 the singer Eartha Kitt spoke . . . figures” and “many of them blacklisted her for several years”) are improperly joined by only a comma. Choice (C) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“In 1968 the singer Eartha Kitt spoke . . . figures” and “many of these people blacklisted her for several years”) are improperly joined by only a comma. Choice (D) produces a pronoun error. The pronoun “which” is improperly used (instead of “who”) to refer to humans. Choice (E) produces improper subordination. The expression “that, out of many,” is an unidiomatic and confusing variant of “many of whom.”


Writing Skills Question 6 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the modification error of the original sentence by using the superlative adjectival phrase “most colorful” in a comparison of more than two things (“many deserts”). Choice (A) produces a modification error. The comparative adjectival phrase “more colorful” is improperly used (instead of the superlative “most colorful”) in a comparison of more than two things (“many deserts”). Choice (B) produces a modification error. The comparative adjectival phrase “more colorful” is improperly used (instead of the superlative “most colorful”) in a comparison of more than two things (“many deserts”). Choice (D) produces a modification error. The comparative adjectival phrase “more colorful” is improperly used (instead of the superlative “most colorful”) in a comparison of more than two things (“many deserts”). Choice (E) produces a modification error. The positive adjective phrase “strangely beautiful” is improperly used (instead of the superlative phrase “the most strangely beautiful”) after the prepositional phrase “Of the many deserts in the United States.”


Writing Skills Question 7 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the idiom error of the original sentence by using the prepositional phrase “from completing” to complement the verb “prevented.” Choice (A) produces an idiom error. An infinitive (“to complete”) is inappropriately used to complement the verb “prevented.” Choice (B) produces an idiom error. The preposition “of” is inappropriately used to complement the verb “having completed.” Choice (D) produces diction and idiom errors. As the object of the verb “prevented,” the gerund phrase “the completing . . . by Schubert” is an awkward and unidiomatic variant of the noun phrase “Schubert’s completion.” Choice (E) produces an idiom error within a weak passive construction. The preposition “from” is needed before the gerund phrase “being completed” in a clause that makes very awkward use of the passive voice.


Writing Skills Question 8 Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the modification error of the original sentence by making “Albert Einstein” the subject of the sentence’s main clause. Choice (A) produces a dangling modifier. The phrase “while still a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office” does not logically modify the subject of the sentence’s main clause, “four articles written by Albert Einstein.” The sentence illogically suggests that the four articles were a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. Choice (B) produces a dangling modifier. The phrase “while still a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office” does not logically modify the subject of the sentence’s main clause, “four articles.” The sentence illogically suggests that the four articles were a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. Choice (C) produces a dangling modifier. The phrase “while still a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office” does not logically modify the subject of the sentence’s main clause, “four articles that Albert Einstein wrote.” The sentence illogically suggests that the four articles were a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. Choice (E) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“In 1905 . . . Albert Einstein wrote four articles” and “they laid the foundation of modern physics”) are joined by only a comma.


Writing Skills Question 9 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the tense sequence error of the original sentence by using the present tense (“keep”) in the first clause, which is consistent with the use of a future construction (“will . . . help”) in the second clause. Choice (A) produces a tense sequence error. The use of a past perfect construction (“had kept”) in the first clause is inconsistent with the use of a future construction (“will . . . help”) in the second clause. Choice (B) produces a tense sequence error. The use of a past construction (“could have kept”) in the first clause is inconsistent with the use of a future construction (“will . . . help”) in the second clause. Choice (D) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “they” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “what you experience.” Choice (E) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “they” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “what you experience.”


Writing Skills Question 10 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the modification error of the original sentence by making “scientists” the subject of the sentence’s main clause. The sentence logically suggests that scientists were constrained by the small amounts of pheromones available for them to study. Choice (A) produces a dangling modifier. The participial phrase “Constrained by the small amounts typically available to them for study” does not logically modify the subject of the sentence’s main clause, “the analysis of pheromones.” The sentence illogically suggests that the analysis of pheromones is constrained by the small amounts of something available for pheromones to study. Choice (B) produces a pronoun error. There is no noun phrase in the sentence to which the pronoun “this” can logically refer. Choice (D) produces redundancy. The pronoun “they” is unnecessary before the verb “are,” which already has the noun “scientists” as its subject. Choice (E) produces a sentence fragment. The participle “becoming” appears where a finite verb (“become”) is needed to create a grammatically complete sentence.


Writing Skills Question 11 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the logical comparison error of the original sentence by making “bats’ wings” the subject of the clause and “birds’ wings” the object of “unlike,” so that the wings of bats are logically compared with the wings of birds. Choice (A) produces wordiness and an illogical comparison. The participle “being” is awkward and unnecessary before “unlike,” and the sentence illogically compares bat wings with birds rather than with bird wings. Choice (B) produces wordiness and an illogical comparison. The phrase “by being” is awkward and unnecessary before “unlike,” and the sentence illogically compares the wings of bats with birds rather than with the wings of birds. Choice (D) produces a coordination error. The conjunction “and” improperly joins two expressions of unequal grammatical status: a noun phrase (“bats’ wings”) and an adjectival phrase (“unlike birds’ wings”). Choice (E) produces improper coordination. The verb phrase “do not contain hollow bones” is improperly joined to the verb phrase “are unlike bird wings” by a comma rather than by the conjunction “and.”


Writing Skills Question 12 Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the pronoun error of the original sentence by using the singular pronoun “its” to refer to the singular noun phrase “The blue whale.” Choice (A) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “The blue whale.” Choice (B) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “The blue whale.” Choice (C) produces a coordination error. The conjunction “and” is improperly used to join two expressions of unequal grammatical status: a noun phrase (“a long, streamlined body”) and an independent clause (“almost one-fourth of the total length of its body is its head”). Choice (E) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “The blue whale.”


Writing Skills Question 13 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the comma-splice error of the original sentence by replacing the second independent clause with the appositive noun phrase “a time when climate modeling was still in its infancy.” Choice (A) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“The National Academy of Sciences undertook its first rigorous study of global warming in the late 1970s” and “this was a time when climate modeling was still in its infancy”) are improperly joined by only a comma. Choice (B) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“The National Academy of Sciences undertook its first rigorous study of global warming in the late 1970s” and “it was a time when climate modeling was still in its infancy”) are improperly joined by only a comma. Choice (D) produces wordiness. The words “it being” are unnecessarily placed before the appositive phrase “a time when climate modeling was still in its infancy.” Choice (E) produces a dangling modifier. The participial phrase “being when climate modeling was still in its infancy” does not logically modify the subject (“The National Academy of Sciences”) of the sentence’s main clause. The sentence illogically suggests that the National Academy of Sciences was a time when climate modeling was in its infancy.


Writing Skills Question 14 Choice (A) is correct. It appropriately uses the relative pronoun “who” without a comma to introduce a restrictive subordinate clause (“who advocated both the abolition of slavery and the advancement of women’s rights”). Choice (B) produces a misplaced modifier. The word “both” is improperly placed immediately before “an advocate” rather than immediately before “the abolition of slavery.” As a result, the sentence illogically suggests that Sojourner Truth was the advancement of women’s rights rather than an advocate of the advancement of women’s rights. Choice (C) produces a misplaced modifier. The word “both” is improperly placed immediately before “advocating” rather than immediately before “the abolition of slavery.” As a result, the sentence illogically suggests that Sojourner Truth was the advancement of women’s rights rather than advocating the advancement of women’s rights. Choice (D) produces a sentence fragment. There is no main verb to accompany “Sojourner Truth,” the apparent subject of the sentence. The verb “advocated” cannot serve as the main verb because it is embedded in a subordinate clause. Choice (E) produces a sentence fragment. There is no main verb to accompany “Sojourner Truth,” the apparent subject of the sentence. The verbs “was” and “advocated” cannot serve as main verbs because they are embedded in a subordinate clause.


Writing Skills Question 15 Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the idiom error of the original sentence by replacing an awkward relative clause (“that have been treatment for centuries for common ailments locally ”) with a passive participial phrase (“used locally for centuries to treat common ailments”) that logically modifies the sentence’s subject. Choice (A) produces an idiom error. The phrase “have been treatment . . . for” is an unidiomatic variant of “have been used to treat.” Choice (B) produces an idiom error. The preposition “by” is inappropriately used (instead of “with”) to indicate the instrument with which ailments were treated. The sentence illogically suggests that the African plants were themselves treating ailments rather than being used by humans to treat ailments. Choice (C) produces a dangling modifier. The present participle “treating” does not logically modify “Some African plants,” the subject of the sentence’s main clause. The sentence illogically suggests that the African plants were themselves treating ailments rather than being used by humans to treat ailments. Choice (E) produces a subject-verb disagreement. The singular verb phrase “has been used” does not agree with the plural antecedent (“plants”) of its subject (“which”).


Writing Skills Question 16 Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the logical comparison error of the original sentence by allowing the conjunction “than” to correlate “Restaurant patrons in the 1990s” and “restaurant patrons in the 1970s and 1980s,” so that restaurant patrons of one period are logically compared with those of another period. Choice (A) produces an illogical comparison. The conjunction “than” correlates “Restaurant patrons in the 1990s” and “the 1970s and 1980s,” so that restaurant patrons in the 1990s are inappropriately compared with the decades of the 1970s and 1980s (rather than with restaurant patrons in the 1970s and 1980s). The sentence illogically suggests that the decades of the 1970s and 1980s ordered vegetarian dishes. Choice (B) produces an illogical comparison. The conjunction “than” correlates “Restaurant patrons in the 1990s” and “the 1970s and 1980s,” so that restaurant patrons in the 1990s are inappropriately compared with the decades of the 1970s and 1980s (rather than with restaurant patrons in the 1970s and 1980s). The sentence illogically suggests that the decades of the 1970s and 1980s ordered vegetarian dishes. Choice (C) produces an illogical comparison. The conjunction “than” correlates “Restaurant patrons in the 1990s” and “the foods of the 1970s and 1980s,” so that restaurant patrons in the 1990s are inappropriately compared with the foods of the 1970s and 1980s. The sentence illogically suggests that the foods of the 1970s and 1980s ordered vegetarian dishes. Choice (D) produces a correlation error. The conjunction “than” inappropriately correlates two expressions of unequal grammatical status: a noun phrase (“Restaurant patrons in the 1990s” and a prepositional phrase (“with the restaurant patrons in the 1970s and 1980s”).


Writing Skills Question 17 Choice (E) is correct. It avoids the logical comparison and idiom errors of the original sentence by providing an appropriately impersonal pronoun (“Nothing” instead of “No one”) as subject of the main clause and using a proper conjunction (“as” instead of “like”) to subordinate the clause of comparison. An action, Mr. Bruce’s departure, is appropriately compared with a nonexistent thing rather than a nonexistent person. Choice (A) produces an illogical comparison and an idiom error. A nonexistent person (“No one”) is inappropriately compared with an action (“Mr. Bruce’s departure”). Moreover, the preposition “like” is in this context an unidiomatic substitute for “as much as.” Choice (B) produces an illogical comparison and an idiom error. A nonexistent person (“No one”) is inappropriately compared with an action (“Mr. Bruce’s departure”). Moreover, the preposition “like” is improperly used to introduce a subordinate clause (“Mr. Bruce’s departure will”). Choice (C) produces an idiom error. The expression “like none other” is an unidiomatic substitute for “as nothing else will” or “as no one else’s will.” Choice (D) produces a vague pronoun. The referent of the pronoun “any” is unclear.


Writing Skills Question 18 Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the pronoun error of the original sentence by using the singular pronoun “its” to refer to the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.” Choice (A) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.” Choice (C) produces a pronoun error. The plural pronoun “their” does not agree with its apparent antecedent, the singular noun phrase “Every building within a twenty-mile radius of the downtown business district.” Choice (D) produces a sentence fragment. The resulting expression is a long noun phrase, lacking the main verb needed to form a grammatically complete sentence. The verb “interrupted” cannot serve as the sentence’s main verb because it is embedded in a subordinate clause. Choice (E) produces a sentence fragment. The resulting expression is a long noun phrase, lacking the main verb needed to form a grammatically complete sentence. The verb “had” cannot serve as the sentence’s main verb because it is embedded in a subordinate clause.


Writing Skills Question 19 Choice (C) is correct. It avoids the parallelism error of the original sentence by placing the infinitive phrase “write letters” after “than,” continuing the pattern of infinitive phrases (“to send e-mails” and “make phone calls to colleagues and friends”) established earlier in the sentence. Choice (A) produces a lack of parallelism. The use of a noun (“letters”) after the conjunction “than” breaks the pattern of infinitive phrases (“to send e-mails” and “make phone calls to colleagues and friends”) established earlier in the sentence. Choice (B) produces a misplaced modifier. The prepositional phrase “instead of letters” is illogically placed after the noun phrase “colleagues and friends” rather than after “e-mails,” the noun it logically modifies. Choice (D) produces a modification error. An infinitive phrase (“to write letters”) is improperly used as the object of a preposition (“instead of”). Choice (E) produces a misplaced modifier. The expression “rather than written letters” is illogically placed after the noun phrase “colleagues and friends” rather than after “e-mails,” the noun it logically modifies.


Writing Skills Question 20 Choice (A) is correct. The expression “Although far more eloquent a speaker” is an acceptable shortening of the subordinate clause “Although he was far more eloquent a speaker.” It is likewise acceptable to place a comparative adjectival phrase (“more eloquent”) before the noun phrase (“a speaker”) that it modifies . Choice (B) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“He was a far more eloquent speaker” and “the incumbent made fewer concrete proposals in his campaign speech than the challenger did in hers”) are improperly joined by only a comma. Choice (C) produces a diction error. The complex preposition “In contrast to” is inappropriately used in place of the simple preposition “Despite.” Choice (D) produces a modification error. A nonpossessive pronoun with a participial modifier (“him being”) is inappropriately used instead of a possessive pronoun with a gerund (“his being”) or unmodified gerund (“being”) as the object of the preposition “Despite.” Choice (E) produces a comma splice. Two independent clauses (“As a speaker he was more eloquent” and “the incumbent made fewer concrete proposals in his campaign speech than the challenger did in hers”) are improperly joined by only a comma.


Writing Skills Question 21 The error occurs at (A). The use of the present tense (“is traveling”) in the sentence’s main clause is inconsistent with the use of the past tense (“earned”) in a clause introduced by “After.” There is no error at (B). The conjunction “where” is appropriately placed immediately after its logical antecedent, “the United States.” There is no error at (C). The preposition “as” is idiomatically used to complement the verb “performed.” There is no error at (D). The expression “before large crowds” begins a prepositional phrase that appropriately modifies the verb “performed.” Corrected sentence: After she earned her pilot’s license in 1921, Bessie Coleman traveled from Paris to the United States, where she performed as a stunt pilot before large crowds of admirers.


Writing Skills Question 22 The error occurs at (B). The use of the singular noun phrase “a director of Westerns” (instead of “directors of Westerns”) is inconsistent with the use of the plural noun phrase “Anthony Mann and John Ford” earlier in the sentence. There is no error at (A). The noun “Much” is properly used with “of” before the mass noun “success.” There is no error at (C). The preposition “to” is idiomatically used to complement the participle “attributed.” There is no error at (D). The infinitive “to make” is idiomatically used to complement the adjective “necessary,” and the adjective “such” has an appropriate antecedent in “Westerns.” Corrected sentence: Much of the success of Anthony Mann and John Ford as directors of Westerns has been attributed to their knowledge of the technical work necessary to make such films.


Writing Skills Question 23 The error occurs at (A). The use of the participle “revealing” (instead of the finite verb “reveal”) creates a sentence fragment; there is no main verb to accompany the sentence’s apparent subject, “Customer surveys.” There is no error at (B). The preposition “as” is properly used to continue the comparative construction begun by “as important,” and the gerund “arriving” is parallel to the gerund “receiving” later in the sentence. There is no error at (C). The conjunction “and” is properly used to coordinate two adverbial elements: “safely” and “on time.” There is no error at (D). The singular verb phrase “is receiving” agrees with its singular subject, “a major concern of airline passengers.” Corrected sentence: Customer surveys reveal that a major concern of airline passengers, almost as important as arriving safely and on time, is receiving accurate information from the airlines.


Writing Skills Question 24 The error occurs at (C). The plural verb “appear” does not agree with its singular subject, “Calcium.” There is no error at (A). The relative pronoun “whose” is appropriately placed after its antecedent (“Calcium”) and immediately before the noun phrase it modifies (“role in metabolism”). There is no error at (B). The singular verb “is” agrees with its singular subject, “whose role in metabolism.” There is no error at (D). The conjunction “when” is properly used to subordinate an elliptical clause in which “consumed” stands for “it [calcium] is consumed.” Corrected sentence: Calcium, whose role in metabolism is not yet fully understood by nutritionists, appears to stoke the body’s fat-burning furnace when consumed daily in recommended amounts.


Writing Skills Question 25 The correct answer is (E). There is no error in the sentence. There is no error at (A). The conjunction “Neither” is properly used with its correlative “nor” to coordinate two noun phrases, “the catalog of the exhibit” and “the museum guide.” There is no error at (B). The verb “explained” is well suited to either of its alternative subjects, “the catalog of the exhibit” or “the museum guide.” There is no error at (C). The adverb “enough” is properly placed after the word it modifies, the adverb “thoroughly,” which is properly used to modify the verb “explained.” There is no error at (D). The infinitive “to satisfy” is idiomatically used to complement the adverb “enough.” Correct sentence: Neither the catalog of the exhibit nor the museum guide explained the technical aspects of Picasso’s paintings thoroughly enough to satisfy inquisitive art students.


Writing Skills Question 26 The error occurs at (D). Neither the singular pronoun “his” nor the singular pronoun “her” agrees with its apparent antecedent, the plural “employees.” There is no error at (A). The singular verb “draws” agrees with its singular subject, “the Silver Key restaurant.” There is no error at (B). The adverb “there” is properly placed after the noun “employees” to create the noun phrase “employees there.” There is no error at (C). The infinitive “to sit” is idiomatically used to complement the noun phrase “a chance.” Corrected sentence: Because the Silver Key restaurant draws such large crowds, employees there are extremely busy and seldom have a chance to sit and rest their feet.


Writing Skills Question 27 The error occurs at (A). The plural verb phrase “have had” does not agree with its singular subject, “Political leadership in many countries.” There is no error at (B). The preposition “in” is idiomatically used with the noun “areas” as object, and the adjective “some” is appropriately placed immediately before the noun phrase (“nonpolitical areas”) that it modifies. There is no error at (C). The expression “such as” is appropriately used to cite an example. There is no error at (D). The adverb “even” is properly placed before the verb phrase (“influences everyday language”) that it is intended to emphasize. Corrected sentence: Political leadership in many countries has had an impact in some nonpolitical areas, such as the arts, and even influences everyday language.


Writing Skills Question 28 The error occurs at (A). The insertion of the words “the case with” before “Andrea” creates a faulty comparison. The human author of the sentence is illogically contrasted with an abstraction (the case with Andrea) rather than with another human (Andrea herself). There is no error at (B). The adjective “tired” provides an appropriate subject complement after “was,” and the use of the preposition “after” is consistent with the use of the past tense “was.” There is no error at (C). The noun phrase “all weekend” functions adverbially, appropriately modifying the gerund “working,” and the pronoun “I” is properly cast in the nominative case to serve as subject of the sentence. There is no error at (D). The infinitive “to hear” is appropriately used to express purpose. Corrected sentence: Unlike Andrea, who was tired after working all weekend, I wanted to go to the state capitol building to hear the governor’s speech.


Writing Skills Question 29 The correct answer is (E). There is no error in the sentence. There is no error at (A). The plural pronoun “their” agrees with its plural antecedent, “Members of the debate team.” There is no error at (B). The prepositional phrase “in argumentation” appropriately modifies the noun “skills.” There is no error at (C). The plural verb phrase “have been practicing” agrees with its plural subject, “Members of the debate team.” There is no error at (D). The participle “competing” is properly coordinated with “practicing” earlier in the sentence, and the preposition “on” is idiomatically used with “occasion” as object. Corrected sentence: Members of the debate team, determined to hone their skills in argumentation, have been practicing each day and competing on every possible occasion.


Writing Skills Question 30 The error occurs at (A). The sentence has no referential subject for the initial participial phrase to modify; “Not carefully watching the clock” cannot modify the nonreferential expletive “there,” and it cannot logically modify the noun phrase “enough time.” There is no error at (B). The adjective “enough” is appropriately placed before “time,” the noun it modifies. There is no error at (C). The infinitive “to explain” is idiomatically used to complement the noun phrase “enough time.” There is no error at (D). The adverb “clearly” properly modifies the verb “to explain.” Corrected sentence: Because he [she] had not been carefully watching the clock, there was not enough time for the teacher to explain clearly the assignment for the following week.


Writing Skills Question 31 The error occurs at (C). The adjective “serious” is improperly used (instead of the adverb “seriously”) to modify the verb phrase “has . . . been taken.” There is no error at (A). The expression “Even though” is properly used to introduce a contrasting clause. There is no error at (B). The auxiliary verb “been” is properly used as a marker of the passive voice in the verb phrase “has . . . been taken.” There is no error at (D). The conjunction “than” is properly used to subordinate an elliptical clause of comparison in which “comedy” stands for “comedy has been taken.” Corrected sentence: Even though comedy can convey profound messages about humankind, tragedy has usually been taken more seriously than comedy.


Writing Skills Question 32 The error occurs at (C). The plain verb form “suppose” is improperly used (instead of the past participle “supposed”) to create a verb phrase in the passive voice. There is no error at (A). The conjunction “Although” is appropriately used to introduce a contrasting clause. There is no error at (B). The conjunction “as” is properly used to introduce the second element of a comparison begun by “as meticulously prepared.” There is no error at (D). The adjective “unexpected” is properly placed immediately before the noun phrase (“resignations of several workers”) that it modifies. Corrected sentence: Although the work schedule had been as meticulously prepared as it was supposed to be, the completion of the job was delayed by the unexpected resignations of several workers.


Writing Skills Question 33 The error occurs at (B). The singular verb “lies” does not agree with its plural subject, “Madagascar and the Seychelles.” There is no error at (A). The prepositional phrase “off the eastern coast of Africa” is an appropriate adverbial complement for the verb “lie.” There is no error at (C). The past participle “created” is properly combined with “were” to form a verb phrase in the passive voice. There is no error at (D). The past participle “preserved” is properly coordinated with the past participle “created,” and the preposition “by” is properly used to indicate the agent (i.e., what performs the action) of the passive verb phrase. Corrected sentence: In the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa lie Madagascar and the Seychelles, which were created and preserved by continental shifts.


Writing Skills Question 34 The error occurs at (A). The singular verb “seems” does not agree with its plural subject, “many ways.” There is no error at (B). The infinitive “to solve” is idiomatically used to complement the noun “ways.” There is no error at (C). The auxiliary “will” is properly combined with the plain form of the phrasal verb “bring about” to create a future construction that is consistent with the use of the present tense (“seems”) in the subordinate clause. There is no error at (D). The past participle “desired” is appropriately placed immediately before the noun (“result”) that it modifies. Corrected sentence: Although there seem to be many ways to solve the puzzle, only one method will bring about the desired result.


Writing Skills Question 35 Choice (D) is correct. It produces a grammatical sentence (“The book is of historical importance because it is an eighteenth-century travelogue”) that effectively develops a point made in sentence 1. Choice (A) is unsatisfactory. Adding “The book based on history” to the beginning of sentence 2 would produce an ungrammatical sentence: “The book based on history, it is an eighteenth-century travelogue.” The pronoun “it” needlessly duplicates the reference of “The book,” which is awkwardly modified by the participial phrase “based on history.” Choice (B) is unsatisfactory. Adding “The book being historical” to the beginning of sentence 2 would produce an ungrammatical sentence: “The book being historical, it is an eighteenth-century travelogue.” The pronoun “it” needlessly duplicates the reference of “The book,” which is awkwardly modified by the participial phrase “being historical.” Choice (C) is unsatisfactory. Adding “It should be noted that the book, of historical import,” to the beginning of sentence 2 would produce an ungrammatical sentence: “It should be noted that the book, of historical import, it is an eighteenth-century travelogue.” The pronoun “it” needlessly duplicates the reference of “The book.” Choice (E) is unsatisfactory. Adding “In other words, historians like the book because” to the beginning of sentence 2 would produce a misleading sentence: “In other words, historians like the book because it is an eighteenth-century travelogue.” The transitional phrase “In other words” suggests that the sentence paraphrases the previous sentence, when in fact sentence 1 says nothing about historians or their reasons for liking the book.


Writing Skills Question 36 Choice (C) is correct. Changing “they were reading widely” to “was popular” effectively eliminates the vague pronoun “they” from sentence 4. Choice (A) is unsatisfactory. Substituting “that is” for “however” would suggest that the sentence rephrases a thought the author had just expressed, when in fact sentence 4 moves on to a new and contrasting point. Moreover, the vague pronoun “they” would remain uncorrected. Choice (B) is unsatisfactory. Deleting “however” would eliminate a helpful indication that the point made in sentence 4 (about the book’s importance as a combination of spiritual autobiography and slave narrative) contrasts with the point made in sentence 1 (about the book’s importance as a historical and literary work). Moreover, the vague pronoun “they” would remain uncorrected. Choice (D) is unsatisfactory. Changing “at the time” to “then” would not alter the essential meaning or structure of the sentence. Moreover, the vague pronoun “they” would remain uncorrected. Choice (E) is unsatisfactory. Deleting “which some say Equiano invented” would eliminate a pertinent and interesting piece of information. Moreover, the vague pronoun “they” would remain uncorrected.


Writing Skills Question 37 Choice (B) is correct. It appropriately uses the conjunction “but” to coordinate contrasting clauses and eliminates the awkward and unnecessary “of that” that appeared after “instead” in the original sentence 9. Choice (A) is unsatisfactory. It introduces a confusing shift of tense. The use of the present tense (“seeks”) to continue the narrative is inconsistent with the use of the past tense (“found”) in sentence 7. Choice (C) is unsatisfactory. It introduces a confusing shift of tense. The use of the present tense (“does”) to continue the narrative is inconsistent with the use of the past tense (“found”) in sentence 7. Choice (D) is unsatisfactory. It fails to signal the contrast between the two clauses with an adversative connector such as “but” or “even though.” The use of “instead” to signal a contrast is ineffective here because it is unclear what alternative that word refers to. Choice (E) is unsatisfactory. It produces an ungrammatical sentence. A semicolon, which should join two independent clauses, is improperly used to join an awkwardly constructed independent clause (“Becoming a man of virtue was what he was seeking”) and an improperly punctuated subordinate clause (“although, many other people would become corrupted”).


Writing Skills Question 38 Choice (A) is correct. The third paragraph simply indicates that Equiano initially accepted slavery but then came to be critical of it, so it would be appropriate for the writer to elaborate on Equiano’s changing views of slavery. Choice (B) is unsatisfactory. The third paragraph concerns Equiano’s attitude toward slavery as a general practice, so a distinction between the slave trade as practiced in England and the slave trade as practiced elsewhere would not be directly relevant. Choice (C) is unsatisfactory. Geographic details about the places to which Equiano traveled would not be pertinent to the third paragraph’s discussion of Equiano’s changing views of slavery. Choice (D) is unsatisfactory. A survey of examples of eighteenth-century travel writing would have no direct relevance to the discussion of Equiano’s changing views of slavery in the third paragraph. Choice (E) is unsatisfactory. An explanation of the conditions on board British ships would not further the discussion of Equiano’s changing views of slavery in the third paragraph.


Writing Skills Question 39 Choice (B) is correct. A sentence explaining the meaning of “spiritual autobiography” would best be placed immediately after sentence 4, the first sentence in which the term is used. Choice (A) is unsatisfactory. A sentence explaining the meaning of an unfamiliar term should occur immediately after the term is first used. If placed before sentence 1, this sentence would occur long before the first use of the term “spiritual autobiography” in sentence 4. Choice (C) is unsatisfactory. A sentence explaining the meaning of an unfamiliar term should occur immediately after the term is first used. If placed immediately before sentence 8, this sentence would occur well after the first use of the term “spiritual autobiography” in sentence 4. Choice (D) is unsatisfactory. A sentence explaining the meaning of an unfamiliar term should occur immediately after the term is first used. If placed immediately after sentence 10, this sentence would occur long after the first use of the term “spiritual autobiography” in sentence 4. Choice (E) is unsatisfactory. A sentence explaining the meaning of an unfamiliar term should occur immediately after the term is first used. If placed immediately after sentence 13, this sentence would occur long after the first use of the term “spiritual autobiography” in sentence 4.

psat writing skills - section 5

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