SAT Tutor's Blog » Writing

SAT Writing: Adverbs

Adam — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:22:31 +0000

About once per test, an SAT Error ID question will leave the ‘ly’ off the end of an adverb. An adverb is a word, usually ending in ‘ly’ (like ‘clearly’, ‘mostly’ or ‘faithfully’), that helps describe (or modify) an adjective, a verb, or another adverb. Incorrect: Researchers examined the constant changing river bed for signs [...]

SAT Writing: Watch Out for Sentence Fragments

Adam — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:08:00 +0000

About two times per test, an SAT Writing question will include a 'Sentence Fragment' - in other words, a sentence that is simply not complete. more...

SAT Writing: Faulty Comparisons

Adam — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Watch out for SAT Writing questions that compare two things that are not the same type. more...

SAT Writing: How are Writing Sections Organized?

Adam — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:49:46 +0000

SAT Writing includes an essay question and two sections of multiple choice questions. The Essay is always the FIRST section on the SAT. The bulk of multiple choice questions then come in one big, 25 minute section of 35 questions, and which appears somewhere between Sections 2-7. Additionally, a short, ten minute section of 14 [...]

SAT Writing: Improving Sentences Tips

Adam — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:38:34 +0000

Each Improving Sentence question provides a sentence and asks to you to change the underlined portion if necessary. Once in awhile, the underlined portion may include the whole sentence, but usually only a part of the sentence is underlined. Answer choice (A) is always ‘no error’. Answer choice (A) simply repeats the underlined portion of [...]

SAT Writing: Redundant Comparisons

Adam — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:06:58 +0000

On SAT Writing multiple choice questions, watch out for sentences that use extra comparing words where they are not needed. Incorrect: The windows are more cleaner than they were before. Correct:The windows are cleaner than they were before. Incorrect: Carrots are my most favorite vegetable. Correct: Carrots are my favorite vegetable.

SAT Essay: What can I write about?

Adam — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:20:00 +0000

What can I write my SAT essay about? In a word, anything. The SAT is not particularly interested in what topic you write about, only that you write well about it. Ideas can come from anywhere, so do not feel constricted to academic or literary examples. Friends, family, current events, extracurricular activities, even your favorite [...]

SAT Writing: On Error ID’s, Embrace the (E)!

Adam — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:09:00 +0000

On the Error ID part of the SAT Writing section, always answer (E) whenever you do not see an error. Each Error ID question consists of a single sentence with four possible grammatical errors underlined. It is up to you to spot which of the underlined choices, if any, contains an error. Answer choice (E) is ‘No error', and appears on average the same number of times as any other answer choice. Yet while 'No error' appears just as often as any other answer, many students shy away from answering (E), and instead tend to skip questions when they do not see an error.

Skipping an Error ID question because you do not see an error is a poor strategy that almost always results in lost points. Let's see why:

SAT Writing: Parallelism

Adam — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:25:54 +0000

About three or four times per SAT, a Writing question will test your ability to spot problems with a sentence’s ‘parallelism’. Parallelism requires that similar phrases be written in similar (ie., ‘parallel’) grammatical form. While the SAT tests parallelism in a number of ways, a typical question of this type will include a list in [...]

SAT Writing: Noun Agreement

Adam — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:35:22 +0000

Like pronouns, nouns that refer to other nouns must agree in number. Incorrect: Alma and Christie both found jobs as a lifeguard for the summer. Problem: ‘lifeguard’ is singular but ‘jobs’ is plural. Alma and Christie can’t both be one lifeguard. Correct: Alma and Christie both found jobs as lifeguards for the summer. Tip: Whenever [...]