SAT Writing and Language 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "When he saw the flash of lightning, he felt extreme pain all over his body." in Line 1.</span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- When he saw the flash of lightning, he felt extreme pain, all over his body.</span></label></li>
- When he saw the flash, of lightning, he felt extreme pain all over his body.</span></label></li>
- When he saw, the flash, of lightning he felt extreme pain all over his body.</span></label></li>
Correct answer: NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
The sentence 'When he saw the flash of lightning, he felt extreme pain all over his body' is grammatically correct as written. A comma is appropriately used after the introductory dependent clause ('When he saw the flash of lightning') to separate it from the main independent clause ('he felt extreme pain all over his body'). This comma usage follows standard English punctuation rules for complex sentences.
Question 2: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "It was why he stayed, to get the job done" in Line 2.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
- It was why he stayed to get the job done</span></label></li>
- He stayed to get the job done.</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- It was why he stayed. To get the job done.</span></label></li>
Correct answer: He stayed to get the job done.</span></label></li>
The original sentence is unnecessarily wordy and slightly awkward. The most effective revision, 'He stayed to get the job done,' improves conciseness and clarity by directly stating the action and its purpose without the introductory 'It was why.' This streamlined phrasing conveys the same meaning more efficiently and naturally, making it the best stylistic choice.
Question 3: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "If people just did as he told them, he won’t even be out here." in Line 2.</span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
- If people just did as he told them, he wouldn't even be out here.</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- If people just did as he told them he wouldn't even be out here</span></label></li>
- If people just did as he told them, he wouldn't, even be out here.</span></label></li>
Correct answer: If people just did as he told them, he wouldn't even be out here.</span></label></li>
The sentence uses an 'if' clause in the simple past tense ('If people just did'), indicating a hypothetical or unreal condition in the present or future. For such a second conditional, the main clause requires the conditional 'would' (or 'wouldn't' for negative) followed by the base form of the verb. Therefore, 'won't' (will not) should be changed to 'wouldn't' to maintain correct tense consistency and convey the hypothetical nature of the statement.
Question 4: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "They didn’t listen last time, and now he was in the hospital." in Line 6. <br /></span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- They didn’t listen last time and now he was in the hospital</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- They didn’t listen last time, and now, he was in the hospital</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- They didn’t listen last time and now, he was in the hospital</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
Correct answer: NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
The sentence 'They didn’t listen last time, and now he was in the hospital' is grammatically correct. It is a compound sentence where two independent clauses ('They didn't listen last time' and 'now he was in the hospital') are joined by the coordinating conjunction 'and.' A comma is correctly placed before 'and' to separate these two independent clauses, adhering to standard punctuation rules.
Question 5: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "He knew if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him;" in Line 8.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
- He knew if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him<span style="font-size: small;">,</span></span></span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- He knew, if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him</span></span></label></li>
- He knew, if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him,</span></span></label></li>
Correct answer: He knew if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him<span style="font-size: small;">,</span></span></span></label></li>
The original sentence ends with a semicolon, which is used to connect two independent clauses or items in a complex list. Here, "if he didn’t have all of these things attached to him" is a dependent clause introducing a condition. A comma is needed after this introductory dependent clause to separate it from the implied main clause that would complete the thought, improving readability and grammatical structure.
Question 6: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "He wanted to tell his assistant to take the thing out of his mouth." in Line 8.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- He wanted to tell his assistant, "to take the thing out of his mouth</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">."</span></span></label></li>
- He wanted to tell his assistant, to take the thing out of his mouth</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- He wanted to tell his assistant to take the thing -- out of his mouth</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
Correct answer: NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
The original sentence is grammatically correct and flows naturally. The phrase "to take the thing out of his mouth" functions as an infinitive phrase completing the verb "wanted to tell." No additional punctuation, such as commas, quotation marks, or dashes, is required to separate these elements, as they form a cohesive part of the sentence's structure.
Question 7: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "He wanted out of the hospital now, and get all of these things off him." in Line 10.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
- He wanted out of the hospital now. And get all of these things off him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- He wanted out of the hospital now and get all of these things off him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- He wanted out of the hospital now, and to get all of these things off him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li> (Correct answer)
Correct answer: He wanted out of the hospital now, and to get all of these things off him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
The original sentence suffers from a lack of parallelism. The phrase "wanted out of the hospital now" is followed by "get all of these things off him." To maintain grammatical consistency, the second part of the compound predicate should also be an infinitive phrase, matching the implied structure of the first part. Adding "to" before "get" creates the parallel structure "wanted out of the hospital now, and to get all of these things off him," making the sentence grammatically sound.
Question 8: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "The doctor said the same thing his assistant did, he was never going to move again." in Line 11.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
- The doctor said the same thing his assistant did. He was never going to move again</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- The doctor said the same thing his assistant did he was never going to move again</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- The doctor said "the same thing his assistant did." He was never going to move again</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
Correct answer: The doctor said the same thing his assistant did. He was never going to move again</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
The original sentence contains a comma splice, where two independent clauses ("The doctor said the same thing his assistant did" and "he was never going to move again") are incorrectly joined by only a comma. A comma is insufficient to separate two complete sentences. Replacing the comma with a period, as in option B, correctly separates these two distinct thoughts into two grammatically independent sentences.
Question 9: Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "At first, he didn’t want anyone’s help." in Line 12.</span></span>
- NO CHANGE</span></label></li> (Correct answer)
- At first he didn’t want anyone’s help</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- At first, he didn’t want anyones help</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
- "At first," he didn’t want anyone’s help</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Sans Serif'; font-size: small;">.</span></span></label></li>
Correct answer: NO CHANGE</span></label></li>
The original sentence is grammatically correct. The comma after the introductory adverbial phrase "At first" is correctly used to set it off from the main clause. Additionally, the possessive form "anyone's" is correctly used to indicate that the help belongs to anyone. Therefore, no change is needed to improve its grammar or clarity.
SAT Writing and Language 1
Select the appropriate change, if any, to the sentence "When he saw the flash of lightning, he felt extreme pain all over his body." in Line 1.