SAT Writing and Language 2

Question 1

Highlighted sections are referenced in several questions.

Penny dreadful is a pejorative term used to refer to cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing, one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. Whilst the term "penny dreadful" was originally used in reference to a specific type of literature circulating in mid-Victorian Britain, it latterly encompassed a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet "libraries". The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were aimed at young working class males.
Two popular characters to come out of the penny dreadfuls were Jack Harkaway, introduced in the Boys of England in 1871, and Sexton Blake, who began in the Half-penny Marvel in 1893. In 1904, the Union Jack became "Sexton Blake's own paper", and he appeared in every issue thereafter, up until the paper's demise in 1933. In total, Blake appeared in roughly 4,000 adventures, right up into the 1970s, a record exceeded only by Nick Carter and Dixon Hawke. Harkaway was also popular in America and had many imitators.
The fictional Sweeney Todd, the subject of both a successful musical by Stephen Sondheim and a feature film by Tim Burton, also first appeared in an 1846/1847 penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance.
Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.
The experimental artrock band Animal Collective had a song called Penny Dreadfuls on their debut album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.
The Irish literary magazine The Penny Dreadful takes its name from the penny dreadfuls.
A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadful debuted on Showtime in May, 2014.
In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."
In Ian Hall's novel series, The Penny Dreadful Adventures, the character Alexander M. MacNeill edits and writes Penny Dreadful chapters for George Reynolds (The Mysteries of London), and James Rymer and Thomas Prest (Varney the Vampire). In his dealings with Rymer and Prest, Alexander is forced to investigate the source of the authors' material. and finds evidence of modern vampirism in London.

If you had to remove one word from the following sentence in paragraph 4 for clarity without changing its meaning, which of the following would be the best choice?

Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines.

Accepted Answer

either "the"

Answer

The sentence "Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines" uses the definite article "the" twice. While not grammatically incorrect, one instance of "the" can be removed for conciseness without altering the meaning. For example, saying "Over time, penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines" or "Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into British comic magazines" is equally clear and more streamlined.

Question 2

Highlighted sections are referenced in several questions.

Penny dreadful is a pejorative term used to refer to cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing, one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. Whilst the term "penny dreadful" was originally used in reference to a specific type of literature circulating in mid-Victorian Britain, it latterly encompassed a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet "libraries". The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were aimed at young working class males.
Two popular characters to come out of the penny dreadfuls were Jack Harkaway, introduced in the Boys of England in 1871, and Sexton Blake, who began in the Half-penny Marvel in 1893. In 1904, the Union Jack became "Sexton Blake's own paper", and he appeared in every issue thereafter, up until the paper's demise in 1933. In total, Blake appeared in roughly 4,000 adventures, right up into the 1970s, a record exceeded only by Nick Carter and Dixon Hawke. Harkaway was also popular in America and had many imitators.
The fictional Sweeney Todd, the subject of both a successful musical by Stephen Sondheim and a feature film by Tim Burton, also first appeared in an 1846/1847 penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance.
Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.
The experimental artrock band Animal Collective had a song called Penny Dreadfuls on their debut album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.
The Irish literary magazine The Penny Dreadful takes its name from the penny dreadfuls.
A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadful debuted on Showtime in May, 2014.
In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."
In Ian Hall's novel series, The Penny Dreadful Adventures, the character Alexander M. MacNeill edits and writes Penny Dreadful chapters for George Reynolds (The Mysteries of London), and James Rymer and Thomas Prest (Varney the Vampire). In his dealings with Rymer and Prest, Alexander is forced to investigate the source of the authors' material. and finds evidence of modern vampirism in London.

Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.

Accepted Answer

"there" usages should be "their"

Answer

The sentence incorrectly uses "there" (an adverb indicating place) instead of "their" (a possessive pronoun) in two instances. The phrases "there cheap production" and "there perceived lack of value" require the possessive pronoun "their" to correctly indicate that the cheap production and perceived lack of value belong to the penny dreadfuls. This correction addresses a common homophone error.

Question 3

Highlighted sections are referenced in several questions.

Penny dreadful is a pejorative term used to refer to cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing, one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. Whilst the term "penny dreadful" was originally used in reference to a specific type of literature circulating in mid-Victorian Britain, it latterly encompassed a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet "libraries". The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were aimed at young working class males.
Two popular characters to come out of the penny dreadfuls were Jack Harkaway, introduced in the Boys of England in 1871, and Sexton Blake, who began in the Half-penny Marvel in 1893. In 1904, the Union Jack became "Sexton Blake's own paper", and he appeared in every issue thereafter, up until the paper's demise in 1933. In total, Blake appeared in roughly 4,000 adventures, right up into the 1970s, a record exceeded only by Nick Carter and Dixon Hawke. Harkaway was also popular in America and had many imitators.
The fictional Sweeney Todd, the subject of both a successful musical by Stephen Sondheim and a feature film by Tim Burton, also first appeared in an 1846/1847 penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance.
Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.
The experimental artrock band Animal Collective had a song called Penny Dreadfuls on their debut album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.
The Irish literary magazine The Penny Dreadful takes its name from the penny dreadfuls.
A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadful debuted on Showtime in May, 2014.
In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."
In Ian Hall's novel series, The Penny Dreadful Adventures, the character Alexander M. MacNeill edits and writes Penny Dreadful chapters for George Reynolds (The Mysteries of London), and James Rymer and Thomas Prest (Varney the Vampire). In his dealings with Rymer and Prest, Alexander is forced to investigate the source of the authors' material. and finds evidence of modern vampirism in London.

>How would you correct the underlined portion of the following sentence in paragraph 7?

A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadfuldebuted on Showtime in May, 2014.

Accepted Answer

May 2014</span></label></li>

Answer

In American English, when a date includes only the month and year, a comma is not typically used between them. The correct format is simply "Month Year" (e.g., May 2014). A comma is only necessary if a specific day is also included in the date (e.g., May 11, 2014). Therefore, removing the comma makes the date format grammatically correct.

Question 4

Highlighted sections are referenced in several questions.

Penny dreadful is a pejorative term used to refer to cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing, one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. Whilst the term "penny dreadful" was originally used in reference to a specific type of literature circulating in mid-Victorian Britain, it latterly encompassed a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet "libraries". The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were aimed at young working class males.
Two popular characters to come out of the penny dreadfuls were Jack Harkaway, introduced in the Boys of England in 1871, and Sexton Blake, who began in the Half-penny Marvel in 1893. In 1904, the Union Jack became "Sexton Blake's own paper", and he appeared in every issue thereafter, up until the paper's demise in 1933. In total, Blake appeared in roughly 4,000 adventures, right up into the 1970s, a record exceeded only by Nick Carter and Dixon Hawke. Harkaway was also popular in America and had many imitators.
The fictional Sweeney Todd, the subject of both a successful musical by Stephen Sondheim and a feature film by Tim Burton, also first appeared in an 1846/1847 penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance.
Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.
The experimental artrock band Animal Collective had a song called Penny Dreadfuls on their debut album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.
The Irish literary magazine The Penny Dreadful takes its name from the penny dreadfuls.
A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadful debuted on Showtime in May, 2014.
In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."
In Ian Hall's novel series, The Penny Dreadful Adventures, the character Alexander M. MacNeill edits and writes Penny Dreadful chapters for George Reynolds (The Mysteries of London), and James Rymer and Thomas Prest (Varney the Vampire). In his dealings with Rymer and Prest, Alexander is forced to investigate the source of the authors' material. and finds evidence of modern vampirism in London.

What, if anything, needs to be changed in this sentence in paragraph 8?

In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."

Accepted Answer

NO CHANGE</span></label></li>

Answer

The sentence is grammatically sound and correctly punctuated. The introductory phrase is properly set off by a comma, and the colon correctly introduces the direct quotation that follows. There are no grammatical errors such as fragments, run-on sentences, or comma splices present in the sentence.

Question 5

Highlighted sections are referenced in several questions.

Penny dreadful is a pejorative term used to refer to cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts, each costing, one penny. The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. Whilst the term "penny dreadful" was originally used in reference to a specific type of literature circulating in mid-Victorian Britain, it latterly encompassed a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet "libraries". The penny dreadfuls were printed on cheap wood pulp paper and were aimed at young working class males.
Two popular characters to come out of the penny dreadfuls were Jack Harkaway, introduced in the Boys of England in 1871, and Sexton Blake, who began in the Half-penny Marvel in 1893. In 1904, the Union Jack became "Sexton Blake's own paper", and he appeared in every issue thereafter, up until the paper's demise in 1933. In total, Blake appeared in roughly 4,000 adventures, right up into the 1970s, a record exceeded only by Nick Carter and Dixon Hawke. Harkaway was also popular in America and had many imitators.
The fictional Sweeney Todd, the subject of both a successful musical by Stephen Sondheim and a feature film by Tim Burton, also first appeared in an 1846/1847 penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance.
Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to there cheap production, there perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.
The experimental artrock band Animal Collective had a song called Penny Dreadfuls on their debut album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.
The Irish literary magazine The Penny Dreadful takes its name from the penny dreadfuls.
A horror television series set in Victorian England entitled Penny Dreadful debuted on Showtime in May, 2014.
In series 7 of Doctor Who , discussing a corpse stained red and the frequency at which corpses appear at the morgue in such a condition, a relative of the deceased states: "I have no interest in the deplorable excesses of the penny dreadful."
In Ian Hall's novel series, The Penny Dreadful Adventures, the character Alexander M. MacNeill edits and writes Penny Dreadful chapters for George Reynolds (The Mysteries of London), and James Rymer and Thomas Prest (Varney the Vampire). In his dealings with Rymer and Prest, Alexander is forced to investigate the source of the authors' material. and finds evidence of modern vampirism in London.

After reading the passage, which statement would you say is true?

Accepted Answer

Penny dreadfuls may not have been widely accepted in their day, but their influence continues today.

Answer

The passage indicates that penny dreadfuls were considered "cheap popular serial literature" and the term itself was "pejorative," suggesting they weren't highly esteemed in their time. However, the text also details their lasting impact, mentioning popular characters, the origin of Sweeney Todd, their evolution into comic magazines, and modern cultural references. This shows that despite their initial reception, their influence continues today.

SAT Practice Test

SAT Practice Test

SAT Writing and Language 2