SHSAT SHSAT Revising and Editing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which revision best corrects the sentence: 'The students, who studied hard they passed the exam.'?
- The students who studied hard, they passed the exam.
- The students who studied hard passed the exam. (Correct answer)
- The students, who studied hard, and passed the exam.
- The students studied hard, they passed the exam.
Correct answer: The students who studied hard passed the exam.
The original sentence has a redundant subject pronoun 'they'; removing it creates a correct relative clause construction.
Question 2: Which transition word BEST connects these two sentences: 'Maria practiced piano every day. _____, she performed flawlessly at the recital.'?
- However
- Although
- As a result (Correct answer)
- In contrast
Correct answer: As a result
'As a result' correctly shows a cause-and-effect relationship between daily practice and a flawless performance.
Question 3: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- Running through the park, the dog chased the squirrel.
- The teacher explained the lesson clearly to the students.
- Covered in mud, the hikers returned to camp.
- Jogging around the block, my shoes got wet. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Jogging around the block, my shoes got wet.
In option D, 'jogging around the block' modifies 'my shoes,' which cannot jog — the modifier is misplaced.
Question 4: A student writes: 'The committee made their decision quickly.' What issue, if any, exists in this sentence?
- Subject-verb disagreement: 'committee' needs 'makes'
- Pronoun-antecedent disagreement: 'committee' is singular, so 'its' is preferred in formal writing (Correct answer)
- Incorrect verb tense: should be 'have made'
- No issue; the sentence is correct as written.
Correct answer: Pronoun-antecedent disagreement: 'committee' is singular, so 'its' is preferred in formal writing
In formal American English, collective nouns like 'committee' are singular and take singular pronouns like 'its,' though 'their' is increasingly accepted informally.
Question 5: Which edit BEST improves the sentence: 'The reason why he failed is because he did not study.'?
- The reason why he failed is due to not studying.
- The reason he failed was because he did not study.
- He failed because he did not study. (Correct answer)
- The reason for his failure, he did not study.
Correct answer: He failed because he did not study.
'The reason is because' is redundant; the most concise and correct revision is 'He failed because he did not study.'
Question 6: Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?
- She loved reading; and often visited the library.
- He was tired; however, he finished his homework. (Correct answer)
- The dog barked; at the mail carrier.
- I went to the store; buying milk and eggs.
Correct answer: He was tired; however, he finished his homework.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses, especially when followed by a conjunctive adverb like 'however.'
Question 7: A paragraph about climate change ends with this sentence: 'My favorite color is blue.' What is the PRIMARY problem with this sentence?
- It contains a grammar error.
- It uses passive voice incorrectly.
- It is off-topic and disrupts paragraph unity. (Correct answer)
- It is too short to be effective.
Correct answer: It is off-topic and disrupts paragraph unity.
The sentence is irrelevant to the topic of climate change, violating paragraph unity by introducing an unrelated idea.
SHSAT SHSAT Revising and Editing 1
Which revision best corrects the sentence: 'The students, who studied hard they passed the exam.'?