Writing Sentence Improvement Dilema

Test Preparation
1

Hey folks,

I’ve recently started doing practice tests on the college board online tests. So far I’m doing great, I’m planning to do 3 sections every day and for the second time now I’m working through the 35 minute writing part. For the most part, I get all the Sentence Errors and the Improving Paragraph questions correct (with the exception or identifying the ridiculous amount of proper idioms that the SAT loves to throw at you). The only trouble I have is working through the Sentence Improvement because reading the ungrammatical sentence really throws me off. I have to read it a couple of times, sometimes taking at least 30 seconds to really understand the rather obscure sentence. Is there a strategy you have for this part of the writing section? I feel that the process of elimination takes too long and I still miss some of them regardless of if I take my time.

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

For example, let me show you a question that I was stuck on for a bit of time…

Professor Brand, who enjoys welcoming international students to her home on Thanksgiving, served the traditional turkey dressed in Pilgrim clothing.

The underlined part is: served the traditional turkey dressed in Pilgrim clothing.

I was thinking that Professor Brand dresses the turkey in Pilgrim clothing. No joke, I couldn’t figure out that Professor Brand was the one dressed in the traditional Pilgrim clothing… Needless to say, I got that question wrong anyhow.

Note: This question is from a practice test.

3

I try to read through them very quickly to find any obvious issues. When I come to the options, TYPICALLY I cross out all that have an -ing word like being. Always look out for parallel structure and, in that example, be sure that the descriptions of something are closest to the noun they are describing. I’m not sure there’s a true strategy, you just have to be able to identify the basic errors. Don’t spend too much time scrutinizing the original sentence, just quickly look for areas of error.

4

Thanks. I’m only a freshman, so I have plenty of time to practice for potential improvement.