The Directions
You know the drill. Learn the directions now so you don’t
have to waste time reading them when you take the actual SAT.
Directions:
The following sentences test correctness and effectiveness of expression.
In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written
English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, sentence
construction, and punctuation.
In each of the following sentences, part
of the sentence or the entire sentence is underlined. Beneath each
sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part.
Choice A repeats the original; the other four are different.
Choose the answer that best expresses the
meaning of the original sentence. If you think the original is better
than any of the alternatives, choose it; otherwise choose one of
the others. Your choice should produce the most effective sentence—clear
and precise, without awkwardness or ambiguity. |
Notice that once again, the SAT wants you to follow the
rules of standard written English when you’re answering these questions.
The rules of standard spoken English aren’t accepted
here, so a lot of English that’s passable in speech will be considered
incorrect on Improving Sentences questions.
Also notice that because answer choice A is always the
same as the original sentence, you never need to waste time
reading answer choice A. So, unless you think the
sentence contains no error, skip directly to B.
