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Writing: Grammar and Usage

Understand the key differences between SAT and ACT writing sections, learn test-taking strategies, common errors, and essential grammar skills for a successful performance.

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Writing: Grammar and Usage

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  1. Writing: Grammar and Usage

  2. Comparison Old SAT Writing ACT English 1 section (45 minutes) 5 passages 15 questions per section Most are "best version" questions Some "Writing strategy" questions within each passage Scaled English score is part of composite – English/Writing composite score reported separately • 2 sections (25, 10 minutes) • 3 types of subsections: • Improving sentences (#1-11, 1-14) • Identifying sentence errors (#12-29) • Improving paragraphs (#30-35) • Raw score combined on matrix with required essay score gives scaled score

  3. Comparison New SAT Writing ACT English 1 section (45 minutes) 5 passages 15 questions per section Most are "best version" questions Some "Writing strategy" questions within each passage Scaled English score is part of composite – English/Writing composite score reported separately • 1 section (35 minutes) • 4 passages • 11 questions per section • Most are "best version" questions • Some "Writing strategy" questions within each passage • Essay score is reported separately

  4. What’s covered? NEITHER: • Spelling • Parts of Speech Both tests: UNIQUE TO SAT: - Graphs Wordiness Diction Transitions Style, focus, organization Punctuation • Idiomatic expressions • Fragments and run-ons • Subject-verb agreement • Pronoun case and agreement • Verb tense • Modifiers (misplaced and dangling) • Parallel structure and comparisons

  5. ACT Passage and questions

  6. ACT Passage and questions

  7. SAT Passage and questions

  8. SAT Passage and questions

  9. Your mistakes will come from: • Gaps or rustiness in your grammar/usage education: • When was the last time you had a grammar lesson? • Questions based on idiomatic usage: • Verb conjugation and pronoun use, for example, are easier because they follow generalizable rules. • Idiomatic usage, especially of prepositions, does not follow generalizable rules. • Especially problematic for non-native speakers. • Good writing and good editing are two distinct skills.

  10. Read the following sentence out loud: The quick brown fox jumps over the the lazy dog.

  11. Overall Strategies • Read enough of the passage to answer the next question. • Remember that you’re looking for errors more than reading for comprehension. • The quick brown fox… • Before looking at the choices, ask yourself: what’s wrong with this picture? • Is a pronoun underlined? Look for case and agreement. • Does the underline include more than one clause? Look for run-ons and comma splices. • Is a verb underlined? Look for tense and agreement. • Is the beginning of the sentence underlined? Look for misplaced and dangling modifiers. • Is there nothing wrong with the underlined section? Look for a shorter way to say it. • Remember that some of them will be “no change.” • The style/rhetoric questions will require you to understand the “big picture.”

  12. Writing Skills Inventory We’re goin’ back to grammar school…

  13. Independent clause • Subordinate/Dependent clause • Relative clause • Phrase • Prepositional phrase • Subjective/Nominative case • Objective Case • Possessive case • Idiom • Past/Present/Future perfect • Predicate verb • Run-on • Comma splice • Coordinating conjunction • Subordinating conjunction • Direct object • Predicate nominative • Predicate adjective • Essential adjective • Oxford comma • Fragment • Parenthetical commas • Interrogative sentence • Passive/Active voice How many of these terms can you define? These terms are not tested, but you need to know them in order to understand the tested concepts.

  14. Diagramming sentences is stupid. • I do not believe that we have to make a diagram for this sentence. Can you diagram these sentences? Again, diagramming is not tested, but it does help in understanding sentence structure.

  15. Is it a grammar question or a style question? • Usually, the answer is obvious. • However, some “best version” questions are actually about style, word choice (diction), or rhetoric. • Use the full context to understand what skills are being tested.

  16. Grammar Strategy: Key: = YES = NO

  17. Run-ons Watch for these when: The end of one independent clause and the beginning of the next is underlined The whole sentence is underlined Comma splices are a favorite To fix: Use a comma and a FANBOYS conjunction Use a ; Make one clause subordinate or a phrase

  18. Fragments Less common in Improving Sentences, but still possible Remember that fragments can be long enough to look like sentences Check for lone present participles (-ing) in a predicate verb position without the necessary auxiliary verb (form of “to be”)

  19. Parallel Structure Parallel Structure Watch out for these when you see a list or a comparison Remember that all items must be in the same grammatical form (verb phrase to verb phrase, etc.) In a list of 3 items, the third item will contain the error, if there is one

  20. Pronoun Agreement Pronoun Agreement Singular pronouns go with singular antecedents, plurals with plurals Watch for: the indeterminate gender = plural pronoun error Switching between “you” and “one” These can be sneaky! Always match underlined pronouns with its antecedent

  21. Pronoun Case Subjective case is for pronouns used as the subject of a clause Objective case is for pronouns used as objects of prepositions or verbs Watch out for prepositions that often use compounds (esp. between and with)

  22. Verb tense Verb tense Check the tense of underlined verbs with those in non-underlined sections; if they don’t match, there’s probably an error Watch out for sentences with specific time references; they frequently contain verb tense problems

  23. Subject-Verb Agreement Watch for these when: A verb is underlined Remember: The noun closest to a verb might not be its subject The test makers like to insert prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb in order to cause confusion

  24. Idioms Idioms Make sure that all prepositions in the underlined sections are being used correctly Makes sure that both parts of idiomatic pairs are used correctly (neither…nor; not only…but also; just as…so, etc.)

  25. Modifiers Modifiers Modifying phrases at the beginning of a sentence modify the subject; if this introductory modifier – subject pairing doesn’t make sense, it’s an error Watch for intro phrases that start with participles (-ing or –ed verbs)

  26. Wordiness Wordiness These can be tricky because wordiness, while a type of error, is not a grammar error, strictly speaking Watch for extra clauses and redundant phrases IC+PP > IC+SC > IC+IC Simple > Complex > Compound

  27. Punctuation Review rules for commas (esp. introductory phrases and parentheticals), semicolons, colons, apostrophes, and dashes. You will NOT be tested on quotation mark placement. Aside from lists, there should never be a comma in the middle of a grammatical unit (S-V unit, prepositional phrase, etc.)

  28. “Combos” “Combos” Some questions will involve more than one issue This one, for example, combines sentence structure, pronoun case, and verb tense

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