SAT Fun Club
Writing Portion:
Essay
&
Corrections/Improvements
Writing Sections
(800 Pts. Total)
• Begins with 1 Timed Essay
(25 min.)
• Approximately 30% of the
overall score
• Measures your ability to
– develop a point of view on an
issue presented in an excerpt
– support your point of view
using reasoning and examples
from your reading, studies,
experience, or observations
– follow the conventions of
standard written English
• Scored on a Rubric from 1-6
(with 6 being the hightest)
• Multiple Choice:
– Approximately 70% of
the overall score
• Improving Sentences
(25 Questions)
• Improving Paragraphs
(6 Questions)
• Identifying Sentence
Errors (18 Questions)
Essay Section
• Handout & Review: TOWF
• Handout Notebook paper (to simulate response
page in SAT)
• Write within the section/box
• 25 Minutes (Timed)
• Structure of Prompt:
– THINK
– CONSIDER a quote
– WRITE a response to the prompt
PRACTICE!
Sample Prompt:
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the
assignment below.
There are books that try to show the world as it is and books that try to
show the world as it should or could be. Which kind of books should we be
offering children and reading ourselves? One answer is the argument for
the value of truth, for “telling it like it is.” Writers could promote certain
positive ideals by being less realistic, but all of us – especially children –
have a right to be told the truth.
Adapted from Claudia Mills, “The Ethics of Representation: Realism and
Idealism in Children’s Fiction.”
ASSIGNMENT: Should books portray the world as it is or as it should be?
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this
issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples from your
reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Improving Sentences/Paragraphs
• Generally involve the structure of the WHOLE sentence or
paragraph.
• “Directions: The following questions 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.
• Choose the answer that best expresses a clear and precise
message.
• Choose the answer that eliminates awkwardness and ambiguity.
Improving Sentences
• “Fix the Mistake” Strategy
– Step 1: Read the selection carefully and “listen”
for a mistake.
– Step 2: Identify the error or errors.
– Step 3: Predict a correction.
– Step 4: Check the choices for a match that
doesn’t introduce a new error.
PRACTICE!
• Read the entire sentence carefully but quickly and ask yourself whether the
underlined portion is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
• Read choices (A) through (E), replacing the underlined part with each answer
choice to determine which revision results in a sentence that is clear and
precise and meets the requirements of standard written English.
Scenes from everyday lives of African Americans, which are realistically depicted
in the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.
A) Scenes from the everyday lives of African Americans, which are realisitically
depicted in the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.
B) Scenes from the everyday lives of African Americans being realistically
depicted in the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.
C) The paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner realistically depict scenes from the
everyday lives of African Americans.
D) Henry Ossawa Tanner, in his realistic paintings, depicting scenes from the
everyday lives of African Americans.
E) Henry Ossawa Tanner, whose paintings realistically depict scenes from the
everyday lives of African Americans.
Correct Answer: C
• Explanation
• Difficulty: Medium
• For a sentence to be grammatically complete, it must include both a
subject and a main verb. When a sentence lacks either a subject or a
main verb, the result is a sentence fragment. In this example all
options but (C) are sentence fragments.
• In (A), the phrase "Scenes ... Americans " is modified by the
dependent clause "which ... Tanner," but there is no main verb.
• In (B), the phrase "Scenes ... Tanner" contains no main verb.
• In (D), the noun "Henry Ossawa Tanner" is modified by "depicting"
but is not combined with a main verb.
• And in (E), the noun "Henry Ossawa Tanner" is modified by the
dependent clause "whose ... Americans" but not combined with a
main verb.
• (C) is correct. It is the only choice in which a subject ("The paintings of
Henry Ossawa Tanner") is combined with a verb ("depict") to express
a complete thought.
Improving Paragraphs
• 3 Types of Improving Paragraphs
Questions:
–General Organization
–Revising Sentences
–Combining Sentences
Improving Paragraphs
• “Predict the Correction” Strategy
– Step 1: Read the passage quickly for the overall
idea and tone.
– Step 2: Read the question.
– Step 3: Reread the relevant text and consider its
context.
– Step 4: Predict the correction.
– Step 5: Choose the best match.
PRACTICE!
•
Read the entire essay quickly to determine its overall
meaning. The essay is intended as a draft, so you will notice
errors.
•
Choose the best answer from among the choices given, even
if you can imagine another correct response.
(Handout: Passage)
In context, which is the best revision to the underlined portion of
sentence 3 (reproduced below)?
They have rarely received much attention during their lifetimes.
A) In fact, they had
B) Too bad these artists have
C) As a result, these women have
D) In spite of this, women artists
E) Often it is the case that the former have
Correct Answer: C
•
•
•
•
•
•
Explanation
Difficulty: Medium
Although sentence 3 is not grammatically wrong, its relationship to the preceding
sentence needs to be made clearer. A transitional phrase should be added to
emphasize the cause-and-effect relationship between the stated facts — women
artists received little attention as a consequence of having worked in the shadows
of their male contemporaries — and the ambiguous pronoun "They" should be
replaced with a word or phrase that clearly refers to the "women artists" and not
the "male contemporaries" mentioned in sentence 2.
(A), (B), and (D) are unsatisfactory because in each case the transitional phrase ("In
fact," "Too bad," or "In spite of this") fails to indicate the cause-and-effect
relationship. Moreover, both (A) and (B) leave the ambiguity of the pronoun
unresolved.
(E) is unsatisfactory not only because it fails to signal the cause-and-effect
relationship but also because it is wordy and illogically combines the adverbs
"Often" and "rarely."
(C) is correct. The transitional phrase "as a result" clearly indicates a cause-andeffect relationship, and "these women" properly resolves the ambiguity of the
pronoun "They."
Identifying Errors
• “Spot-the-Mistake” Strategy
– Step 1: Read the whole sentence, “listening” for
the mistake.
– Step 2: If you “heard” the mistake, choose it and
you’re done.
– Step 3: If not, read each underlined choice, and
eliminate choices that contain no errors.
– Step 4: Choose the remaining choice (don’t be
afraid to choose “E”).
PRACTICE!
•
•
Read the entire sentence carefully but quickly, paying
attention to underlined choices (A) through (D).
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be
changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences
contain no error at all.
The students (a)have discovered that (b)they can address issues
more effectively (c)through letter-writing campaigns (d)and not
through public demonstrations. (e)no error
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
A
B
C
D
E
Correct Answer: D
• Explanation
• Difficulty: Easy
• The error in this sentence occurs at (D). When a comparison is
introduced by the adverb "more," as in "more effectively," the
second part of the comparison must be introduced by the
conjunction "than" rather than "and not."
• The other options contain no errors. In (A), the plural verb
"have discovered" agrees with the plural subject "students."
In (B), the plural pronoun "they" correctly refers to the plural
noun "students." In (C), the preposition "through"
appropriately expresses the means by which issues are
addressed.
• The sentence may be corrected as follows: The students have
discovered that they can address issues more effectively
through letter-writing campaigns than through public
demonstrations.
So…
What are your “take-aways” from
today’s activities?
How do you feel about taking the SAT?