<p>here is some writing test confusing exercise on real collegeboard test from their online course test. I really need help on every answer choices. Also It can be really helpful if you can identify which type of question it is ! here it goes
5. Societies acting through their governments make the rules to state which acts are illegal, but although war is the most violent of human activities, it has not been declared illegal by any of the world's governments or their agencies.
A. to state
B. stating
C. when they state
D. that are stating
E. where they state
9. Babe Ruth is regarded by many having been the greatest baseball player in history, and he remains arguably the most celebrated figure in North American sports.
A. having been
B. that he was
C. for being
D. to be
E. as
11. After carefully studying both of the articles, Dr. Rodriguez and Nurse Alba found that the only difference between them were their titles
A. them were their titles
B. them were the titles
C. the articles were the titles
D. the articles was that of the titles
E. the articles was their titles
error identification;
14. New York city is an important center of American Buddhism, in part because its residents included immigrants from most of the countries that have strong Buddhist traditions. No error
15. In addition to being a talented pianist and composer, Billa Bartyk was s respected musicologist who wrote several books on Hungarian, Slovakian, and Romanian folki music. No error
17. Homing pigeons can nagivate over long distances, employing their sense of smell to ascertain their initial location and using theposition of the sun determing the direction in which they must fly. No error
19. after two terms in the Taxis State Senate, Barbara Jordan elected to the United states Houses of Representatives, where she served from 1973 to 1979. No error
21. Willie Dixon's upbeat blues compositions helped usher in the Chicago blues sound during the 1950's and have become standard numbers for the many young rock groups trying to achieve popularity during the 1960's. No error
23. Unlike her best friend Margie, making the varsity soccer team as a freshman, Jill did not make the team until her junior year. No error
24. Although the precise date and place of the origin of baseball are hotly debated, it is beyond dispute that the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn play an important role in its early development. No error
25. By 2003 , more than 684,000 students in the United States Had enrolled in charter schools, publicly funded schools that pledged better academic results and were unencumbered by many of the regulations governing ordinary public schools. No error
26. The common cold, like chickenpox, measles, and many other viral diseases, can be spread both before and after their symptoms emerge. No error
27. Although he had never played organized sports, whenever Justin, who was uncommonly tall, attends a basketball game, fans would ask him for an autograph. No error</p>
<ol>
<li>We say “regarded (by many) as”, not “regarded (by many) having been”. It’d be classified as an idiom usage error. </li>
<li>The difference between the people can’t be their titles; it must be the difference between the articles. So, we’ll look for the choice that makes that clear. There’s another error in agreement. “were” doesn’t agree with “difference”; it should be “was”. So, here we have an agreement and an ambiguity error.</li>
<li>“included” is not in the correct tense. The first sentence is in the present, so the second part of the sentence should be also in the present. It should read: “its residents include”.</li>
<li>I see no error. “In addition” is being used correctly. The standard form is: “(clause) in addition to (noun/gerund)”. So, “I played soccer in addition to playing basketball”, which can also be written as: “In addition to playing basketball, I played soccer”. In your case, it’s the latter.</li>
<li>“Use” is one of those words that’s followed by an infinitive. Others include “agree, aim, remember, say, ask, etc…” Therefore, it should be “to determine”. Some might reason this way: “employing to ascertain” is not parallel to “using (bla) determining”. But I’d say that the first explanation is sounder. “Students are doing their homework, remembering to fill in the answers completely and spending time on each question.”–This sentence is not vulnerable to the “parallelism” argument that comes up every so often in these types of questions.</li>
<li>Logically, Barbara Jordan “was elected”. In addition, you might ask yourself she elected what? That would tell you where the error is.</li>
<li>It should be “were standard numbers…” because “have become” applies to something that occurs over a long time; here, it’s during the 1960’s, a specific time. So, this is a tense error.</li>
<li>“did not” indicates the past tense, so “making”, which is in the present, should become in the past. Thus, it should be “who made”. A verb consistency error.</li>
<li>Logically, the second part of the sentence has to be in the past tense. It’s like saying: “I am there for you at the time of your birth”. Since you specified a time, you should use the past tense. It would be “I was there for you at the time of your birth”.</li>
<li>I hesitated at first. I thought “had” should be “have”, but when I checked online, I saw that this question was a No Error. I believe in this sentence you can use both “have” and “had”. It would’ve been easier if you underlined or put parentheses around the answer choices.</li>
<li>“Their” should be “its” since it refers to “common cold”. This is an agreement error.</li>
<li>“Whenever Justin, blabla, attended” because the tense of the sentence is in the past. “Whenever” ensures that it’s not in the past perfect, because “whenever” has to do with specific periods of time. Verb consistency error.</li>
</ol>
<p>I have not answered Number 5. Can someone explain how we know that it’s not in the intention of the “societies” to make the rules to state that some acts are illegal, but it’s the rules that are stating that some acts are illegal. Based on the second part of the sentence, it seems like the “societies” are the ones declaring what’s legal and what’s not.</p>