BB writing section help!

Test Preparation
1

<p>ugh, it's really tough... :[</p>

<p>-Mr.Chung would like to retire, but retirement is unable to be afforded by him.</p>

<p>(a)Mr.Chung would like to retire, but retirement is unable to be afforded by him.
(b)Mr.Chung would like to retire, but he cannot afford to do so.
(c)Mr.Chung would like to retire, but he is unable to afford that.
(d)Retirement is what Mr.Chung would like to do, but he cannot afford it.</p>

<p>: I can't see why (a),(C),(d) are wrong. (b) is the answer.</p>

<p>-The city of Houston,Texas, is about sixty miles inland, while being the third largest foreign- trade port in the United States.</p>

<p>(a) is about sixty miles inland, while being
(b) although about sixty miles inland, is</p>

<p>: why (a) is wrong?　and is it possible to use ‘although’ with incomplete sentence? I mean, I thought ‘although+ complete sentence(which includes ’subjective’ and ‘verb’, the basic components.) ’ is only possible. The answer is (b).</p>

<p>-The tragic story of Paolo and Francesca was the subject of a poem and a symphony, being popular throughout the nineteenth century. </p>

<p>(a)The tragic story of Paolo and Francesca was the subject of a poem and a symphony, being popular throughout the nineteenth century.
(c)The tragic story of Paolo and Francesca was popular throughout the nineteenth century, when it was the subject of both a poem and a symphony.
(d)Poalo and Francesca, whose tragic story was the subject of a popular poem and symphony throughout the nineteenth century.</p>

<p>: I can’t find any error in (a),(d). the answer is (c).</p>

<p>-C.G. Jung, a Swiss psychologist, whose renown as a pioneer in the field of psychoanalysis almost equals that of Sigmund Freud.</p>

<p>(a)C.G. Jung, a Swiss psychologist, whose renown as a pioneer
(b)C.G. Jung was a Swiss psychologist whose renown as a pioneer</p>

<p>:why on earth (a) is wrong?　the answer is (b).</p>

<p>-Just as Ireland has produced many famous writers abd the Netherlands an abundance of famous painters, so Finland had provided a large number of famous architects. </p>

<p>(a) so Finland has provided a large number of famous architects
(b)Finland provides famous architects, and by large numbers</p>

<p>: I know something is awkward in (b) but can’t say specifically what’s wrong?</p>

<p>-Readers of the novice writer’s recent book have said that it is at once frustrating because of its chaotic structure but its originality is still a delight.</p>

<p>(a) but its originality is still a delight
(b) although it is delightfully original
(e) and delightful because of its originality</p>

<p>: can’t it be (a) or (b)? the answer is (e).</p>

<p>-Though best known as a jazz vocalist, he also enjoyed gospel music, whereby he told his manager that he wanted to make a recording of his favorite gospel songs. No error.</p>

<p>: is ‘though best known as a jazz vocalist’ okay? I mean, there isn’t any ‘is’ or ‘are’ to be connected with ‘best known’. and when can I use ‘whereby’? I can’t see what does it mean exactly and when to use.</p>

<p>thank you so much!!:]</p>

2

<p>a)Mr.Chung would like to retire, but retirement is unable to be afforded by him.</p>

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3

<p>-The tragic story of Paolo and Francesca was the subject of a poem and a symphony, being popular throughout the nineteenth century.</p>

<p>(a)The tragic story of Paolo and Francesca was the subject of a poem and a symphony, being popular throughout the nineteenth century.</p>

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<p>: I can’t find any error in (a),(d). the answer is (c).</p>

4

<p>I think you’re looking for little mistakes in phrasing when in reality it’s the entire sentence that’s ruined. Take the Carl Jung one, for example:</p>

<p>“C.G. Jung, a Swiss psychologist, whose renown as a pioneer in the field of psychoanalysis almost equals that of Sigmund Freud.”
(a) C.G. Jung, a Swiss psychologist, whose renown as a pioneer
(b) C.G. Jung was a Swiss psychologist whose renown as a pioneer</p>

<p>Read the original sentence carefully, and mentally try to diagram it. Where’s the main verb? The sentence begins with the subject (Jung) and then turns to an adjective clause, but the independent clause is incomplete, no predicate. Read it out loud. See how it’s an incomplete thought?</p>

<p>“The city of Houston,Texas, is about sixty miles inland, while being the third largest foreign-trade port in the United States.”</p>

<p>(a) is about sixty miles inland, while being
(b) although about sixty miles inland, is</p>

<p>The original sentence is awkward, and not only is (b) clearer and more grammatically pleasant, it also better communicates the point of the sentence: “Despite the fact that Houston is sixty miles inland, it’s still the third largest foreign-trade port in the United States.” (a) simply communicates that both facts are true of Houston; (b) communicates the relationship between those two facts.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, a lot of these questions you can catch easily if you’re a strong reader/writer; they just “seem” off to you, or you catch the inconsistency the minute you see it. You NEED familiarity; memorizing rules won’t cut it. (Of course you need to know the grammar rules, but that in itself isn’t enough.) If someone isn’t already a strong reader/writer, the best way to prepare for these sections is to do LOTS of practice problems.</p>

5

<p><a href=“d”>quote</a>Retirement is what Mr.Chung would like to do, but he cannot afford it</p>

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<p>Auuggh - this is WRONG!</p>

<p>The problem is the first part of the sentence: “Retirement is what Mr. Chung would like to do . . .” There is NO grammatical error. The problem is that if you’ve used nine words to express an idea that could have been conveyed in six. That’s simply bad writing!</p>

<p>If all you’re looking for are grammatical errors, the problems you’ve given won’t make sense to you. Yes, a sentence must have correct grammar, and the words in the sentence must be used properly, but it also has to be well written. That means, among other things, not repetitive, not confusing, not unnecessarily long, and (this is important!) NOT WRITTEN IN THE PASSIVE VOICE.</p>

<p>Look at it like this . . . if you’re building a human being, you have to use all the correct bones, muscles, ligaments, etc. (If you use bones from a horse, you’re never going to end up with a human!) Then you have to put them together in the correct arrangement. (If you screw that up, you’re going to end up with a very funny looking person!) But there’s still more to it than that . . . the bones have to be the appropriate weight and size to look good together . . . you can’t mix parts from a 10-year old child with parts from a 50-year old steelworker! So, it’s not just finding the “correct” pieces . . . it’s also about finding the pieces that will fit best and give the most pleasing result.</p>

<p>Bad writing is bad writing, and there are rules that you can study that will help you identify it (for example, “no passive voice”).</p>

<p>Yes, you also have to know grammar . . . but grammar alone will only get you part way there.</p>