Grammar question and last minute advice.

<p>After (mulling) (over) long lists of dog names that they printed off the Internet, the Mardis (had finally) narrowed down the choices for their chocolate-brown puppy to their (three) favorites: Mocha, Coco, and Baci. (no error)</p>

<p>I thought it was no error but it is D, had finally. apparently it should be changed to finally. although I understand that it makes sense that way, is the current tense erroneous? It seems like it makes sense..</p>

<p>Also, I was wondering if you had any advice. I'm trying to score an 800 on writing and while it seemed very doable a few weeks ago (I was missing one or two on practice tests and getting 10s and 11s on essays) it seems like the more I practice, the worse I'm getting. </p>

<p>I've been devoting literally 5-6 hours on writing, practicing nonstop, and while I understand all the grammar rules, I can't stop missing 3-5 on the sections, no matter how many times I reread the rules and practice. I understand my errors but it seems like I'm always reading too much into it or not enough.. The test is in two days (it's my first time and I'm a junior) and I'm desperately aiming for a 2300; however, the errors I'm making on writing are really discouraging and stressing me out and it feels like I'm not improving no matter how much I practice. Any advice? </p>

<p>I'm aiming for 800 on math as well and it seems doable.. I just keep making one or two silly errors on the easy problems. :(</p>