<p>Hi all, </p>
<p>Improving paragraphs seems to be a nightmare for me. I can't seem to answer the "in context" questions. I dont know how I should be approaching them should I just go to the questions first and then skip to the number line and read around the sentence, or should i first read the whole passage etc. </p>
<p>Approaches and strategies to tackle these questions that worked for you; please post here</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>First, read the entire passage. It’s short and supposed to be written by a high school student, so it’s an easy read (15 seconds? 20 seconds?). As you read, if you notice an error, mark it. You will be asked about it. Don’t skip to the question, or then you lose the context.</p>
<p>As for the “in context” questions, you’ll need to read the sentence before and the sentence after the sentence with the error. About half of the questions are basic grammar questions, but instead of all of the important elements being contained in a single sentence (like in the other multiple choice Writing questions), some of the elements reach out into the adjacent sentences. Consider an example:</p>
<p>The kite twirled in the sky. As a gust of wind came off the ocean, it flew higher in the air.</p>
<p>The antecedent (“kite”) for the pronoun “it” occurs in the sentence before. When you check for pronoun/antecedent agreement, pronoun choice, and pronoun reference, you have to refer to the prior sentence instead of looking at a single sentence.</p>
<p>The other half of the questions address passage/paragraph unity, fluency, and organization or the author’s purpose or strategy. There are a limited number of issues they will ask about, and a good book should detail those problems.</p>