SAT Writing (grammar) Help Center

Test Preparation
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<p>Hi everyone! I found a SAT Math Help Center created by Arachnotron. I searched College Confidental and could not find a SAT Writing Help Center. So I created this thread so people can post grammar questions and others can help. I am getting around 69-73 on the PSAT writing section so I won't be much help. Hopefully someone skilled in grammar latches on to this post and helps others.</p>

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<p>My questions: The circled answer is the correct answer, while the underlined answer is the one I put.
Please provide explanation for these 4 Writing problems</p>

<p><a href=“http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7703/sec5psat1450350e5086a33.pdf[/url]”>http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7703/sec5psat1450350e5086a33.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5605/sec5psat2550350dee8c74d.pdf[/url]”>http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5605/sec5psat2550350dee8c74d.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8449/sec5psatb31and3350350ed.pdf[/url]”>http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8449/sec5psatb31and3350350ed.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<ol>
<li>
25.
31.
33.</li>
</ol>

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<p>Going backwards: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>The needed phrase is “was equal to” not “was equal.” Something might “equal” something else but you can never say something “was equal” something else without adding the “to.”</p></li>
<li><p>“As” is not a word to be used when saying something is more so than something else. The actual phrase to focus on is “more likely than.” Even though the words are not together in the sentence that is the phrase being used and “than” should replace “as.” You never hear someone say “more likely as” when something is more likely than something else.</p></li>
<li><p>Needs to be “were” not “are” because the sentence is talking about the occurrence of one event in the past that occurred before another event in the past. The phrase the FDA “has overlooked” is being used to describe what happened before another event also described in the same sentence that occurred in the past, particularly “until after [the drugs were] in general use.”</p></li>
<li><p>You have complimentary present perfect phrases that need to agree. The first one says tuna “have been overfished” and thus the second one has to be “have declined.” Also there is no organization or person in the sentence that the “they” could be referring to but instead the subject of the phrase is breeding populations and those breeding populations are not the ones doing any estmation and thus “they” is unusable and “are estimated” is correct.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Thanks drusba. I really appreciate your help. Hopefully this thread can stay alive.</p>

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<p>Bump…</p>

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<p>Do the Barrons SAT Writing.</p>

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<p>To improve your writing score make sure you learn grammar. The Barrons book is helpful. I went from a 640 to 800 after learning grammar. For the essays just include a lot of details and you should be okay. I hope this helps.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info asasd77 and unicornrainbow. I checked Amazon is this the book you are referring to?
Barron’s SAT Writing Workbook, 3rd Edition (Barron’s Writing Workbook for the New Sat) (Paperback) by George Ehrenhaft Ed. D. (Author) </p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Used and New: Barron’s SAT Writing Workbook, 3rd Edition (Barron’s Writing Workbook for the New Sat)](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1438000324/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1345776123&sr=8-2&keywords=Barrons+SAT+writing&condition=new]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1438000324/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1345776123&sr=8-2&keywords=Barrons+SAT+writing&condition=new)</p>

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<p>QUEST: Faulty comparison
Officials announced that there would be no major changes made to the eligibility requirements for its benefits package, an offering that makes its plan more generous than other retailers.
*** I know that it’s comparing plan to retailers when it should be comparing plan to the retailers’ plans… but… I thought it was “plan more generous than THAT of other retailers” (since it’s comparing plan to the plan of the retailers?) but it said THOSE OF in answer key. WHY??</p>

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<p>@unicornrainbow, how did u go from a 640 to 800 in one shot? i tried the BB way of answering wrinting questions and i always make at least 5-7 careless mistakes, most of which are my refusals to mark “no error”. how do i fix this and break my 740 for an 800 like u. thanks=)</p>

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<p>help w spot the error: in (those cities) (in which) transportation (is) adequate, there (are) better economic situations than in poor cities. i didnt exactly copy down the last part, but i know the the first part is correct, it is from practice test four of BB, sct. 7. thanks.i will post he ans. after some explanations.</p>

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<p>The only possibility is that “(those cities)” is incorrect.</p>

<p>The sentence should read:</p>

<p>In cities in which transportation is adequate, there are better economic situations than in poor cities.</p>

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<p>yeah, thats what i thought too, but the ans. was no error, which is why i missed it.</p>

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<p>“Those” is unnecessary, but (I suppose…) not wrong, per se. I assumed that one of them had to be incorrect. hehe</p>

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<p><a href=“http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4200/photoaug30112149am.jpg[/url]”>http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4200/photoaug30112149am.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I don’t understand why D doesn’t work. The answer is A</p>

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<p>^D also works but you have to remember that what you are determining with SAT is whether the sentence is gramatically correct and then, if not, what the correct answer is. If correct, the answer is A, no change, regardless of whether another answer may also be correct or even sounds better.</p>

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<p>^Correction to the above. D is definitely incorrect. It leaves out the “is.”</p>

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<p><a href=“http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1112/writingsat2829testc503f.pdf[/url]”>http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1112/writingsat2829testc503f.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
28.
29.</p>

<p>28 is B, 29 is E. Please explain</p>

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<p>wow, i got 28 wrong. i think it is an idiom error, but i cant tell what the correct idiom is.</p>

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<p>and to tranmans question, The ans. is A. D is wrong BECASUE THERE IS NO VERB! read carefully.</p>