<p>These main things that pop into my mind when I think of the Writing questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>tenses!
The girl, who HAD been at school all day, TOOK a nap.
^the part between the commas further describes “The girl [who]…took
a nap”. “Took” is a past tense verb. Since her being in school took<br>
place even BEFORE her taking a nap, use “had”. </p>
<pre><code> The girl, who EARNED straight A’s this semester, IS on the honor roll.
^“is” is present tense. The girl’s earning straight A’s took place
BEFORE her being on the honor roll, so use a basic past tense form.
The girl, who failed Chemistry last year, WILL have to retake it.
pretty straightforward…
The girl, who IS very smart, WILL go to Harvard.
also fairly straightforward…
</code></pre></li>
<li><p>subject/pronoun agreement</p>
<pre><code>There are three “persons”…or 6, if you count singular and plural forms:
1st person singular: I love dogs.
1st person plural: We love dogs.
2nd person singular: You love dogs
2nd person plural: You love dogs.
3rd person singular: He/she/it loves dogs.
3rd person plural: They love dogs.
</code></pre></li>
</ol>
<p>i.e. If Christina wants to be a doctor, <em>she</em> must study hard.
^ask yourself: who is the subject of this sentence? (Christina)
is Christina singular or plural? (singular…)
is Christina 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person? (3rd…)
according to the model for 3rd person singular, what pronoun should be used? (she…)
i.e. Since daisies and roses are beautiful, <em>they</em> were planted in Mary’s garden.
^subject? (daisies and roses…)
singular or plural? (plural…)
1st, 2nd, or 3rd person? (3rd…)
pronoun? (they…)
–A really common mistake is to use they for a singular subject, i.e. “If a person wants to succeed, <em>they</em> must try”. This is incorrect; “they” is a plural form. Use “he”, “she”, or “it”. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>punctuation
Know how and when to use commas, periods, question marks, semicolons, exclamation points, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>subject-verb agreement
identify the subject(s) and decide whether each subject is singular or plural.
The girl and the boy love WERE in love.
^two singular subjects connected by and…use the plural “were” instead<br>
of “is”
Dave or Matt IS a football player.
^two singular subjects connected by “or”…use the singular “is” vs.<br>
“are”
My family IS large.
^a word like “family” or “team” refers to a collective group of people, so you<br>
should use the singular form, i.e. “is”
Each of my cousins IS nice.
^a word like “each” is singular and it is the subject here (not the plural<br>
"cousins). Thus, you should use a singular verb, i.e. “is”
My family and friends ARE wonderful.
^“family” is singular and “friends” is plural. The verb should match the subject
closest to it (in this case, “friends”…so use the plural “are”) </p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are several other subject-verb agreement ideas, but these are the big ones, I think. </p>
<p>I hope this helps a bit. The Writing section can be nitpicky and frustrating, but if you learn the basic patterns and rules your score should increase over time. Good luck!</p>