Some help with these Writing section questions...

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<p>these questions are from the Official SAT study guide practice tests from Collegeboard...
i just want help with some questions that I kinda didn't get even after looking at the answers</p>

<p>7. Whether the ancient Egyptians actually sailed or did not to South America remains uncertain, but Heyerdahl's Ra II expedition demonstrated that they could have done so.
(a) Whether the ancient Egyptians actually sailed or did not
(b) Whether in actuality the ancient Egyptians sailed or did not
(c) The actuality of the sailing by the ancient Egyptians
(d) That the ancient Egyptians actually sailed
(e) The ancient Egyptians, their actual sailing</p>

<p>I chose A as the answer, but it says its D... But doesnt this sentence kind of need "whether"?</p>

<p>16. The young fish were very tiny, yet each of them ate many times its own weight in solid food every day. No Error</p>

<p>Isn't it "the young fish was very tiny? The answer says this has no error... can anyone explain why.. i have no idea</p>

<p>28. In the United States, the industrial use of plastics is greater than steel, aluminum, and copper combined. No error</p>

<p>the answer is.. than steel.. what should it be instead of "than steel" for this sentence to be grammatically correct?</p>

<p>23. Observation of diverse animal species show that the most successful in the struggle for survival are those which are most adaptable to changes in their world. No error</p>

<p>the answers "show that"... how should it be corrected then? i have no idea</p>

<p>19. George Thornton Emmons was one of a handful of ethnographers who committed their life to studying the Tlingit culture of the Northwest Coast. No error</p>

<p>the answer here is "their life"... so should it be "his or her life" instead to make it grammatically correct?</p>

<p>23. Something of a phenomenon in the entertainment world, political satirists are admired by conservatives and radicals alike. No error</p>

<p>the correct answer here is taht it doesnt have any error.... but i think "something of" is incorrect... can anyone explain why it isnt though? because it doenst sound right...</p>

<p>I would appreciate any sort of help with these problems...
Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>
[quote]
28. In the United States, the industrial use of plastics is greater than steel, aluminum, and copper combined. No error</p>

<p>the answer is.. than steel.. what should it be instead of "than steel" for this sentence to be grammatically correct?

[/quote]

ask yourself what is being compared.
You are comparing the "use" of plastic to the "use" of steel. not the use of plastic to steel.</p>

<p>
[quote]
23. Observation of diverse animal species show that the most successful in the struggle for survival are those which are most adaptable to changes in their world. No error

[/quote]

what is the subject? its observation. observation is singular.</p>

<p>
[quote]
19. George Thornton Emmons was one of a handful of ethnographers who committed their life to studying the Tlingit culture of the Northwest Coast. No error</p>

<p>the answer here is "their life"... so should it be "his or her life" instead to make it grammatically correct?

[/quote]

yeah, the subject is george, so it should be his</p>

<p>
[quote]
23. Something of a phenomenon in the entertainment world, political satirists are admired by conservatives and radicals alike. No error</p>

<p>the correct answer here is taht it doesnt have any error.... but i think "something of" is incorrect... can anyone explain why it isnt though? because it doenst sound right...

[/quote]

the phrase "something ... world" describes political satirists, so its correct.</p>

3

<ol>
<li><p>D seems least awkward. "sailed or did not" is wordy and breaks parallelism. </p></li>
<li><p>It can't be was. "yet each of them" is singular but refers to a plural noun.</p></li>
<li><p>"than the industrial use of steel" is the correct answer. You can't compare the use of something to an actual thing.</p></li>
<li><p>"shows that". Observation is a singular subject and requires a singular verb (shows).</p></li>
<li><p>"his life". Be careful here. The subject here is George Thornton Emmons.</p></li>
<li><p>The phase "something of" is an idiom.</p></li>
</ol>

4

<p>7. If it had said "Whether or not the Ancient Egyptians actually sailed" then it would it be acceptable. Otherwise D is the only choice that is error-free.</p>

<p>16. "yet each of..." tells us that fish is plural. Remember, fish is one of those words that can be both singular or plural depending on the context in which it is used. Therefore "were" is acceptable. Everything else is grammatically correct. </p>

<p>28. This is an error in parallelism. it should be "than the industrial use of steel."</p>

<p>23. Observation is the subject in this sentence, not species. Observation is singular. Therefore "show that" needs to be written as "shows that." </p>

<p>19. The subject is a male, we must use his.</p>

<p>23. "Something of" is idiomatically correct, there is no error in this sentence.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the help everyone! I think I understand now...</p>