Three Writing MC questions

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<ol>
<li>At graduation, the speaker assured us that our many courses in the liberal arts had prepared us equally well for the challenges of working and further study.</li>
</ol>

<p>(A) had prepared us equally well for the challenges of working and further study
(B) had prepared us equally well for the challenges of work and of further study</p>

<p>My answer: A
Correct answer: B</p>

<p>I feel like the difference here is very subtle but aren't "working" and "work" but used as nouns here? So then aren't "study" and "work/ing" both parallel? Or is the issue with the fact that choice B has "of work" and "of...study." Can someone explain this to me because it's confusing me.</p>

<ol>
<li>Like his other cookbooks, in his new book Chef Louis offers lengthy explanations of what he considers to be basic cooking principles. No error</li>
</ol>

<p>My answer: E
Correct answer: A</p>

<p>I get that for A to be grammatically correct, the sentence would have to start "Like his other cookbooks, his new cookbook..." but how would you change A to make it correct?</p>

<ol>
<li>Just a general question on pronoun ambiguity: in the Bartholomew question on the Oct 2009 SAT:</li>
</ol>

<p>"Although I am well acquainted with Bartholomew and knowof hsi interest in the painting, that he went to such lengths to obtain it still surprised me."</p>

<p>That's not exactly what appeared on the writing section but it's close enough to it. The answer was no error but I'm not sure why "it" can be used in this sentence since it's not clear if it's referring to the "interest" or the "painting."</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Question one:</p>

<p>(A) is not parallel; “working” and “study” don’t agree.</p>

3

<p>Question two:</p>

<p>It should be “As in his other cookbooks.”</p>

4

<p>Question three:</p>

<p>The most grammatical explanation I can give you is that “painting” is closer in the sentence to “it” than “interest” is.</p>

5

<p>^Silverturtle your beast at grammar, where did you learn your skills?</p>

<p>I would think the 2nd question is No Error. I don’t understand what’s wrong with “Like his other books”</p>

6

<p>There are two problems:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>If we were to include all implicit elements of the sentence, the beginning would read, “As he does in his other books.” “like” cannot be used to introduce a clause; “as” must be substituted. </p></li>
<li><p>It is not logically parallel to omit the “in.” In the clause, the element being compared to is a prepositional phrase with “in.” So, the introductory clause needs to have “in” as well.</p></li>
</ul>

7

<p>I don’t remember where I learned my grammar; it’s mostly accumulated here and there. :)</p>

8

<p>Thanks, I just saw your comprehensive subject-verb agreement guide. Good stuff.</p>

9

<p>Does anyone know if the ID-ing sentence errors and improving paragraphs deal with ambiguities and modifiers as much as the improving senteces questions does??</p>