What am i doing wrong- Grammar?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Here it is short. HOW DO I REDUCE # of Erros to 0-2? I am using 7 BB test to improve my grammar to an 800 after finishing "The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar". I have taken 3 tests already and I am not seeing any improvment; I am actually doing worse. I believe i know most of the rules, but sometimes i just overlook it. For example i know faulty comparison you change to "that/those of ____" but. Or in Error ID, i got that/those wrong because i didnt notice it was wrong and chose NE.</p>

<p>Test #2)Got 6 wrong(#'s:26,27,29,30,33, and 14(sec 10))
Test #5)Got 6 wrong(#'s: 3,11,13 [sec 10-> 5,9, and 14])
Test #6)Got 8 wrong(#'s: 8,13,14,15,16, 32,35 and 8(sec 10))</p>

<ol>
<li>Some beaches are frequently contaminated by untreated sewage that flows into the [ocean, which can last for several days.]</li>
</ol>

<p>(A) ocean, which can last for several days
(B) ocean that can last for several days
(C) ocean, it can last for several days
(D) ocean, while contamination can last several days
(E) ocean; the contamination can last for several days </p>

<p>^these type usually get me. I know E is correct, but A seems correct also and its shorter.(When do i use ",which"-",while"-"that")</p>

2

<p>“A” is incorrect because an ocean cannot last seven days.</p>

<p>Look up the term “restrictive clause.” This will answer your “which/that” question.</p>

3

<p>First off eliminate! C is out because it is ambigous and you cant do " , it " While is out also.
Which is used for an object or thing. SAT usually uses that for a cause. " i was so angry THAT i punched a wall. If after the semicolon the sentence can be read ( subject and verb ) then that answer is correct. A couldnt work although it sounds better than than E. A is stating that the ocean lasts for several days… which that wouldnt make sense. B does that same thing. The semicolon is introducing the subject again The CONTAMINATION can last for a few days.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both for answering my question. That actually helped. But what I really need is some help on the first part of the question. I’m actually making more mistakes, how can i reduce them?</p>

5

<p>Review pronoun agreement as well. </p>

<p>IMO, the reason you are having trouble finding the error is because you figure it out in your mind. You know that the sewage is the problem that can last several days, but the sentence is not clear.</p>

6

<p>Reduce mistakes? Easy way to solve this problem. Grab a test from the blue book., preferably a fresh one. Do section 10 first, yes do the last section FIRST. Once you’re done mark whichever questions you got wrong and figure out WHY! WHY DID YOU GET THEM WRONG. Writing is just like math, there is an equation to get the correct answer choice. After you mark everything up, go over your mistakes whether subject verb agreement or whatever. Now erase that entire section up ( sec 10 ). Go do section 6 or whatever section is the writing section for that test. Do the whole 35 questions. Applaud yourself take a 2 minute breather. Now go over that entire section, once again mark up EVERYTHING you got wrong and WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY you got it wrong. After you do this go do section 10 again you have to get all of these right and get them right knowing WHY Dont time yourself when you do that section all over again. Just do it smoothly. Go over section 6 and 10 again post up the questions you got wrong. You can also get why you got them wrong by googlign " official sat study guide explations college board " and you’ll go to the test and section and find out why.</p>

<p>PM me if you need help. Best of luck.</p>

<p>Reason you do section 10 first is because it tests the small things that are really important and the 35 question piece tests mostly everything.</p>

7

<p>@ MD Mom
In a way you’re right. When I’m under a time limit, i feel somewhat pressured and with questions like these, I don’t really look for the error because there are too many rules to think of under pressure- kinda out of habit I substitute each choice in to see which one is shortest, gramatically correct, and sounds the best(i know this is bad but its helps on some when i dont know which rule is being tested). </p>

<p>Can you help me identify my weak points on the other BB questions, not just #14. Also what are some strategies in tackling improving paragraphs? I usually get the main idea of Paragraph 1 or what is the purpose of the last paragraph type questions.</p>

8

<p>@ivykid96
Thank you for the most thorough answer so far and your offer to help me. I have a few questions. When you look at the answers to check, how do you keep yourself from subconsciously memorizing the answer so that when you go back- you dont say “oh this is the one i got wrong, and I remember E was the correct answer when I marked it wrong”.</p>

<p>Also I have this book “The ultimate grammar guide to SAT”. It categorizes every questions to a grammar rule(i.e. 18) Faulty Comparions). Do you think i should use that to figure out WHY i got something wrong, or should I figure it out myself?</p>

<p>AFter marking everything up,how should I go over my specific errors? I just usually go Oh it was S-V agreement, how did i miss that, it so obvious now, and then i just move on.</p>

<p>When i figure out WHY i got something wrong, what do I do, write it down? Can you give me an example of what you would do if you got a questions wrong? DO i just notice the grammar rule and understand that the right answer is the right answer, or do i prove why all the other choices are wrong?</p>

9

<p>I’m actually making more mistakes, how can i reduce them?</p>

<p>The most effective way to identify writing errors is to learn how to write correctly. A day or two I asked (to no response) for a sample of your writing. I did this so that I could see what kinds of mistakes YOU make. These will be the same kinds of errors you won’t be able to correct in the context of a multiple-choice question on a timed test.</p>

<p>An example is above in bold. It’s a comma splice. (You were probably just typing fast, but hopefully you understand my point.)</p>

<p>I’m willing to bet that (<–no pun intended) you’ve made the “that/which” mistake in your own work somewhere along the line.</p>

<p>If there were one book, one practice technique, that would enable you guys to dramatically improve your grammar skills overnight (or even over a period of a week or two), you can be assured that I would tell you about it.</p>

<p>Actually, I wouldn’t have to tell you about it because it would have gone viral by now and everyone would be earning top scores on the grammar questions.</p>

<p>(Don’t you think millions of kids have already read the “official” explanations?)</p>

10

<p>I just didn’t have the time or energy to type up an essay of mine. I found a 10 essay i got when i did princeton review a couple weeks ago. It’s a scan of the essay and I tried to put it here, but I don’'t know how to attach a jpg of it. That why i posted the question numbers of which test i got so people can better understand which types i am getting wrong.</p>

11

<p>I just didn’t have the time or energy to type up an essay of mine.</p>

<p>I completely understand. Expending time or energy on anything means that it really matters. (That’s why I’m typing this. I could just give you a link to something, but since doing so would violate the terms of service here I can’t save myself time by doing so.)</p>

<p>Regardless, you’ll undoubtedly get lots of helpful responses here. I know that you can improve because English is part art and part logic.</p>

12

<p>I have the same book by Erica Meltzer, right? </p>

<p>You should in a sense memorize why you got it wrong and then you know how in the book she catergorizes the questions into specific errors? Do about 5 of them to get yourself accustomed to it. Also if you continue to do writing sections the ones you did in the beginning will appear new to you as if youve never done them- at least thats what happens for me :frowning: </p>

<p>Just remember same errors appear on each test, just in a different " setting "</p>

13

<p>@jkjeremy you can post links you just have to copy this Click Here and put a link after the = sign. I’m sorrry if i waste any of your time.</p>

14

<p>I’m sorrry if i waste any of your time.</p>

<p>You haven’t wasted my time at all. Please don’t take it that way. I’m here because during the summer I have so much more time!</p>

15

<p>@ivykid96 </p>

<p>Ya.</p>

<p>So do 5 of paralleism from different test? and then erase them for later use? Also Should i reread the rules for the particular section again? I just really need to reduce my answers from 6-8 to 0-1. I dont know how to prevent my the mistakes I am making. Is there anything from Meltzer I should tell you so you can help me better? Like all the sections I missed?</p>

16

<p>Go to page 53 read the word pairs. Learn subject verb agreement. Master everything piece by piece man and yeah if you wanan tell me what you got wrong just PM me.</p>

17

<p>Jkjeremy= really nice guy.</p>

<p>i guess showing you how to do the link didnt work well the first time, Here is what i meant to post [ url=] Click here [ /url] just remove the space after the 1st bracket marks of both and link after = sign.</p>

18

<p>Wait why do i need to read page 53 of Word pairs? I believe i get most of them right. </p>

<p>Never got an answer on the do 5 questions of same type-dif test for practice.</p>

<p>Types i got wrong:</p>

<p>Test 2</p>

<h1>26 - Preposition: offers of</h1>

<h1>29 - NE question. gerund vs. infin, herself, idiomatic structure"as they were"</h1>

<ul>
<li>i got know all the concepts listed but i chose “by” as wrong*</li>
</ul>

<p>As an amateur potter (herself), the accountant offered (to help) the artist with his business accounts, complicated (as they were) (by) his unusual system of record keeping.</p>

<h1>14) Passive</h1>

<p>Test #5)</p>

<h1>3) S-v agreement:s-pp-v.</h1>

<h1>11) Pronoun-ante: singular plural</h1>

<h1>13) Parallel structure</h1>

<h1>5) “The reason that”</h1>

<h1>9) Non-essential clause;gerund</h1>

<h1>14) Parallel Structure: active vs. passive</h1>

<p>Test #6</p>

<h1>8) Pronoun-ante: collective noun(school)=sing</h1>

<h1>13)NE main concept= would vs. will.</h1>

<h1>14)Faulty comparison(I know how to do it, but i didnt know it was this type until after i got it wrong)</h1>

<h1>15)Pronoun-antecdent: sing vs. plural (that/those)</h1>

<h1>16)NE main concept= antecedent pronoun each: singular,its</h1>

<h1>8) Parallel structure</h1>

<p>Note: i usually know all the concepts in NE ones, but I think there is something else wrong with the sentences. I never think Oh “would” is used correctly so it must be NE. I think there is something else wrong and make myself believe there is a mistake.</p>

<p>Ivykid, any suggestions on what to do from here?</p>

19

<p>I do not have the book you are using, so I cannot tell you specific answers. However, what I have noticed with a lot of the SAT grammar is that lots of it is agreement: pronouns, subject/verb, parallelism. To learn the rules and get some practice, there is a Web site called The Guide to Grammar and Writing. If you do a Google search for Grammar Darling, it pops right up. I like the site because it has lots of quizzes and most of them link back to the rule. Look for the drop down menu on the right side of the page for the quizzes if you want to take a look at it. Good luck.</p>

20

<p>**Jkjeremy= really nice guy.</p>

<p>i guess showing you how to do the link didnt work well the first time, Here is what i meant to post [ url=] Click here [ /url] just remove the space after the 1st bracket marks of both and link after = sign.**</p>

<p>I hope you weren’t being facetious, because I do consider myself a “nice guy.”</p>

<p>As for how to post links, I do appreciate the instructions but linking to my own material would violate the terms of service here. I know how to post links, but professional courtesy dictates that I not do it.</p>

<p>Slasheer102, I would advise you to check out Purdue University’s OWL Lab. They offer a pretty comprehensive coverage of grammar and usage.</p>

<p>There honestly aren’t many other resources I would recommend (and even the one I cited isn’t perfect).</p>

<p>Anyway, I do mean well (and you can call me John).</p>