Writing Questions, they will be vital to your next SAT so help me

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Some writing questions I encountered in a practice exams that I need some assistance in.</p>

<ol>
<li> In his old age, the painter James McNeill Whistler walked to the beach almost every day, [where he carried] a small easel and his paints in order to paint the sky, the water, and the shore.</li>
</ol>

<p>In his old age, the painter James McNeill Whistler walked to the beach almost every day, [carrying] a small easel and his paints in order to paint the sky, the water, and the shore.</p>

<p>QUESTION: Why is the 2nd choice correct and the 1st choice incorrect? LOL this is an embarrassingly easy question (very early on in the question set) but I had trouble in figuring out which was right. </p>

<h2>Is the first one wrong because right before it is "day" when it needs to be "beach" ?</h2>

<ol>
<li> By using electromagnetic sensors to record the frequency of lightning strikes throughout the US, meteorologists have determined that [it occurs] at a rate of 2,000 per hour.</li>
</ol>

<p>QUESTION: (it occurs is wrong) why is "it" vague? It felt vague so I chose it, but there's only one singular subject that it could possibly refer to (frequency), so why is it vague...</p>

<hr>

<ol>
<li> No one but a fool would readily lend money to a person who is known [to be] a frequent gambler.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>QUESTION: (answer is no error) I thought it was "known AS" and not "known TO BE" ? I wrote this down in my list of confusing idioms because I know for sure there was a question that had "known to be" which was wrong. So what's the deal with known as/to be? how do you know when which is correct. I mean it sounds correct in this sentence but I just decided to trust what i learned since my instinct isn't always correct. </p>

<hr>

<ol>
<li> For any mayor of a vast metropolitan area, an understanding of current issues in all districts is not only [desirous] but also vital</li>
</ol>

<p>QUESTION: (desirous is the answer) So....... why is this wrong? I understand that "desirable" is the more colloquial form but "desirous" is still a word (its on dictionary.com)</p>

<hr>

<ol>
<li> (improving paragraphs)</li>
</ol>

<p>(1) Many people believe that failure can be the source of success. (2) Although it may sound ludicrous to some, there is much truth [to it]/[to this sentiment], as those who have experienced such failures can attest</p>

<p>QUESTION: (the second is correct). Why is "this sentiment" correct over "it"? "It" is used already in the beginning of the sentence "although IT may.." so why is there need to clarify...</p>

<h2>yeah... never had so much trouble with improving paragraphs in my life....</h2>

<ol>
<li> (more improving paragraphs)</li>
</ol>

<p>Although all drugs go through strict testing before [approval, failing] at least once.</p>

<p>Although all drugs go through strict testing before [approval; they failed] at least once.</p>

<p>QUESTION: Why is the first better than the second? both seemed equally grammatical...</p>

2

<p>I’ll try to help with those that I am confident I can explain well, as I do not want to mislead you regarding the rest.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Re-read the sentence. Lightning strikes (Plural) occur (plural verb form). It is not frequency (singular) that occurs (singular verb form). Get it?</p></li>
<li><p>Desirable = Something that is desired.
Desirous = Someone that desires.
Try to remember that the “ous” suffix means “full of”. Hence, desirous = full of desire.
Both words exist but they do not mean the same thing.</p></li>
<li><p>This one I am not 100% as to the explanation, but I’ll try. Although “It” is already used, it still needs to be clarified at least once. Since the clarification isn’t made with it’s first use, it MUST be made the second time. Try switching the sentence around:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>“There is much truth to this sentiment, although it may sound ludicrous to some.” </p>

<p>“Although this sentiment may sound ludicrous to some, there is much truth to it.”</p>

<p>Sooner or later, the “it” MUST be clarified. Get it?</p>

<p>Phew. I’ve never tried explaining English grammar before. I’m a non-native speaker so if you feel something’s not in place do get more advice to be sure. I hope I helped though.</p>

3

<p>6)</p>

<p>May there be a mistake in the question?
Both answer choices make no grammatical sense to me (I am also a non-native speaker though).
In the first choice “failing” sounds odd and creates a sentence fragment in the second part of the sentence.
And the second choice is also not correct because “although” is a conjunction which creates a reason - result relationship between both parts of the sentence. So it must not be separated by a semicolon.
Am i wrong?</p>

4

<p>For the first question the use of “where” is odd. Your carry something in a bag, in your hands, etc. The way the sentence is structured the only thing “where” can refer to is the “beach” or the painter, and neither makes much sense.</p>

<p>Look at this sentence:</p>

<p>In his old age, the painter James McNeill Whistler walked to the beach almost every day wearing his knapsack, where he packed a small easel and paints in order to paint the sky, the water, and the shore.</p>

<p>Now “where” refers to the knapsack, and that makes sense.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>YES Sorry about that. “Although” should be “almost” </p>

<p>I typed it wrong. Sorry!</p>

6

<ol>
<li>(more improving paragraphs)</li>
</ol>

<p>ALMOST* all drugs go through strict testing before [approval, failing] at least once.</p>

<p>ALMOST* all drugs go through strict testing before [approval; they failed] at least once.</p>

<p>QUESTION: Why is the first better than the second? both seemed equally grammatical…</p>

7

<p>In question number six, They doesn’t really refer to anything specific in the question introducing a General Reference, which is considered wrong on the SAT. Also, The Improving paragraphs question, you have to find the Best Answer Choice, not just A correct answer. In the first sentence just using failing, omits the ambiguity. Hope that gives you a little intuition on why the second one is not as good as the first.</p>