Writing Section of the SAT?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I bought the services from Collegeboard, and these are questions i got wrong and didn't really understand why.
Thank you.</p>

<ol>
<li>New Zealand A(had fostered) a thriving local music scene B(for decades), but it was not until the late 1980s C(when) New Zealand musicians began D(to reach) international audiences. E(no error).</li>
</ol>

<p>Answer is C but I'm not sure why. I chose A because i thought it would sound better with "fostered" not "had fostered." By the way, when do you use the word "had fostered" instead of "fostered," or "had been" or "have had been". Thanks.</p>

<ol>
<li>The A(figures cited) in the report do not B(collaborate) the author's claim that small hospitals C(generally provide) better patient care D(than do) large ones. E(no error)</li>
</ol>

<p>Answer says that its B, but I don't really get why. I chose D because i thought it should be "than those of". How do we know we can use "than do"?</p>

2

<ol>
<li>The correct word is corroborate which means give support to; not collaborate which means to work to work together with.</li>
</ol>

3

<p>“when” should be replaced by “that”, which is in accordance with the emphasis of the sentence structure, “it is *** that ***.”</p>

4

<p>As to your question involving “than do” you can put the “do” in or just leave it out, which is far more common today, in which case the “do” is understood to be there without having to say it. Thus, the sentence could have ended with just “than large ones.” “Than those of” would be incorrect because “those,” a plural, is incorrectly referring back to the singular “patient care” but the sentence could also end with “than that of large ones” or “than that provided by large ones.”</p>