Princeton Review SAT Book

1. Princeton Review SAT Book PowerPoint #3 (Grade 9): Part III: Writing Section 3: Grammar Introduction (pages 128-145)

2. Grammar SAT Section Overview • Grammar is part of the 25 minute Writing Section AND the 10 minute Writing section. • There are three types of grammar questions: error identification, improving sentences, and improving paragraphs.

3. Error Identification (page 128) • In these questions, an entire sentence is given, with several underlined parts. If one of the underlined parts is incorrect, that is your answer; if the sentence is fine as is, your answer is “No error.” • Approximately 20% of error identification sentences are correct as is.

4. Improving Sentences (page 128) • In these questions, an entire sentence is given, with ONE underlined part. • Choice A is always a reproduction of the underlined part; if it is correct as is, this is your choice. (This is true approximately 20% of the time.) • The other choices will show different wording.

5. Common Grammatical Errors • PRONOUN ERRORS (page 129) When you see a pronoun underlined, check to see if it agrees with the noun it replaces. The following pronouns are singular. Do you see a pattern?

6. Common Grammatical Errors • PRONOUN ERRORS (page 129) How many “bodies” and “things” are indicated? Does “one” give us a clue?

7. Common Grammatical Errors • PRONOUN ERRORS (page 129) Watch ambiguous pronouns; they’re a sign of a badly written sentence. Who does the “they” refer to in the following sentence? Successful athletes pay attention to their coaches because they know the value of experience.

8. Common Grammatical Errors • PRONOUN ERRORS (page 129) Watch ambiguous pronouns; they’re a sign of a badly written sentence. Who does the “they” refer to in the following sentence? Successful athletes pay attention to their coaches because they know the value of experience. Do athletes know the value of experience, or do the coaches know? We don’t know! Therefore, “they” is used incorrectly.

9. Verb Errors (page 130) • Make sure underlined verbs agree with their subject. If it’s a singular subject, it should be a singular verb: She runs. If it’s a plural subject, it should be a plural verb: They run. • Make sure the tense is consistent throughout. For example, don’t shift from present to past, as in the following incorrect sentence: I run for two minutes, then I ran for five minutes.

10. Quick Quiz #1 (page 130) • Get out a piece of paper. Number it #1 through 4. • Turn to page 130 of your book. Use a folder to cover up the bottom half of the page with the answers. • Answer the 4 questions. • When finished, close the book and wait for me to call time. Do NOT check your answers. • You have two minutes.

11. Answers to Quick Quiz #1 (page 130) Answers: • B • C • C • C • Read the explanations for any that you missed. • How did you do? • Any questions?

12. Quick Quiz #2 (page 131) • Number #1 through 3. • Turn to page 131 of your book. Use a folder to cover up the bottom half of the page with the answers. • Answer the 3 questions. • When finished, close the book and wait for me to call time. Do NOT check your answers. • You have two minutes.

13. Answers to Quick Quiz #2 (page 131) Answers: • B • A • E • Read the explanations for any that you missed. • How did you do? • Any questions?

14. Other Minor Error Types • Look for idioms (commonly used word combinations) and make sure they are correctly using prepositions. “Responsible for” is a correctly used idiom; “responsible of” or “responsible to” are not. “I’m with the band” makes sense; “I’m to the band” and “I’m of the band” are awkward at best. • Diction errors are errors in word choice. These are not very common on the SAT.

15. Common Improving Sentence Errors MISPLACED MODIFIERS (page 132) Watch sentence constructions that make it unclear who is doing what: Running down the street, a brick fell on my head. “Running down the street” is a modifier – but what is it modifying? Did a brick run down the street?? How might you correct it?

16. Common Improving Sentence Errors Running down the street, I felt a brick fall on my head. A brick fell on my head while I was running down the street. The first works (the correctly modified noun is made clear and immediately follows the modifier), but the second sentence is even better and less awkward.

17. Common Improving Sentence Errors PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION (page 132) When making a list of items, make sure all parts of the list are in the same form. The following is incorrect: Ricky wanted to finish his homework, take a walk, and to be in bed by ten o’clock. Not sure why it’s wrong? Make three sentences.

18. Common Improving Sentence Errors Ricky wanted to finish his homework. Ricky wanted to take a walk. Ricky wanted to to be in bed by ten o’clock. Aha! Sentence #3 is wrong! “Ricky wanted to to be in bed by ten o’clock.” Two to’s! Only on ballerinas. Otherwise, it does not make sense. Let’s fix the original sentence.

19. Common Improving Sentence Errors Ricky wanted to finish his homework, take a walk, and be in bed by ten o’clock. Much better!

20. Common Improving Sentence Errors If you are making a comparison, make sure the two things being compared are similar: John’s drumming style is more explosive than Keith. We’re not comparing John to Keith; also, I doubt if Keith is really explosive. We should be comparing John’s drumming style to Keith’s drumming style. How would you fix it?

21. Common Improving Sentence Errors John’s drumming style is more explosive than Keith’s drumming style. John’s drumming style is more explosive than Keith’s. The first is accurate, but repetitive; the second is accurate and more likely.

22. Eliminating Answers on Improving Sentences Avoid answer choices that: • Contain the word “being” • Are wordy or redundant • Contain unnecessary or ambiguous pronouns • Change the meaning of the sentence Hint: these are also good tips for writing well!

23. Quick Quiz #3 (page 133) • Number #1 and 2. • Turn to page 133 of your book. • Answer the 2 questions. • When finished, close the book and wait for me to call time. Do NOT check your answers. • You have one minute.

24. Answers to Quick Quiz #3 (page 134) Answers: • B • D • Read the explanations for any that you missed. • How did you do? • Any questions?

25. Improving Paragraphs Questions (page 135) • For these kind of questions, you will look at a rough draft of an essay. • Not only will you need to fix grammatical errors, but you will also revise sentences, add transitions, and add or delete sentences. • Always go right to the questions first; reading the entire essay is usually not necessary, and is time consuming.

26. Improving Paragraphs Questions REVISION QUESTIONS (page 136) • First make sure there are no grammatical errors in the answers; if there are, eliminate them. • Next, eliminate answers that change the meaning of the sentence. • Always go right to the questions first; reading the entire essay is usually not necessary, and is time consuming.

27. Improving Paragraphs Questions TRANSITION QUESTIONS (page 137) • Look at the sentences before AND after the one you’re going to work with. • Determine what direction the sentences are going in – is it the same flow of ideas or does the topic change? • Do not add any new information.

28. Improving Paragraphs Questions CONTENT QUESTIONS (page 137) • For these, you may need to rearrange sentences or provide a title for the essay. • If rearranging, make sure sentences on the same topic are kept together. Think “flow.” • A title will require an understanding of an overall main idea.

29. Problem Sets #1, 2 and 3 • Write down #1 through 6 on your paper. • Turn to Problem Set #1, page 138. Complete Problem Set #1, writing your answers on your paper. Cover up the bottom of page 139 with your folder. • Write down #1 through 6 and complete Problem Set #2 (pages 140-141), writing your answers on your paper. • Put a folder between pages 144 and 145. • Write down #1 through 6 and complete Problem Set #3 (pages 143-144), writing your answers on your paper. • You have 15 minutes.

30. Review Answers to Problem Sets • Check your answers. • Read over the explanations for any that you missed. • How did you do? • Any questions? This concludes today’s SAT Review!