SAT WRITING WORKBOOK

PART VI

TESTS FOR PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

SECTION 1
ESSAY

TIME: 25 MINUTES

Directions: Plan and write an essay in response to the assigned topic. Use the essay as an opportunity to show how clearly and effectively you can express and develop ideas. Present your thoughts logically and precisely. Include specific evidence or examples to support your point of view. A plain, natural writing style is probably best. The number of words is up to you, but quantity is less important than quality.

Limit your essay to two sides of the lined paper provided. You’ll have enough space if you write on every line and avoid wide margins. Write or print legibly because handwriting that’s hard or impossible to read will decrease your score.

BE SURE TO WRITE ONLY ON THE ASSIGNED TOPIC. AN ESSAY WRITTEN ON ANOTHER TOPIC WILL BE SCORED “ZERO.”

If you finish in less than twenty-five minutes, check your work. Do not turn to another section of the test.

See Practice Test A.

Think carefully about the following passage and the assignment below.

We thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place

These words from Edwin Arlington Robinson’s famous poem “Richard Cory” describe what people often feel when they see others who apparently lead happier, richer, more satisfying lives than they do.

The kind of envy to which Robinson refers may serve as a strong motivating force for some people to improve their condition and place in life. On the other hand, envy may be a self-defeating and ultimately frustrating emotion because it may lead people to strive in vain for unattainable goals.

Assignment: Is envy generally a positive force in people’s lives? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, observation, or experience.

Section 1

Essay

Time allowed: 25 minutes

Limit your essay to two pages. Do not skip lines. Write only inside the box.

End of essay.

Do not proceed to Section 2 until the allotted time
for Section 1 has passed.

Answer Sheet for
Multiple-Choice Questions

SECTION 2
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

TIME: 25 MINUTES

Improving Sentences

Directions: The underlined sentences and sentence parts below may contain errors in standard English, including awkward or ambiguous expression, poor word choice (diction), incorrect sentence structure, or faulty grammar, usage, and punctuation. Read each sentence carefully and identify which of the five alternative versions most effectively and correctly expresses the meaning of the underlined material. Indicate your choice by filling in the corresponding space on the answer sheet. Choice A always repeats the original. Choose A if none of the other choices improves the original sentence.

(A) cook, and eating also

(B) cook and to eat

(C) cook, and to eat also

(D) cook and eat besides

(E) cook and, in addition, eat

1. The book’s descriptions of the country and the town, in addition to its recent release as a movie, explains why sales of the book have suddenly boomed.

(A) explains why sales of the book have suddenly boomed

(B) explain the sudden boom in its sales

(C) are the reason why the book’s sales having boomed suddenly

(D) explain why it has suddenly boomed it’s sales

(E) is the explanation for the sudden boom in sales

2. Jogging a mile uses the same number of calories as if you walk two miles.

(A) as if you walk

(B) as to walk

(C) than to walk

(D) as walking

(E) as it does when walking

3. Because Lisa expected not to go to college, she is taking little interest in school and doing poorly.

(A) she is taking little interest in school and doing poorly

(B) she took little interest in school and did poorly

(C) she takes little interest in school and does poorly

(D) school interested her little and did poorly

(E) she would take little interest in school and does poorly

4. No one was more happier than me that you won a college scholarship.

(A) more happier than me

(B) happier but me

(C) more happy like myself

(D) as happy like I am

(E) happier than I

5. After 9/11, the American public accepted the government’s authority about more thorough screening of airline passengers.

(A) about more thorough screening of airline passengers

(B) to screen airline passengers more thoroughly

(C) to improve more thoroughly passenger screening at the airport

(D) for the more thorough screening of airline passengers boarding airplanes at the airport

(E) whether to screen more thorough all airline passengers

6. The pollution of the municipal well was discovered, the town posted notices urging people to boil their water.

(A) The pollution of the municipal well was discovered,

(B) The municipal well’s pollution being discovered,

(C) When having made the discovery of the pollution of the water in the municipal well;

(D) After discovering pollution in the municipal well,

(E) Pollution was discovered in the municipal well,

7. Whether Troy in fact communicated or did not with Gabriella is unclear, but a letter or phone call would definitely have given her morale a boost.

(A) Whether Troy in fact communicated or did not

(B) Whether in reality Troy communicated or did not

(C) The actuality of communicating by Troy

(D) That Troy in fact communicated

(E) Troy, whether or not he communicated

8. Last year, Fairfield High School defeated every one of its rivals in girls’ field hockey, nevertheless, they did not win the state championship.

(A) hockey, nevertheless, they

(B) hockey, they nevertheless

(C) hockey, they

(D) hockey; consequently, it

(E) hockey, but it

9. Because it is blessed with a mild and pleasant climate, southern California has become more popular than Florida as a place to retire.

(A) California has become more popular than

(B) California had been as popular as

(C) California having become more popular than

(D) California’s popularity is more than

(E) California has greater popularity as

10. Wandering through the town that he had once called home, everything had changed: the barbershop was gone, the deli was now a laundromat, and his old house had been turned into a condo.

(A) Wandering through the town that he had once called home, everything

(B) He wandered through the town that had once been called home, everything

(C) As he, wandering though the town that had once called home, saw that everything

(D) While wandering through his ex-hometown everything

(E) Wandering though the town that had once been home, he saw that everything

11. An event in Richard’s life story that moved me greatly was when he was separated from the family.

(A) when he was separated from the family

(B) when he and the family were separated

(C) his separation from the family

(D) the separating from the family

(E) the separation between he and the family

Identifying Sentence Errors

Directions: The underlined and lettered parts of each sentence below may contain an error in grammar, usage, word choice (diction), or expression (idiom). Read each sentence carefully and identify which item, if any, contains an error. Indicate your choice by filling in the corresponding space on the answer sheet. No sentence contains more than one error. Some sentences may contain no error. In that case, the correct choice will always be E (No error).

EXAMPLE

Jill went to the of the hill in a faster time her friend, Jack. .

ANSWER

12. The start of freshman year in college the same anxieties experienced by ninth graders entering high school.

13. Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome into a movie failed the mood and meaning of the

14. The senior class has a of scholarship winners than than last .

15. will from the dean of discipline and of privileges after being told that they a trust that they had been given.

16. My parents instilled their moral values my sister and us, by the time we reached teen years, to know right from wrong.

17. The earliest pirates, on Caribbean islands, rustled cattle, smoked the meat and sold to passing ships, attacked and burned colonial settlements, and gold and jewels Spanish galleons.

18. I agree with and Ms. Harrison that without the schools unable every child to read at grade level.

19. Katie opened the refrigerator, she instantly noticed that a huge chunk of chocolate icing had been the birthday cake and immediately suspected that Mark responsible.

20. Gilbert W. Davis is a first-rate trial lawyer who, a predator on the prowl, the art of capitalizing and weaknesses of opponents in the courtroom.

21. If been willing to take him face value tried to search for hidden motives, I’m sure you a cooperative and hardworking employee.

22. Greta Garbo, the sensational and talented Hollywood star of the became a recluse for most of her adult life and isolated but until the day she died.

23. An incident that embittered the colonists occurred a Boston street British troops a group of protesters, wounding six of them.

24. her presidency, an attitude of cockiness and carelessness common, and safety rules were seriously.

25. The experience of taking a car on the road with a driving teacher learning far more useful than results students a dull lecture.

26. traditional family values become one of the distinct differences my parents and

27. Mr. Donahue made perfectly clear that he did not intend all the way to North Carolina without to keep him company.

28. Helene hopes Chuckie that she neither is interested in going out with boys that she ever loved in a romantic way.

29. Foremost the voters’ concerns the problem of what to do waste disposal and the issues the construction of low-income housing.

Improving Paragraphs

Directions: The passage below is the draft of a student’s essay. Some parts of the passage need improvement. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. The questions are about revisions that might improve all or part of the passage’s organization, development, sentence structure, or choice of words. Choose the answer that best follows the requirements of standard written English.

Questions 30–35 refer to the following passage.

[1] Back in 1900, who could have predicted the amazing technological achievements that would be made during the next hundred years? [2] By the year 2000, advances in communications, nuclear energy, and medicine transformed people’s lives in many unexpected ways.

[3] One of the most important developments was the invention of communication satellites that allow images and messages to be sent wirelessly around the world. [4] One advantage of this technology is that current events can be sent worldwide instantly. [5] News used to travel overseas by boat and would take weeks or months to spread. [6] When disaster struck the World Trade Center in 2001, most of the world saw it immediately. [7] To achieve this technological marvel, many satellites have been very costly, however. [8] As a result, many poor countries have been left behind and can barely participate in so-called “globalization.”

[9] The invention and use of nuclear energy is another important technological development. [10] One positive feature of nuclear energy is that energy is cheaper and can be made easy. [11] France, for one, depends almost entirely on electricity generated by nuclear power. [12] But the dangers of nuclear energy dampen the world’s enthusiasm. [13] Watch out for human error and careless workmanship. [14] They can cause huge disasters such as the one in Chernobyl in 1986, which killed countless people and radiated half the Earth.

[15] There have also been many significant technological advances in medicine. [16] One such development was the MRI. [17] An MRI permits doctors to make an image of your brain to see if there is a growth on it. [18] One positive effect of MRIs is that doctors can diagnose brain tumors and brain cancer at an early stage. [19] Many lives have been saved. [20] But MRIs are expensive, so many uninsured Americans and the poor of all countries have been deprived of this modern medical marvel.

30. Considering the main idea of the essay, which of the following is the best revision of sentence 1 (reproduced below)?

Back in 1900, who could have predicted the amazing technological achievements that would be made during the next hundred years?

(A) Back in 1900 who would anticipate the technological developments in the twentieth century?

(B) Recent technological achievements would blow the mind of people in 1900.

(C) The twentieth century saw remarkable technological achievements, but has it improved the lives of all people?

(D) Nobody has known whether the twenty-first century will produce as much technological progress as the twentieth century.

(E) Technological progress in communications, nuclear energy, and medicine is wonderful, but in the process we are destroying ourselves and our environment.

31. Which is the best revision of the underlined segment of sentence 10 (reproduced below)?

One positive feature of nuclear energy is that energy is cheaper and can be made easy.

(A) energy is cheaper and can be made easily

(B) energy is made cheaper and more easily made

(C) it is cheap and easy to make

(D) it is both cheap as well as made easily

(E) it’s more cheaper and easier to make

32. To improve the coherence of paragraph 2, which of the following is the best sentence to delete?

(A) Sentence 4

(B) Sentence 5

(C) Sentence 6

(D) Sentence 7

(E) Sentence 8

33. In the context of the sentences that precede and follow sentence 13, which is the best revision of sentence 13 (reproduced below)?

Watch out for human error and careless workmanship.

(A) Human error and careless workmanship are almost unavoidable.

(B) Especially human error and careless workmanship.

(C) There’s hardly no foolproof way to prevent human error and careless workmanship.

(D) You must never put down your guard against human error and careless workmanship.

(E) Accidents can happen accidentally by human error and careless workmanship.

34. With regard to the entire essay, which of the following best explains the writer’s intention in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4?

(A) To compare and contrast three technological achievements

(B) To provide examples of the pros and cons of technological progress

(C) To analyze the steps needed for achievement in three areas

(D) To convince readers to be open to technological change

(E) To advocate more funds for technological research and development

35. Assume that sentences 15 and 16 were combined as follows: A significant advance in medicine has been the invention of the MRI. Which of the following is the best way to continue the paragraph?

(A) An MRI allows your doctors to make pictures of a brain to see if it has a growth on it, a cancer is growing, or tumors at an early stage.

(B) The MRI permits your doctors to make a picture and see if your brain has a growth on it, or whether or not you have brain tumors or brain cancer at an early stage.

(C) Making images with an MRI, your brain is studied by doctors for growths, brain tumors, and cancer at an early stage.

(D) Doctors may make pictures of your brain to see if there is a growth, a tumor, or cancer at an early stage of it.

(E) With this device a doctor may look into a patient’s brain to check for growths and to detect cancerous tumors at an early stage.

End of Section 2.

Do not return to Section 1. Do not proceed to Section 3 until the allotted time for Section 2 has passed.

SECTION 3
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

TIME: 10 MINUTES

Improving Sentences

Directions: The underlined sentences and sentence parts below may contain errors in standard English, including awkward or ambiguous expression, poor word choice (diction), incorrect sentence structure, or faulty grammar, usage, and punctuation. Read each sentence carefully and identify which of the five alternative versions most effectively and correctly expresses the meaning of the underlined material. Indicate your choice by filling in the corresponding space on the answer sheet. Choice A always repeats the original. Choose A if none of the other choices improves the original sentence.

1. During this decade, paying for a college education is more difficult for the average family than it was in the past.

(A) than it was in the past

(B) than for past families

(C) than the past

(D) than families in the past

(E) than it used to be in the past

2. Gwen Harper, one of the most popular students in the school, winning the election for class president three years in a row.

(A) school, winning the election for class president three years in a row

(B) school, winning the election for class president, which she won three years in a row

(C) school, and she won the election for class president three years in a row

(D) school, won the election for class president three years in a row

(E) school, three years in a row she won the election for class president.

3. The novel as we know it today came into being early in the seventeenth century with Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, and Cervantes was clearly ahead of his time.

(A) Cervantes, and Cervantes was clearly ahead of his time

(B) Cervantes, who was clearly ahead of his time

(C) Cervantes, being clearly ahead of his time

(D) Cervantes, which novel was clearly ahead of its time

(E) Cervantes, Cervantes was clearly ahead of his time

4. Not all athletes who have high motivation or are significantly talented in a sport can be assured of a place on an Olympic team.

(A) have high motivation or are significantly talented

(B) have either high motivation or else talent in significant amounts

(C) are highly motivated or who have significant talent instead

(D) are highly motivated or significantly talented

(E) have high motivation or else significant amounts of talent

5. Although she dislikes city living and has never been east of the Mississippi, Sarah intends to move to New York or Boston after she graduates from college.

(A) she dislikes city living and has never been east of the Mississippi

(B) she is without liking for city living nor having been east of the Mississippi

(C) she dislikes city living nor has she visited there

(D) she does not like city living and has never been a visitor

(E) it is without a liking for city living nor having visited there

6. When you visit a foreign country, we can almost always find someone who speaks English.

(A) When you visit a foreign country, we can

(B) When visiting a foreign country, one can

(C) When we visit a foreign country, one can

(D) While you are on a visit to a foreign country, one can

(E) During our visiting of a foreign country, we

7. Having Kelly Collins as our talented coordinator and the enthusiastic support of the community and the Chamber of Commerce helped to make the town’s Octoberfest a rousing success.

(A) Having Kelly Collins as our talented coordinator

(B) The having of the coordinating talent of Kelly Collins

(C) Kelly Collins as our talented coordinator

(D) To be coordinated by talented Kelly Collins

(E) The coordination talents of Kelly Collins

8. When Beethoven’s music was introduced to the public for the first time, they found it difficult to understand and unpleasant to listen to.

(A) When Beethoven’s music was introduced to the public for the first time, they found it

(B) When it was introduced to the public for the first time, they found Beethoven’s music

(C) When the music of Beethoven was introduced, the public found it

(D) When they were introduced to Beethoven’s music, the public had found it

(E) Introducing Beethoven’s music for the first time, the public found it

9. Two Coast Guard crews were dispatched to check an anonymous informant’s warning, and he had observed a boatload of undocumented immigrants approaching Florida’s west coast.

(A) an anonymous informant’s warning, and he

(B) the warning of an anonymous informant that he

(C) that an anonymous warning of an informant he

(D) the anonymous informant’s warning saying he

(E) information anonymously warning that he

10. Therefore, I admire organizations that speak up for fairness and democratic principles, even if it is motivated by selfishness.

(A) even if it is motivated by selfishness

(B) even when their motives are selfish

(C) even when the motive is to be for its own selfish aims

(D) whether or not it’s for their own selfish aims

(E) whether their motive is for selfish aims or not for selfish aims

11. If you wish to study transcendental meditation, which is when a person completely relaxes their mind and body, you will find several relevant books on the shelf.

(A) which is when a person completely relaxes their mind and body

(B) which is when a person completely relaxes his mind and body

(C) which is when someone completely relax their mind and body

(D) the complete relaxation of the mind and body

(E) which completely relaxes their mind and body

12. Women in a hunter-gatherer society led demanding lives, the reason was that they collected plant food for the family while protecting herself and her children from wild beasts.

(A) lives, the reason was that they collected plant food for the family while protecting herself and her children

(B) lives, it was that she had to collect plant food for the family while also protecting herself and her children

(C) lives; collecting plant food for the family while protecting herself and her children

(D) lives because its responsibilities included collecting plant food for the family while protecting themselves and their children

(E) lives because they not only collected plant food for the family but also protected themselves and their children

13. Nursing homes that violate regulations have become an important statewide problem, and it has become a hot political issue.

(A) an important statewide problem, and it has become

(B) a problem of statewide importance, that is

(C) a problem of statewide importance; it was, therefore

(D) an important statewide problem that is

(E) an important statewide problem, which they have become

14. Of all the roads making up America’s Interstate Highway System, more people drive on I-95 than any highway.

(A) more people drive on I-95 than any highway

(B) travelers are driving on I-95 in the largest numbers

(C) the largest amount of drivers are on I-95

(D) I-95 is the more heavily traveled

(E) I-95 is the most heavily traveled

End of Section 3.

Do not return to Sections 1 or 2.

END OF WRITING TEST.