SAT DAY THREE FUN

SAT DAY THREE WRITING

THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR WRITING:


Make a list of all the books you have read in your life.


1. USE BETTER EXAMPLES:

2. ONE/THEIR AGREEMENT:
One must forget his or her past and move on toward their future.

FOUR RELEVANT WRITING TIPS:

1. Your essay should be a full 2 pages. Studies have shown that longer essays receive higher scores. (Generally above 10) This does not mean you can just babble on about the cosmos.

2. Have a solid and direct thesis

3. Have a conclusion that brings your essay together

4. Include three relevant examples in the body of your essay that reinforce and prove your thesis statement

LET’S PRACTICE THE PROCESS A BIT:

TAKE TWO MINUTES TO COME UP WITH A THESIS AND THREE EXAMPLES TO PROVE YOUR POINT.


Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Given the importance of human creativity, one would think it should have a high priority among our concerns. But if we look at the reality, we see a different picture. Basic scientific research is minimized in favor of immediate practical applications. The arts are increasingly seen as dispensable luxuries. Yet as competition heats up around the globe, exactly the opposite strategy is needed.
Adapted from Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi
Assignment
Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today?
Thesis:
Three Examples:

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IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS:

Pay attention to number and agreement mistakes. These are very common in this section:

Look at the singular or plural noun and the phrase or word describing it:

The advertisement in the newspaper requested that only persons with high school diplomas should apply.

Most infants, even unusually quiet ones, will cry with greater frequency when they begin teething.

Mary’s rose gardens are considered by many to be the symbols of beauty in the neighborhood.

A typical college student has difficulty adjusting to academic standards higher than those of their high school.


Subject-verb agreement:

Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.

The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.


The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.


The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.


The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.

Each of these hot dogs is juicy.

Everybody knows Mr. Jones.

Either is correct.


SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT QUIZ:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sv_agr_quiz.htm#




IMPROVING SENTENCES:

Page 273
This section is not only interested in correctness. Remember, there will be other “correct” options for every question. The key is to find the best option. Does that sound relative? It is!






Sample Improving Sentences Questions
1. After Timmy dropped his filthy socks in the hamper, the offensive garment was washed by his long-suffering father.
1. the offensive garment was washed by his long-suffering father
2. his long-suffering father washed the offensive garment
3. the washing of the offensive garment took place by his long-suffering father
4. long-suffering, the offensive garment was washed by his father
5. he left the offensive garment for his long-suffering father who washed it



The main problem in this sentence is the use of the passive voice—was washed by. The passive construction makes the sentence more convoluted than it needs to be. B and E both fix the passive voice problem by replacing the passive verb with active verb forms. However, E is wordy and redundant, whereas B is clear and concise. The answer is B.



2. The unlimited shopping spree allowed Rachel to raid the department store and she could eat everything in the café.
1. and she could eat
2. as well as eating
3. so she could eat
4. and a meal
5. and to eat


This sentence has problems with parallelism. The first half of the sentence contains a verb in the infinitive form “to raid” so the other clause in the sentence (after the word and) should contain another infinitive. Answer E makes both halves of the sentence parallel by replacing the conditional verb form she could eat with the infinitive verb form to eat. The answer is E.



COMMON ISSUES IN THIS SECTION:

1. PASSIVE VOICE:
My homework was eaten by my dog.
The dog ate my homework.

I was put to sleep by my SAT instructor.
MY SAT instructor put me to sleep.

2. RUN-ON SENTENCES

Subject-verb….get out





3. DANGLING MODIFIERS:

Incorrect: After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing.
Revised: After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing.

Incorrect: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place to relax.
Revised: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at home.

Incorrect: The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully.
Revised: They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully.



While studying law, Javier, a talented litigator from Pasadena, fought valiantly, against City Hall, a daunting and hopeless endeavor.

Revision, never one of my strong suits as a writer, and certainly the most dreadful part of my job at the paper, was, nonetheless, necessary, I would soon learn.