SAT Writing › Rewriting a Single Word
1 Want to book a copacetic hotel, or dine at a premier restaurant? 2Your best bet may be: to consult a Michelin Red Guide. 3 These guides have been published by a French company since 1900 and using anonymous “inspectors” to award establishments either zero, one, two, and three stars. (4 Yes, the same company also manufactures tires. 5 It employs more than 100,000 people. 6 The guides were actually established in order for encouraging people to take more car trips to slavish hotels and exclusive restaurants.) 7 Nowadays the Michelin Guides are regarded by some as the ultimate abetters of taste.
In Sentence 7, what word should replace “abetters”?
arbiters
abetters (no change)
arbors
ardors
adders
An “abetter,” someone who helps or encourages someone else in wrongdoing, has little to do with the Michelin Guides. An “arbiter,” something that passes judgments or influences others’ decisions, describes the Michelin Guides’ role in society.
1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.
In Sentence 1, what word should replace "erogenous?"
esoteric
erogenous (no change)
erotic
ergonomic
erroneous
“Erogenous,” which describes parts of the body with heightened sensitivity and which often has sexual connotations, is definitely not the right word for the sentence. “Esoteric,” which means abstruse, obscure, or understood by only a small number of people, is a much more appropriate term for the context.
1 What is to be done about the problem of shoplifting. 2 Small security devices hidden in the tags of expensive clothing, clearly posted signs vocalizing the penalties for shoplifting, and “spider tags” or wired alarm clips all measures that store owners can take. 3 However many can be removed turgidly with magnets, scissors, or other means.
4 Other solutions including using attentive employees, clear and wide aisles, security guards, and security cameras. 5 With self-checkouts, an additional degree of honesty comes into play. 6 Though, it might be more fruition to examine the motives for shoplifting, as more lugubrious social policies could prevent people from needing to shoplift in the first place.
In Sentence 6, what word should replace “lugubrious?”
benevolent
lugubrious (no change)
malicious
chary
superstitious
“Lugubrious” (glum), “malicious” (spiteful), “chary” (cautious/hesitant), and “superstitious” (believing in legends and luck) do not make sense as types of social polices that could eradicate shoplifting. “Benevolent,” or well meaning and charitable, is an excellent word for the sentence.
1 They will look hideous, but in some part of the world gooseneck barnacles are trendy delicacies. 2 They are harvested mainly in northern Spain and Portugal, where they are known as, percebes, and in California. 3 Barnacles can be cooked in a variety of ways including in boiling water and hot ash. 4 It is remarkable for its rubbery texture, ugly black color, and claw like shape. 5 Barnacles are also difficult to collect, living on cliff sides and rocks in tumid coastal zones. 6 They are commonly served with lemon, garlic aioli, parsley, and melted butter. 7 They are sometimes even eaten raw! 8 In medieval times people actually believed that gooseneck barnacles gave birth to a species of black goose, henceforth the name.
In Sentence 1, what word should replace “will”?
may
would
will (no change)
did
didn’t
The best word here is the hypothetical “may.” “Might” would also be a strong substitution. When speaking about how something "may" appear to anyone who sees it, it will usually be unwise to use language strongly connoting certainty.
1 The lost-wax casting method may sound cryptic, but its really a fairly simple and comprehendible process. 2 It is also known as investment or precision casting. 3 It involves twelve steps in that an artist makes an original wax model; creates rubber and plaster molds from the model; fills the molds with wax; coats the new wax models with a ceramic material; and fires the wax-ceramic mixture into a kiln so that the outer layer becomes a reusable mold and the inner wax melts away. 4 Despite involves technical jingo such as spruing, metal-chasing, and burnout, it is a very versant process that can be applied to everything from jewelry making and sculpture, automobile and gun manufacturing.
5 Lost-wax has been used by sculptors from ancient Greece all the way to modern day Germany. 6 Lost-wax has even been applied to dentistry, it is most frequently used to make gold crowns and inlays.7 Why not give it a try?
In Sentence 1, what word should replace “cryptic”?
cryptic (no change)
cryogenic
cyanate
crepuscular
cryophilic
“Cryptic,” which means mysterious or enigmatic, and is the correct word for this sentence. We’re looking for a word that is the opposite of “simple and comprehensible,” and “cryptic” is the only choice that has this meaning.
1 The Moluccas is a chain, or archetype, of islands belonging to Indonesia. 2 Historically, these islands were known as the Spice Islands for their abundance of nutmeg, cloves, mace, and pepper, this profundity of spices eventually drew colonial attention. 3 Spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and pepper were particularly popular during the medieval times. 4 In the 1600s, the Spice Wars arose as a result of competing Portuguese and Dutch interest’s in the Spice Islands. 5 The bloody conflict ended in the deaths of many native Moluccans as well as European traders, wherefore both Portugal and the Netherlands gained and lost territories ranging from Africa and South America. 6 For this day, strife occasionally breaks out on the islands although it is now motivated by religious and not colonial disagreements.7 It is located just west of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, and its more than 1,000 islands are home to more than 2 million people today.
In Sentence 1, what word should replace “archetype”?
archipelago
archetype (no change)
archangel
archaeopteryx
arch-nemesis
An archipelago is another word for a chain of islands.
1 Many painters have strong sediments about whether oil or acrylic paints produce the best results. 2 On the one hand, oil paints take longer to dry and are therefore more conductive to slow painstaking work and careful blending. 3 While, they also require the use of more toxic chemicals such as turpentine and mineral spirits. 4 Professional artists are often meritorious about the materials they use. 5 Acrylic paints are now favored by more and more artists, not only because they are odorless and nontoxic and also because their colors are not effervescent, they don’t fade when exposed to light. 6 However, many of the worlds’ great masterpieces were created with oil paints. 7 With some artists understandably feel nasturtium when they see oils being replaced by cheaper, more popular acrylics.
In Sentence 1, what word should replace “sediments”?
sentiments
sediments (no change)
sentinels
sentimentality
sentience
Based on the context of this sentence, we want a word that means feelings or opinions (“sentiments”), not stone or sand (“sediments”).
1 Want to book a copacetic hotel, or dine at a premier restaurant? 2Your best bet may be: to consult a Michelin Red Guide. 3 These guides have been published by a French company since 1900 and using anonymous “inspectors” to award establishments either zero, one, two, and three stars. (4 Yes, the same company also manufactures tires. 5 It employs more than 100,000 people. 6 The guides were actually established in order for encouraging people to take more car trips to slavish hotels and exclusive restaurants.) 7 Nowadays the Michelin Guides are regarded by some as the ultimate abetters of taste.
In Sentence 7, what word should replace “abetters”?
arbiters
abetters (no change)
arbors
ardors
adders
An “abetter,” someone who helps or encourages someone else in wrongdoing, has little to do with the Michelin Guides. An “arbiter,” something that passes judgments or influences others’ decisions, describes the Michelin Guides’ role in society.
1 Ethnography: sounds erogenous but is simply a study of a culture or group of people.2 Originating in the field of anthropology, later becoming popular in sociology and other disciplines. 3 Ethnographies typically include: descriptions of geography, religion, economy, social behaviors, rituals and histories. 4 Most early ethnographies were written by ex-patriot European explorers traveling outside their home continent; though by some standards the Greek historian Herodotus was producing protoplasmic ethnographies hundreds of years before the Age of Exploration. 5 Ethnographies can take forms ranging from the confessional, the feminist, the critical, and the realist but most are qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative and statistical. 6 Some attempt to provide fairly objective observations of a group or society, others have the anterior motive of empowering marginalized or repressed cultures.7 This group or culture may include anything from a fraternity to a particular Uruguayan village. 8 Today ethnographers often immerse themselves fully in the lives of their subjects, be they powerful politicians and impoverished blue-collar workers.
In Sentence 1, what word should replace "erogenous?"
esoteric
erogenous (no change)
erotic
ergonomic
erroneous
“Erogenous,” which describes parts of the body with heightened sensitivity and which often has sexual connotations, is definitely not the right word for the sentence. “Esoteric,” which means abstruse, obscure, or understood by only a small number of people, is a much more appropriate term for the context.
1 What is to be done about the problem of shoplifting. 2 Small security devices hidden in the tags of expensive clothing, clearly posted signs vocalizing the penalties for shoplifting, and “spider tags” or wired alarm clips all measures that store owners can take. 3 However many can be removed turgidly with magnets, scissors, or other means.
4 Other solutions including using attentive employees, clear and wide aisles, security guards, and security cameras. 5 With self-checkouts, an additional degree of honesty comes into play. 6 Though, it might be more fruition to examine the motives for shoplifting, as more lugubrious social policies could prevent people from needing to shoplift in the first place.
In Sentence 6, what word should replace “lugubrious?”
benevolent
lugubrious (no change)
malicious
chary
superstitious
“Lugubrious” (glum), “malicious” (spiteful), “chary” (cautious/hesitant), and “superstitious” (believing in legends and luck) do not make sense as types of social polices that could eradicate shoplifting. “Benevolent,” or well meaning and charitable, is an excellent word for the sentence.