PSAT Writing : Identifying Sentence Errors
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Writing
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Example Questions
Example Question #16 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
While some people find that juggling muliple jobs exhausts them, others find it very energizing. No error
While
No error
find
exhausts
others
No error
There is no error in this sentence.
Example Question #17 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Tourists that visit Thailand can do a lot on a tight budget because everything is very inexpensive, at least when compared to prices in the United States. No error
No error
that
can
at least
because
No error
There is no error in this sentence.
Example Question #18 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
After smelling the cookies her roommate was baking in the kitchen, Veronica had an extremely hard time focusing on her biology homework. No error
After smelling the cookies
focusing on her biology homework
No error
had
was baking
No error
This sentence is grammatically correct as written and needs no stylistic changes made to it.
Example Question #19 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
After eating turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and dinner rolls at my family's Thanksgiving dinner, I am always surprised that I can find room to have pumpkin pie for dessert.
that I can find room to have pumpkin pie for dessert
After eating
No error
turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and dinner rolls
at my family's Thanksgiving dinner,
No error
This sentence is grammatically correct and needs no stylistic changes made to it.
Example Question #20 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Some people think that they are better than everyone else, but others don't think highly enough of themselves. No error
better
others
everyone else
No error
highly enough of themselves
No error
This sentence is grammatically correct as written, and needs no stylistic improvements made to it.
Example Question #21 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Haiti, which suffered a devastating earthquake in 2010, is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, where nearly eighty percent of the population lives below the poverty line. No error
lives
in
No error
which
where
No error
This sentence is correct as written. None of the SAT's "go-to" errors are present in the sentence. Both the subject and verb of the sentence agree; "which" is used correctly; and the prepositions in the sentence are properly used as well.
Example Question #22 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The environmental activists successfully effected social change; the legislators decided to table the bill that would have allowed corporations to pollute local rivers with impunity. No error
No error
would have allowed
with
to table
effected
No error
The difference between "effect" and "affect" is tested routinely on the SAT. "Effect" is a noun meaning the result of an action; "affect" is a verb meaning change. However, "effect" can also be used as a verb that means cause, so it is used correctly in the sentence. There are no errors in the sentence, so "No error" is the best option.
Example Question #23 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Lindsey, Krista, and Whitney pooled their allowances to buy a new game for them to share. No error
their
and Whitney
to buy
No error
for them to share
No error
This sentence has no grammatical errors. It correctly utilizes the oxford comma to separate "Krista" from "Whitney" in the list of subjects, the plural pronoun "their," the infinitive "to buy," and the prepositional phrase "for them to share."
Example Question #24 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Charlie preferred tackling new and exciting challenges to repeating the same boring procedures. No error
to
No error
the same boring procedures
preferred
new and exciting
No error
The sentence is correct as written! "Preferred" is in the correct tense, "new and exciting" are adjectives modifying a noun, "to" is the correct word to make a comparison, and "the same boring procedures" is an appropriate noun phrase.
Example Question #25 : Identifying No Errors Or Other Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Joan always wanted to be a famous surgeon when she grew up, but my ambition was to be a landscape architect. No error
was to be a
but
No error
famous
she
No error
This sentence is correct as written! "Famous" is an adjective describing a noun, "she" is a pronoun that agrees with its antecedent, "but" is the appropriate conjunction, and "was to be a" is a correct combination of verbs and an indefinite article.
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