Production of Writing
38-43%of exam
Knowledge of Language
18-23%of exam
Standard English
38-43%of exam
Quick Facts
- Section
- English
- Questions
- 50
- Scored
- 40
- Time
- 35 min
- Pace
- 42 sec/item
- Score
- 1-36
- Format
- Passage editing
- Answer set
- 4 choices
Add vs Delete
Add
- Supports claim
- Clarifies focus
- Fits tone
Delete
- Off-topic
- Repeated
- Contradictory
Support vs distract
Rhetoric Picker
- Add/delete asked→Paragraph purpose(support focus)
- Sentence placement→Before/after clues(pronouns/logic)
- Transition blank→Logic relation(not sound)
- Conclusion asked→Central idea(no new topic)
- Tone shifts→Match passage(consistent style)
- Wordy choices→Shortest right(meaning intact)
Purpose + Focus
- Main idea
- Passage focus
- Paragraph purpose
- Local job
- Claim
- Point being made
- Evidence
- Support for claim
- Relevance
- Fits the focus
- Delete
- Off-focus or repeated
Organization
- Topic sentence
- Introduces paragraph idea
- Intro
- Sets topic/tone
- Conclusion
- Closes central idea
- Chronology
- Time order
- Cohesion
- Ideas connect smoothly
- Placement
- Before/after logic
Passage Moves
- Add
- Needed support
- Keep
- Serves purpose
- Delete
- Distracts or repeats
- Move
- Restores logic
- Revise
- Clarifies idea
- Combine
- Reduces repetition
Transitions
- Addition
- Also, moreover
- Contrast
- However, although
- Cause
- Because, since
- Result
- Therefore, thus
- Example
- For instance
- Sequence
- Next, finally
Shortest Right
Shortest grammatical precise choice usually wins
No redundancyMeaning unchangedTone matches
Concise vs Wordy
Concise
- Clear meaning
- No repetition
- Often shortest
Wordy
- Repeats idea
- Adds filler
- Blurs point
Clear vs bloated
Concision
- Shortest right
- Grammatical and precise
- Redundancy
- Repeats same idea
- Wordiness
- Too many words
- Active voice
- Actor does action
- Clear referent
- Pronoun points clearly
- No filler
- Remove empty words
Diction + Tone
- Precision
- Exact meaning
- Tone
- Consistent attitude
- Formality
- Matches passage
- Idiom
- Conventional phrase
- Affect
- Usually a verb
- Effect
- Usually a noun
FANBOYS
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Coordinating conjunctionsComma before clauseBoth sides complete
Essential vs Nonessential
Essential
- Identifies noun
- No commas
- Needed meaning
Nonessential
- Extra detail
- Use commas
- Removable
Needed vs removable
Grammar Picker
- Verb underlined→Find subject(ignore phrases)
- Pronoun underlined→Find antecedent(number/case)
- Opening phrase→Check actor(modifier target)
- List shown→Match forms(parallelism)
- Verb tense shifts→Match timeline(unless justified)
- Comparison appears→Compare equals(like things)
Agreement
- Subject
- Controls verb
- Verb
- Matches subject
- Intervener
- Ignore for agreement
- Each/every
- Usually singular
- Either/or
- Nearest subject rules
- Tense
- Keep time consistent
Who/Whom
Who = he; whom = him
Who: subjectWhom: objectCheck role
Semicolon vs Comma
Semicolon
- Joins clauses
- Both complete
- Strong stop
Comma
- Light pause
- Lists/intro
- Needs conjunction
Complete vs separator
Punctuation Picker
- Two complete clauses→Semicolon(or period)
- FANBOYS joins→Comma + conjunction(complete clauses)
- Intro phrase starts→Comma(main clause follows)
- Removable middle→Two commas(nonessential)
- List/explanation follows→Colon(complete lead-in)
- Possession tested→Apostrophe(not pronouns)
Pronouns + Usage
- Antecedent
- Pronoun's noun
- Case
- Subject or object
- Who
- Subject form
- Whom
- Object form
- Its
- Possessive
- It's
- It is
Nonessential
Can remove? Comma it off
Extra detailTwo commasCore sentence survives
Its vs It's
Its
- Possessive
- No apostrophe
- Owns something
It's
- It is
- It has
- Contraction
Possession vs contraction
Punctuation
- Comma
- Light separator
- Semicolon
- Joins complete clauses
- Colon
- Introduces after clause
- Apostrophe
- Possession or contraction
- Dash
- Strong interruption
- Parentheses
- Quiet aside
Who vs Whom
Who
- Subject role
- He/she test
- Does action
Whom
- Object role
- Him/her test
- Receives action
Subject vs object
Clauses + Sentences
- Independent
- Complete sentence
- Dependent
- Needs main clause
- Fragment
- Incomplete thought
- Run-on
- Clauses fused
- Comma splice
- Comma joins clauses
- FANBOYS
- Coordinating conjunctions
Colon vs Semicolon
Colon
- Introduces
- Needs full lead-in
- List/example
Semicolon
- Connects
- Both sides complete
- Related clauses
Introduce vs connect
Modifiers + Parallelism
- Dangling modifier
- Missing actor
- Misplaced modifier
- Wrong target
- Parallel list
- Same grammar form
- Comparison
- Like with like
- Adjective
- Describes noun
- Adverb
- Describes action
Common Traps
Nearby noun
Subject controls verb ≠ Intervener distracts
Comma splice
Comma alone fails ≠ Semicolon can join
Its/It's
Its owns ≠ It's contracts
Wordy answer
Concise usually wins ≠ Meaning must stay
Off-topic detail
Interesting can fail ≠ Focus must match
Dangling opener
Actor must follow ≠ Action must match
NO CHANGE
Sometimes correct ≠ Still prove it
Last Minute
- 1.Find the true subject
- 2.Read before and after
- 3.Keep shortest grammatical
- 4.Check NO CHANGE fairly
- 5.Match tone and purpose
- 6.Commas mark removable info
- 7.Semicolons join complete sentences
- 8.Colons need complete lead-in
- 9.Delete off-focus details
- 10.Transitions must name logic
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