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Question ID 83898524
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries
Conventions
ID: 83898524
In addition to advocating for South America’s independence in two political treatises, the Cartagena Manifesto and the
Letter from Jamaica, Simón Bolívar personally led armies against the Spanish, liberating three South American
territories—New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama), Venezuela, and Quito (present-day ______ from colonial
rule.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Ecuador,)
B. Ecuador)
C. Ecuador),
D. Ecuador)—
ID: 83898524 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of a supplementary element within a
sentence. The dash after “Ecuador” and the closing parenthesis pairs with the dash after “territories” to separate the
supplementary element (“New…Ecuador”) from the rest of the sentence. The supplementary element specifies the
three South American territories that Simón Bolívar liberated, and the pair of dashes indicates that this element could
be removed without affecting the grammatical coherence of the sentence.
Choice A is incorrect because it fails to use appropriate punctuation to separate the supplementary element from the
rest of the sentence. Furthermore, punctuation isn’t needed between “Ecuador” and the closing parenthesis. Choice B is
incorrect because it fails to use appropriate punctuation to separate the supplementary element from the rest of the
sentence. Choice C is incorrect because a comma can’t be paired with a dash to separate the supplementary element
from the rest of the sentence.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID ea0aa676
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,
Conventions and Sense
ID: ea0aa676
In the 1970s, Janaki Ammal, a prominent botanist, emerged as a powerful voice in India’s environmental conservation
movement. Her exhaustive chromosomal survey of plants in Silent Valley, a pristine tropical forest in Kerala, India, that
is home to nearly 1,000 species of native flora (many of which are endangered), ______ instrumental in the
government’s decision to preserve the forest.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. are
B. were
C. have been
D. was
ID: ea0aa676 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The subject "survey" is singular, and so is the verb "was."
Choice A is incorrect. The subject "survey" is singular, but the verb "are" is plural. Choice B is incorrect. The subject
"survey" is singular, but the verb "were" is plural. Choice C is incorrect. The subject "survey" is singular, but the verb
"have been" is plural.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID fba5d8d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries
Conventions
ID: fba5d8d1
In a 2016 study, Eastern Washington University psychologist Amani El-Alayli found that, among the study participants
who experienced frisson (a physiological response akin to goosebumps or getting the chills) while listening to music,
there was one personality trait that they scored particularly ______ openness to experience.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. high. On
B. high on;
C. high on
D. high on:
ID: fba5d8d1 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a main clause and a
supplementary phrase. In this choice, a colon is correctly used to mark the boundary between the main clause
("there...on") and the supplementary phrase ("openness to experience") and to introduce the information that identifies
which personality trait participants scored especially high on.
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a rhetorically unacceptable sentence fragment beginning with "on" and
separates a necessary preposition from the clause beginning with "there." Choice B is incorrect because a semicolon
can’t be used in this way to join the main clause ("there...on") and the supplementary phrase ("openness to
experience"). A semicolon is conventionally used to join two main clauses, whereas a colon is conventionally used to
introduce an element that explains or amplifies the information in the preceding clause, making the colon the better
choice in this context. Choice C is incorrect because it fails to mark the boundary between the main clause
("there...on") and the supplementary phrase ("openness to experience").
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID 57998dd3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,
Conventions and Sense
ID: 57998dd3
Obsidian is a kind of volcanic glass formed when lava cools so quickly that the atoms inside it cannot arrange
themselves in a crystalline structure. You ______ more about obsidian’s structure, which is classified as amorphous, in a
later chapter.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. had learned
B. had been learning
C. will learn
D. have learned
ID: 57998dd3 Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this
choice, the future tense verb “will learn,” used in conjunction with the phrase “in a later chapter,” correctly indicates that
“you” (the reader) are going to learn about obsidian’s structure at some point in the future.
Choice A is incorrect because the past perfect verb “had learned” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn
about obsidian’s structure in the future. Choice B is incorrect because the past perfect progressive verb “had been
learning” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn about obsidian’s structure in the future. Choice D is incorrect
because the present perfect verb “have learned” doesn’t indicate that the subject is going to learn about obsidian’s
structure in the future.
Question Difficulty: Easy
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Question ID dc645172
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,
Conventions and Sense
ID: dc645172
The artistic talents of Barbara Chase-Riboud, most known for her 1979 historical novel Sally Hemings and the
conversation it inspired, ______ limited to the realm of prose: she first excelled in sculpture, where her affinity for bronze
—a material she described as “timeless” due to its use across eras and cultures—became part of her artistic identity.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. hasn’t been
B. wasn’t
C. isn’t
D. aren’t
ID: dc645172 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The subject "talents" is plural, and so is the verb "aren’t": "the artistic talents…aren’t
limited."
Choice A is incorrect. The subject "talents" is plural, but the verb "hasn’t been" is singular. Choice B is incorrect. The
subject "talents" is plural, but the verb "wasn’t" is singular. Choice C is incorrect. The subject "talents" is plural, but the
verb "isn’t" is singular.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID 6fece68e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries
Conventions
ID: 6fece68e
Emperor Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire in South Asia from roughly 270 to 232 BCE. He is known for enforcing a
moral code called the Law of Piety, which established the sanctity of animal ______ the just treatment of the elderly, and
the abolition of the slave trade.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. life
B. life;
C. life:
D. life,
ID: 6fece68e Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. Notice that "the sanctity of animal life" is the first item in a list of three things. We must
use a comma to separate the first two items in the list, just as a comma is used to separate "the just treatment of the
elderly" and "the abolition of the slave trade."
Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a punctuation error. Notice that "the sanctity of animal life" is the first item in
a list of three things. To appropriately format the list, we need punctuation to separate each item. Choice B is incorrect.
This choice creates a punctuation error. Notice that "the sanctity of animal life" is the first item in a list of three things.
While semicolons are sometimes used to separate list items, this list uses commas to separate the other list items,
and lists must use the same punctuation throughout. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a punctuation error.
Notice that "the sanctity of animal life" is the first item in a list of three things. While colons can be used to introduce
lists, they can’t be used to separate items within a list.
Question Difficulty: Easy
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Question ID 886dc9f9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries
Conventions
ID: 886dc9f9
On July 23, 1854, a clipper ship called the Flying Cloud entered San Francisco ______ left New York Harbor under the
guidance of Captain Josiah Perkins Creesy and his wife, navigator Eleanor Creesy, a mere 89 days and 8 hours earlier,
the celebrated ship set a record that would stand for 135 years.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Bay and having
B. Bay. Having
C. Bay, having
D. Bay having
ID: 886dc9f9 Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the
period after “Bay” is used correctly to mark the boundary between one sentence (“On…Bay”) and another sentence that
begins with a supplementary phrase (“Having…years”). Here, the supplementary phrase beginning with “having”
modifies the subject of the second sentence, “the celebrated ship.”
Choice A is incorrect. Without a comma preceding it, the conjunction “and” can’t be used in this way to join sentences.
Choice C is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. A comma can’t be used in this way to join two sentences.
Choice D is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The sentences (“On…Bay” and “having…years”) are fused
without punctuation and/or a conjunction.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID 166efaa2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,
Conventions and Sense
ID: 166efaa2
Public-awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single-use plastics can be successful, says researcher Kim
Borg of Monash University in Australia, when these campaigns give consumers a choice: for example, Japan achieved
a 40 percent reduction in plastic-bag use after cashiers were instructed to ask customers whether ______ wanted a bag.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. they
B. one
C. you
D. it
ID: 166efaa2 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun–antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun “they”
agrees in number with the plural antecedent “customers.”
Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun “one” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent
“customers.” Choice C is incorrect because the second person pronoun “you” isn’t conventional as a substitute for
“customers.” It suggests that the audience (“you”) is the customer. Choice D is incorrect because the singular pronoun
“it” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “customers.”
Question Difficulty: Easy
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Question ID 59a246dc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries
Conventions
ID: 59a246dc
When external forces are applied to common glass made from silicates, energy builds up around minuscule defects in
the material, resulting in fractures. Recently, engineer Erkka Frankberg of Tampere University in Finland used the
chemical ______ to make a glassy solid that can withstand higher strain than silicate glass can before fracturing.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. compound, aluminum oxide
B. compound aluminum oxide,
C. compound, aluminum oxide,
D. compound aluminum oxide
ID: 59a246dc Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of punctuation around noun phrases. No
punctuation is needed because the noun phrase “aluminum oxide” is a restrictive appositive, meaning that it provides
essential identifying information about the noun phrase before it, “the chemical compound,” and thus doesn’t require
punctuation around it.
Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed. Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.
Choice C is incorrect because the noun phrase “aluminum oxide” is a restrictive appositive. Setting the phrase off with
punctuation suggests that it could be removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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Question ID db4e3819
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,
Conventions and Sense
ID: db4e3819
Midway through her 1968 jazz album A Monastic Trio, Alice Coltrane switches instruments, swapping the piano for the
harp. With the same fluid style that Coltrane was famous for on piano, she ______ her fingers across the harp strings
and creates a radiant sound.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. sweep
B. are sweeping
C. were sweeping
D. sweeps
ID: db4e3819 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "sweeps" agrees
in number with the singular subject "she," which refers to Alice Coltrane.
Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "sweep" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice B
is incorrect because the plural verb "are sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice C is
incorrect because the plural verb "were sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she."
Question Difficulty: Easy
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