On the English section on the ACT and the Writing section of the SAT, you have 2 things going for you.
First and foremost, you are an expert on this stuff!
These are grammar sections, and they test basic, everyday grammar—the stuff you use everyday speaking to your family and friends!
Because you use this stuff everyday all the time, you have literally become an expert at it.
So much so, in fact, that your ear is finely tuned to the grammar tested.
In other words, YOU CAN TRUST YOUR EAR on the ACT English and SAT Writing. That is to say, if it SOUNDS right to you, it almost certainly IS right! And if it sounds wrong to you, it almost certainly IS wrong!
Can’t get much easier than that, right?
So: trust your ear on these sections.
Second, there’s a very simple rule that governs these sections.
Good English is short and sweet and to the point.
Bad English is long and repetitive and rambling.
Here’s an example:
“Being as though the situation is that I want to do well on the SAT and the ACT, I should do some good prep for them.”
(Your ear is no doubt screaming: enough already!)
Here are the answer choices:
A) NO CHANGE
B) Because
C) Although
D) Allowing for the fact that
E) It being the case that
Hopefully you recognized A, D, and E as painfully wordy.
C is interesting because it highlights a naughty trick the test makers like to play on the grammar sections. That is: it’s grammatically correct, but it’s not the correct answer!
How can be? Well, just because it’s grammatically correct, doesn’t mean it makes sense, does it?
“Although” is opposite in meaning from what’s needed for this sentence to work! Very naughty. So, if you’re not paying attention to meaning, you could easily miss this one. Especially because your ear would be fooled. If a word is grammatically correct, it will sound right. Although your ear is almost always correct, this is one way it can be fooled!
But the antidote to this trick is simple: just read carefully!
By the way, did you notice how the correct answer (B) was the shortest choice?
So, the bottom line:
Shortest is best! Good English is never wordy, so look out for wordy answer choices.
And, again, always read carefully! This is simple stuff, but if you mis-read the easiest question, you’ll get it wrong!
Now, let’s do an example of a different kind of question.
Not all questions on the ACT English and SAT Writing sections are grammar questions.
Some are so-called RHETORICAL QUESTIONS.
A rhetorical question asks you about meaning or organization.
On the ACT, about 3 out of 15 questions per passage are rhetorical questions.
On the SAT, the last question type on the long Writing section is an ACT-like passage that includes 2 or 3 rhetorical questions.
So, the rhetorical question type is a bigger deal on the ACT, no so much on the SAT.
Here’s an example:
“Suppose the writer had been assigned to write an essay about the mating habits of penguins in the far reaches of Antarctica. Would the passage have served this purpose?”
A) Yes, because the essay directly addresses how penguins raise their young
B) Yes, because the essay addresses the mating habits of penguins as part of a larger discussion of mating habits of mammals
C) No, because the essay also addresses the mating habits of sea lions
D) No, because the essay is primarily concerned with the survival strategies of penguins, and only incidentally addresses their mating habits
Alright, difficult (okay, impossible!) to answer this without the passage, right?
Well, what if we gave you the title of the passage? How about: “Surviving Antarctica: the Story of the Imperial Penguins”?
Got it? We’re sure you do!
The answer is: D.
What’s the lesson here?
Always focus on the key words of this kind of question. (In fact, this is a great tip for ANY question! It might even be the key to all kinds of testing—and the key to thinking about any kind of problem!)
What were the key words here? Well, the question asks about the writer was “assigned” to write about, right? Isn’t that the MAIN IDEA? The question also asks about “mating habits of penguins”.
So, put the key words together and you get: Is the main idea of the passage the mating habits of penguins?
That’s a pretty easy question to answer, don’t you think? Even with just the title of the passage!
The answer HAS to be: D.
Remember: focus on the key words of ANY question on the SAT and the ACT, especially the rhetorical questions on the grammar sections!
“Being as though the situation is that I want to do well on the SAT and the ACT, I should do some good prep for them.”
A) NO CHANGE
B) Because
C) Although
D) Allowing for the fact that
E) It being the case that
The answer was one of the shortest, B.
Look at E: “It being the case that….”
On both the SAT and ACT, whenever you see a choice with the word “being” in it, you can go ahead and eliminate it immediately!
That’s not because there’s anything wrong with the word “being”. It’s a perfectly good word, and can be used correctly in many ways:
“Human beings come in many shapes, colors, and sizes.”
“Being on time is a virtue.”
But the word “being” is so often mis-used in our language that the test-makers use it as a trap! Think how often you’ve heard it used in the way it was used in the question above—a wordy and imprecise way. So, whenever you see it in an answer choice, you can safely eliminate it! (Always check to be sure, though! It does pay to be careful, as we’ve said repeatedly.)
Another word that is used as a trap by the test-makers for the same reason is one that is mis-used regularly by people who should know better: CEO’s, presidents, even scholars!
The word is “where”.
“Where” is an adjective, which means it modifies a noun, right?
(By the way, an adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, right? For example: he ran quickly, his track shoes are very red, and he ran very quickly.)
Nouns are persons, places, and things. But “where” can modify only one kind of noun—ie., places, right?
But, you often hear “where” used like this:
“This is an issue where we disagree.”
Or:
“This is a problem where we need an answer.”
But, clearly situations and issues are not places.
So, the correct versions would be:
This is a situation about which we disagree.
And:
This is a problem for which we need an answer.
On the other hand, correct uses of “where” are:
Chicago is where I was born.
Home is where I hang my hat.
But, again, because the test-makers know we tend to mis-use “where”, they always use it as a trap!
So, like “being”, you can confidently eliminate “where” in an answer choice. (Again, though, always check to be sure! Being careful is a virtue!)
FOR MORE ON GRAMMAR, PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE FROM TIME TO TIME FOR NEW MATERIAL.