Question ID 960dec02
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: 960dec02
A recent study tracked the number of bee species present in twenty-seven New York apple orchards over a ten-year
period. found that when wild growth near an orchard was cleared, the number of different bee species visiting the
orchard decreased.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Entomologist Heather Grab:
B. Entomologist, Heather Grab,
C. Entomologist Heather Grab
PR
D. Entomologist Heather Grab,
ID: 960dec02 Answer
O
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
FD
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a name and title and
between a subject and a verb. No punctuation is needed between the proper noun “Heather Grab” and
“entomologist,” the title that describes Grab. Additionally, no punctuation is needed between the sentence’s
subject (“Entomologist Heather Grab”) and the main verb (“found”) that indicates what Grab did.
O
Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice B is incorrect
because no punctuation is needed. Setting the entomologist’s name off with commas suggests that it could be
C
removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case. Choice D is incorrect because
no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb.
Question Difficulty: Hard
,Question ID adf210e7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: adf210e7
The haiku-like poems of Tomas Tranströmer, which present nature- and dream-influenced images in crisp, spare language,
have earned the Swedish poet praise from leading contemporary them Nigerian American essayist and novelist Teju
Cole, who has written that Tranströmer’s works “contain a luminous simplicity.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. writers. Among
B. writers among
C. writers; among
PR
D. writers, among
ID: adf210e7 Answer
O
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
FD
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a main clause and a
supplementary phrase. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the main clause
(“The haiku-like…writers”) and the supplementary phrase (“among…Cole”) that specifies a contemporary writer
who has praised Tomas Tranströmer’s haiku-like poems.
O
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a rhetorically unacceptable sentence fragment beginning with
“among.” Choice B is incorrect because it fails to mark the boundary between the main clause and the
C
supplementary phrase with appropriate punctuation. Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon can’t be used in
this way to join the main clause (“The haiku-like…writers”) and the supplementary phrase (“among…Cole”).
Question Difficulty: Hard
,Question ID aaa1907f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: aaa1907f
To serve local families during the Great Depression, innovative New York City librarian Pura Belpré offered storytelling in
both English and Spanish, an uncommon celebrated el Día de los Tres Reyes Magos, an important community
holiday; and put on puppet shows dramatizing Puerto Rican folktales.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. practice, at the time
B. practice at the time;
C. practice, at the time,
PR
D. practice at the time,
ID: aaa1907f Answer
O
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
FD
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of elements in a complex series. It’s
conventional to use a semicolon to separate items in a complex series with internal punctuation, and in this
choice, the semicolon after "time" is conventionally used to separate the first item ("offered…time") and the
second ("celebrated…holiday") in the series of activities that librarian Pura Belpré offered. Moreover, the
O
semicolon after "time" matches the semicolon used later to separate the second item ("celebrated...holiday") and
the third ("and...folktales") in the series.
C
Choice A is incorrect because it fails to use appropriate punctuation to separate the first item and the second
item in the complex series. Furthermore, a comma isn’t needed between the noun "practice" and the
prepositional phrase "at the time" because the prepositional phrase is essential to the full meaning of the phrase
"an uncommon practice at the time." Choice C is incorrect because a comma after "time" doesn’t match the
semicolon used later to separate the second ("celebrated...holiday") and third ("and...folktales") items in the
series. Furthermore, a comma isn’t needed between the noun "practice" and the prepositional phrase "at the
time" because the prepositional phrase is essential to the full meaning of the phrase "an uncommon practice at
the time." Choice D is incorrect because a comma after "time" doesn’t match the semicolon used later to separate
the second ("celebrated...holiday") and third ("and...folktales") items in the series.
Question Difficulty: Hard
, Question ID 83898524
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing 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),
PR
D. Ecuador)—
ID: 83898524 Answer
O
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
FD
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
O
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
C
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
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: 960dec02
A recent study tracked the number of bee species present in twenty-seven New York apple orchards over a ten-year
period. found that when wild growth near an orchard was cleared, the number of different bee species visiting the
orchard decreased.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Entomologist Heather Grab:
B. Entomologist, Heather Grab,
C. Entomologist Heather Grab
PR
D. Entomologist Heather Grab,
ID: 960dec02 Answer
O
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
FD
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a name and title and
between a subject and a verb. No punctuation is needed between the proper noun “Heather Grab” and
“entomologist,” the title that describes Grab. Additionally, no punctuation is needed between the sentence’s
subject (“Entomologist Heather Grab”) and the main verb (“found”) that indicates what Grab did.
O
Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice B is incorrect
because no punctuation is needed. Setting the entomologist’s name off with commas suggests that it could be
C
removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case. Choice D is incorrect because
no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb.
Question Difficulty: Hard
,Question ID adf210e7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: adf210e7
The haiku-like poems of Tomas Tranströmer, which present nature- and dream-influenced images in crisp, spare language,
have earned the Swedish poet praise from leading contemporary them Nigerian American essayist and novelist Teju
Cole, who has written that Tranströmer’s works “contain a luminous simplicity.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. writers. Among
B. writers among
C. writers; among
PR
D. writers, among
ID: adf210e7 Answer
O
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
FD
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a main clause and a
supplementary phrase. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the main clause
(“The haiku-like…writers”) and the supplementary phrase (“among…Cole”) that specifies a contemporary writer
who has praised Tomas Tranströmer’s haiku-like poems.
O
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a rhetorically unacceptable sentence fragment beginning with
“among.” Choice B is incorrect because it fails to mark the boundary between the main clause and the
C
supplementary phrase with appropriate punctuation. Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon can’t be used in
this way to join the main clause (“The haiku-like…writers”) and the supplementary phrase (“among…Cole”).
Question Difficulty: Hard
,Question ID aaa1907f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing Conventions
ID: aaa1907f
To serve local families during the Great Depression, innovative New York City librarian Pura Belpré offered storytelling in
both English and Spanish, an uncommon celebrated el Día de los Tres Reyes Magos, an important community
holiday; and put on puppet shows dramatizing Puerto Rican folktales.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. practice, at the time
B. practice at the time;
C. practice, at the time,
PR
D. practice at the time,
ID: aaa1907f Answer
O
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
FD
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of elements in a complex series. It’s
conventional to use a semicolon to separate items in a complex series with internal punctuation, and in this
choice, the semicolon after "time" is conventionally used to separate the first item ("offered…time") and the
second ("celebrated…holiday") in the series of activities that librarian Pura Belpré offered. Moreover, the
O
semicolon after "time" matches the semicolon used later to separate the second item ("celebrated...holiday") and
the third ("and...folktales") in the series.
C
Choice A is incorrect because it fails to use appropriate punctuation to separate the first item and the second
item in the complex series. Furthermore, a comma isn’t needed between the noun "practice" and the
prepositional phrase "at the time" because the prepositional phrase is essential to the full meaning of the phrase
"an uncommon practice at the time." Choice C is incorrect because a comma after "time" doesn’t match the
semicolon used later to separate the second ("celebrated...holiday") and third ("and...folktales") items in the
series. Furthermore, a comma isn’t needed between the noun "practice" and the prepositional phrase "at the
time" because the prepositional phrase is essential to the full meaning of the phrase "an uncommon practice at
the time." Choice D is incorrect because a comma after "time" doesn’t match the semicolon used later to separate
the second ("celebrated...holiday") and third ("and...folktales") items in the series.
Question Difficulty: Hard
, Question ID 83898524
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Standard English Boundaries
Writing 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),
PR
D. Ecuador)—
ID: 83898524 Answer
O
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
FD
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
O
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
C
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
