Hello and welcome to the world of the SAT Writing Test. I sincerelyhope that in these pages youll ?nd just what you need to earn thehighest possible score on the exam. If youre unsure what the test is all about, read Part I. If youneed to brush up on grammar, turn to Part V. To ?ne-tune yourtest-taking skills, go to Parts II and VI, where youll ?ndpractice exams just like those on the SAT. Part III will take youby the hand through the process of writing a winning essay . . .and so on. The books chapters follow the format of the SAT. First comes theessay section, then the three types of multiple-choice questions inthe order they appear on the exam. In short, my book is a completeguide to the SAT Writing Test. The more time you have until theSAT, the better you can prepare yourself. But even if the test istomorrow, the book can still give you a quick ?x on what to expectwhen you open your exam booklet. If the SAT is weeks or months away, let the book work for you. Useit regularly and often. Let it acquaint you with the format of thetest and accustom you to writ-ing a clear, coherent, and purposefulessay in less than half an hour. (The SAT gives you exactlytwenty-?ve minutes.) Then read and evaluate actual essays composedby high school juniors and seniors on SAT topics. Review theconcepts of English grammar, usage, and rhetoric on which youll betested. Practice answering multiple-choice questions, using sure?retactics for getting them right. Take the practice tests at the backof the book, and watch your test scores soarI hope. Ive done a mountain of work in writing this book for you. Now itstime for you to start climbing. So, shake a leg and best of luck!Ill be rooting for you on the sidelines.
George Ehrenhaft
Greetings from the Author iii
PART I The Basics: Getting Acquainted with the Writing Test 1 Overview of the Writing Test / 3 The Essay / 6 Multiple-Choice Questions / 8
PART II Dress Rehearsal: A Sample Test 15 Sample Test / 19 Answer Key / 37 Performance Evaluation Chart / 45 Conversion Table / 46 Answer Explanations / 47
PART III How to Write an Essay in 1,500 Seconds 57 Steps for Writing the Perfect Essay / 59 Prewriting: Getting Set to Write / 60 Reading and Analyzing the Topic Carefully / 60 Narrowing the Topic / 63 Choosing a Main Idea / 65 Gathering and Arranging Ideas Purposefully / 68 Composing: Putting Words on Paper / 71 Writing a Gripping Introduction / 71 Building an Essay with Paragraphs / 75 Paragraph Development / 82 Transitions / 87 Using Plain and Precise Language / 89 Fresh Language and Surprises / 94 Varying Sentence Structure / 97 Sentence Types / 100 Repetition of Ideas / 100 Short and Long Sentences / 101 Ending Your Essay / 105 Editing and Proofreading: The Final Touches / 108 Editing for Clarity / 108 Editing for Interest / 115 Checking for Standard Usage and Mechanics / 126 Review / 134 Answer Key to Practice Exercises / 134
PART IV You Be the Ump: Essays for Evaluation 147 How Essays Are Judged and Graded / 149 Guidelines for Evaluation / 149 Essays for Evaluation / 151 Essay Topics for Practice / 164
PART V The Heart of the Test: Multiple-Choice Questions 167 Introduction / 169 Improving Sentences Questions / 169 Sample Sentence Improvement Questions / 170 Problems in Style and Expression / 173 Problems in Sentence Structure / 178 Problems in Standard Usage / 196 Review / 217 Identifying Sentence Errors / 218 Errors in Expression and Style / 219 Errors in Grammar and Usage / 235 Improving Paragraphs Questions / 246 Answering the Questions / 248 How to Answer Improving Paragraphs Questions / 250 Review / 263 Answer Key to Practice Exercises / 264
PART VI Tests for Practice, Practice, Practice 271 Practice Test A / 273 Answer Key / 291 Performance Evaluation Chart / 295 Conversion Table / 296 Answer Explanations / 297 Practice Test B / 305 Answer Key / 322 Performance Evaluation Chart / 326 Conversion Table / 327 Answer Explanations / 328 Practice Test C / 335 Answer Key / 352 Performance Evaluation Chart / 356 Conversion Table / 357 Answer Explanations / 358 Practice Test D / 367 Answer Key / 385 Performance Evaluation Chart / 389 Conversion Table / 390 Answer Explanations / 391