SAT Missed Questions-Reading/Writing

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A. surmised

B. contrived

c. questioned

d. regretted

Some economic historians ______blank that late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century households in the United States experienced an economy of scale when it came to food purchases—they assumed that large households spent less on food per person than did small households. Economist Trevon Logan showed, however, that a close look at the available data disproves this supposition.

Choice A is the best answer and Choice B is incorrect. Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century household food purchases. In this context, “surmised” means formed an idea or assumption with little evidence. The text explains that certain economic historians “assumed” that large and small households spent different amounts on food per person, but that another economist found this supposition to be false based on evidence from available data. This context suggests that the economic historians made an incorrect assumption without enough consideration of evidence.

Choice B is incorrect. In this context, “contrived” would mean brought about or created through trickery. Nothing in the text suggests that the economic historians were deliberately trying to trick people with a claim about food purchasing behaviors in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century households; the text simply suggests that they made an assumption about those behaviors that another historian believes isn’t supported by the available data.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

Thornton alone held [Buck]. The rest of mankind was as nothing. Chance travellers might praise or pet him; but he was cold under it all, and from a too demonstrative man he would get up and walk away. When Thornton’s partners, Hans and Pete, arrived on the long-expected raft, Buck refused to notice them till he learned they were close to Thornton; after that he tolerated them in a passive sort of way, accepting favors from them as though he favored them by accepting.

• A.

  Buck has become less social since he began living with Thornton.

• B.

  Buck mistrusts humans and does his best to avoid them.

• C.

  Buck has been especially well liked by most of Thornton’s friends.

• D.

  Buck holds Thornton in higher regard than any other person.

Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. After establishing that Buck views most people “as nothing,” the text explains that Buck won’t acknowledge people other than Thornton unless they appear friendly toward Thornton, and even then he’s only reluctantly accepting. Thus, the text focuses on the idea that Thornton has a special status in Buck’s mind, with Buck holding him in higher regard than other people. Choice B is incorrect because the text conveys that Buck doesn’t really care about people other than Thornton and is aloof toward them. However, there’s no indication that Buck mistrusts and avoids people generally; indeed, he accepts Thornton, who is a human.

The Souls of Black Folk is a 1903 book by W.E.B. Du Bois. In the book, Du Bois suggests that upon hearing Black folk songs, he felt an intuitive and sometimes unexpected sense of cultural recognition: ______blank

Which quotation from The Souls of Black Folk most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A.

  “[Black folk music] still remains as the singular spiritual heritage of the nation and the greatest gift of the Negro people.”

• B.

  “Ever since I was a child these songs have stirred me strangely. They came out of the South unknown to me, one by one, and yet at once I knew them as of me and of mine.”

• C.

  “Caricature has sought again to spoil the quaint beauty of the music, and has filled the air with many debased melodies which vulgar ears scarce know from the real. But the true Negro folk-song still lives in the hearts of those who have heard them truly sung and in the hearts of the Negro people.”

• D.

  “The songs are indeed the siftings of centuries; the music is far more ancient than the words, and in it we can trace here and there signs of development.”

Choice B is the best answer because the quotation from The Souls of Black Folk illustrates the claim that Du Bois felt a sense of cultural recognition when he heard Black folk songs. In the quotation, Du Bois explains that for his entire life, Black folk songs "stirred [him] strangely." Even though they originated in the South, a region he wasn’t familiar with, he knew the songs "as of me and of mine." That is, he identified strongly with them and associated them with his community. Therefore, Du Bois felt an intuitive sense of cultural recognition when he heard Black folk songs.

Choice A is incorrect. Although the quotation considers the cultural and spiritual value of Black folk music, it doesn’t establish that this music inspired in Du Bois a sense of cultural recognition.

Known for her massive photorealistic paintings of African American figures floating or swimming in pools, Calida Garcia ______blank was the logical choice to design the book cover for Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer, a novel about an African American man who can travel great distances through water.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A.

  Rawles—

• B.

  Rawles:

• C.

  Rawles,

• D.

  Rawles

Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subject and a verb. When, as in this case, a subject ("Calida Garcia Rawles") is immediately followed by a verb ("was"), no punctuation is needed.

The Progressive Era in the United States witnessed the rise of numerous Black women’s clubs, local organizations that advocated for racial and gender equality. Among the clubs’ leaders ______blank Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, founder of the Women’s Era Club of Boston.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A.

was

B.

were

C.

are

D.

have been

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested here is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “was” agrees in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.”

Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin.”

A study by a team including finance professor Madhu Veeraraghavan suggests that exposure to sunshine during the workday can lead to overly optimistic behavior. Using data spanning from 1994 to 2010 for a set of US companies, the team compared over 29,000 annual earnings forecasts to the actual earnings later reported by those companies. The team found that the greater the exposure to sunshine at work in the two weeks before a manager submitted an earnings forecast, the more the manager’s forecast exceeded what the company actually earned that year.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?

A.

To summarize the results of the team’s analysis

B.

To present a specific example that illustrates the study’s findings

C.

To explain part of the methodology used in the team’s study

D.

To call out a challenge the team faced in conducting its analysis

Choice C is the best answer as the underlined sentence details the methodology of the study, specifically the data and comparison made by the team. It explains how they approached their analysis to reach their conclusions.

Choice B is incorrect because the underlined sentence doesn’t present any specific examples from the team’s comparisons of 29,000 earnings predictions to actual earnings; it simply explains in part how the team conducted their analysis.

Given that stars and planets initially form from the same gas and dust in space, some astronomers have posited that host stars (such as the Sun) and their planets (such as those in our solar system) are composed of the same materials, with the planets containing equal or smaller quantities of the materials that make up the host star. This idea is also supported by evidence that rocky planets in our solar system are composed of some of the same materials as the Sun.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the astronomers’ claim?

• A.

  Most stars are made of hydrogen and helium, but when cooled they are revealed to contain small amounts of iron and silicate.

• B.

  A nearby host star is observed to contain the same proportion of hydrogen and helium as that of the Sun.

• C.

  Evidence emerges that the amount of iron in some rocky planets is considerably higher than the amount in their host star.

• D.

  The method for determining the composition of rocky planets is discovered to be less effective when used to analyze other kinds of planets.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would weaken the astronomers’ claim about the makeup of host stars and their planets. Choice A is incorrect because a finding only about the makeup of stars, whether they’ve cooled or not, would provide no information about the makeup of planets. Thus, it wouldn’t have any bearing on the claim that planets and their host stars are composed of the same materials in differing quantities.

Hegra is an archaeological site in present-day Saudi Arabia and was the second largest city of the Nabataean Kingdom (fourth century BCE to first century CE). Archaeologist Laila Nehmé recently traveled to Hegra to study its ancient ______blank into the rocky outcrops of a vast desert, these burial chambers seem to blend seamlessly with nature.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A.

  tombs. Built

• B.

  tombs, built

• C.

  tombs and built

• D.

  tombs built

Choice A is correct

In 1937, Chinese American screen actor Anna May Wong, who had portrayed numerous villains and secondary characters but never a heroine, finally got a starring role in Paramount Pictures’ Daughter of Shanghai, a film that ______blank “expanded the range of possibilities for Asian images on screen.”

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A.

  critic, Stina Chyn, claims

• B.

  critic, Stina Chyn, claims,

• C.

  critic Stina Chyn claims

• D.

  critic Stina Chyn, claims,

Choice C is the best answer. The conventions being tested are punctuation use between titles and proper nouns and between verbs and integrated quotations. No punctuation is needed to set off the proper noun "Stina Chyn" from the title that describes Chyn, "critic." Because "Stina Chyn" is essential information identifying the "critic," no punctuation is necessary. Further, no punctuation is needed between the verb "claims" and the following quotation because the quotation is integrated into the structure of the sentence.

Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed before or after the proper noun "Stina Chyn." Setting the critic’s name off with commas suggests that it could be removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case. Additionally, no punctuation is needed between "claims" and the integrated quotation. Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the verb "claims" and its subject, "critic Stina Chyn." Additionally, no punctuation is needed between the verb "claims" and the integrated quotation.

The Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden in Norway and the Jardim Botânico of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are two of many botanical gardens around the world dedicated to growing diverse plant ______blank fostering scientific research; and educating the public about plant conservation.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A.

  species, both native and nonnative,

• B.

  species, both native and nonnative;

• C.

  species; both native and nonnative,

• D.

  species both native and nonnative,

Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of items in a complex series (a series including internal punctuation). The semicolon after "nonnative" is correctly used to separate the first item ("growing diverse plant species, both native and nonnative") and the second item ("fostering scientific research") in the series of things that botanical gardens are dedicated to. Further, the comma after "species" is correctly used to separate the noun phrase "diverse plant species" and the supplementary phrase "both native and nonnative" that modifies it.

Choice A is incorrect because a comma (specifically, the comma after "nonnative") can’t be used in this way to separate items in a complex series.

The Babylonian king Hammurabi achieved much during his forty-year reign. He conquered all of Mesopotamia and built Babylon into one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world. Today, ______blank he is mainly remembered for a code of laws inscribed on a seven-foot-tall block of stone: the Code of Hammurabi.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A.

  therefore,

• B.

  likewise,

• C.

  however,

• D.

  for instance

Choice C is the best answer. “However” logically signals that the information in this sentence—that Hammurabi is mainly remembered for just a single achievement, the Code of Hammurabi—is contrary to what might be assumed from the previous information about Hammurabi’s many achievements. 

When designing costumes for film, American artist Suttirat Larlarb typically custom fits the garments to each actor. ______blank for the film Sunshine, in which astronauts must reignite a dying Sun, she designed a golden spacesuit and had a factory reproduce it in a few standard sizes; lacking a tailor-made quality, the final creations reflected the ungainliness of actual spacesuits.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A.

  Nevertheless,

• B.

  Thus,

• C.

  Likewise,

• D.

  Moreover

Choice A is the best answer. “Nevertheless” logically signals that the information in this sentence—that the spacesuits Suttirat Larlarb designed for the film Sunshine were made in standard sizes in a factory—presents a notable exception to Larlarb’s typical approach of custom-fitting garments to actors, which is described in the previous sentence. 

Choice B is incorrect because “thus” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is a result or consequence of the previous information about Larlarb’s typical approach of custom-fitting garments to actors. Instead, it presents a notable exception to Larlarb’s typical approach. Choice C is incorrect because “likewise” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is similar to the previous information about Larlarb’s typical approach of custom-fitting garments to actors. Instead, it presents a notable exception to Larlarb’s typical approach.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three pioneers in the field of click chemistry: two-time Nobel laureate Barry Sharpless, who coined the term ‘click chemistry’ in 1988; Carolyn Bertozzi, founder of the Bertozzi Group at ____ and Morten Meldal, a professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark,

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Stanford

B. Stanford,

C. Stanford:
D. Stanford;

D. is the correct answer notice how there is a list but within that list we have extra punctuation so therefore use semicolons to separate items in the list

Luke didn’t just confront his father, he ___they battled on the Death Star, he was able to return the favor ( a hand for a hand) and ultimately even turn Vader against the Emperor, becoming one of the most renowed Jedi in Star Wars lore.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. defeated him-with ease-as

B.defeated him-with ease as

C.defeated him-with ease, as

D. defeated him-with ease. As

D is the correct answer. While we may choose a at first, the comma after they battled on the death star with create a comma splice. When you read it aloud after saying -with ease- it sounds like the sentence ends after Death Star. BUTTTT thats not the case, so therefore D.

Whats a comma splice?

its the inccorect use of a comma to connect two independent clauses.

Ex: The experiment was unsuccesful, the temperature was not controlled sufficently.