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.

8. Unfortunately, because Chancourtois inexplicably included several polyatomic ions on the helix, and published his report using ___________ was largely ignored.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
a. geological, rather than chemical terminology, his discovery
b. geological rather than chemical terminology his discovery
c. geological rather than chemical terminology, his discovery
d. geological, rather than chemical terminology his discovery

Correct answer is c. Only add commas like ,___, for unnecessary info by choosing A its wrong due to that

11. Many of the pieces in the room are composed of natural, local materials of Latin America. Other pieces throughout the exhibition ___________ traditional design but are reconstructed out of contemporary materials (like aluminum or fiberglass).

Is it it in present or past tense

Present tense because we see the word are being used a lot do not let the reconstructed part get to you

“their” is for ____use (plural or singular)

plural

“its” is for ___use (singular or plural)

singular

20. Money that was previously pumped into developing markets is now being funneled toward a much ___________ the general feeling among the electorate is that the country is as healthy as ever.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
a. safer, yet no less promising, Stockholm, and
b. safer yet no less promising Stockholm, and
c. safer, yet no less promising Stockholm, and
d. safer yet no less promising Stockholm and

Answer is A.

TIP: always ask yourself, is the information necessary? If not, then that’s how you’ll know to add commas

Comma Use:

Profession + Name

Name+Profession

profession + name is usually no commas

Name,profession,

when do we use who vs. whom

who is for the subject (he/she)

use whom when its the object (him/her)

TIP: subsitute he/she for (who) or him/her (for whom) to test

The following text is adapted from Herman Melville’s 1855 novel Israel Potter. Israel is a young man wandering through New England during the late eighteenth century.

He hired himself out for three months; at the end of that time to receive for his wages two hundred acres of land lying in New Hampshire. [...] His employer proving false to the contract in the matter of the land, and there being no law in the country to force him to fulfil it, Israel—who, however brave-hearted, and even much of a dare-devil upon a pinch, seems nevertheless to have evinced, throughout many parts of his career, a singular patience and mildness—was obliged to look round for other means of livelihood than clearing out a farm for himself in the wilderness.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

• A.

  It implies that Israel treasures a particular characteristic of his personality when that characteristic should usually be regarded as a flaw.

• B.

  It suggests that if not for a certain aspect of his character, Israel might not have been as easily thwarted in his ambition to establish a farm.

• C.

  It shows why Israel would not have been able to undertake the enormous amount of labor necessary to run a farm even if he had owned the necessary property.

• D.

  It explains why, when the situation requires it, Israel is able to undertake courageous acts that others would generally avoid.

To explain why Israel was particularly susceptible to his employer’s dishonesty, the underlined portion states that though Israel was "brave-hearted, and even much of a dare-devil upon a pinch," he also possessed "a singular patience and mildness." In other words, Israel could be courageous in certain circumstances, but he was usually meek and disinclined to argument, from which it is reasonable to infer that Israel was often taken advantage of. Thus, the underlined portion suggests that if not for a certain aspect of his character, Israel might not have been as easily thwarted in his ambition to establish a farm.

You have to be able to understand a text especially those like even though this, it shows this yk

To understand how temperature change affects microorganism-mediated cycling of soil nutrients in alpine ecosystems, Eva Kaštovská et al. collected plant-soil cores in the Tatra Mountains at elevations around 2,100 meters and transplanted them to elevations of 1,700–1,800 meters, where the mean air temperature was warmer by 2°C. Microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling was accelerated in the transplanted cores; crucially, microorganism community composition was unchanged, allowing Kaštovská et al. to attribute the acceleration to temperature-induced increases in microorganism activity. 

It can most reasonably be inferred from the text that the finding about the microorganism community composition was important for which reason?

• A.

  It provided preliminary evidence that microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling was accelerated in the transplanted cores. 

• B.

  It suggested that temperature-induced changes in microorganism activity may be occurring at increasingly high elevations. 

• C.

  It ruled out a potential alternative explanation for the acceleration in microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling. 

• D.

  It clarified that microorganism activity levels in the plant-soil cores varied depending on which microorganisms comprised the community. 

Choice C is the best answer because it accurately describes why the finding about the microorganism community composition was important. The text describes an experiment by Eva Kaštovská and her team in which they collected plant-soil cores at one elevation and transplanted them to sites at a lower elevation, where the mean air temperature was warmer. Kaštovská and her team observed that microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling was accelerated in the transplanted cores and that "crucially, microorganism community composition was unchanged," which allowed the team to attribute the acceleration to changes in microorganism activity brought about by the difference in temperature. This strongly implies that the team wouldn’t have been able to make that attribution otherwise, meaning that a change in microorganism composition represented another possible explanation for the acceleration that had to be ruled out.

“Poetry” is a 1919 poem by Marianne Moore. The poem highlights an ambivalence toward poetry as the speaker acknowledges its merits while also expressing a sense of displeasure, writing ______

Which quotation from “Poetry” most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A.

  “nor is it valid / to discriminate against ‘business documents and / school-books’; all these phenomena are important.”

• B.

  “One must make a distinction / however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not / poetry”

• C.

  “when [poems] become so derivative as to become unintelligible, the / same thing may be said for all of us—that we / do not admire what / we cannot understand.”

• D.

  “Reading [poetry], however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers that there is in / it after all, a place for the genuine.”

Choice D is the best answer because it most effectively uses a quotation from "Poetry" to illustrate the claim that the poem highlights an ambivalence, or a conflicted attitude, toward poetry. In the quotation, the speaker suggests that one might read poetry with "contempt," or disdain, for it, but even with this negative attitude one will find "a place for the genuine." Because the quotation expresses conflicting attitudes toward poetry, it effectively illustrates the speaker’s ambivalence in discussing the merits and displeasure of reading poetry.

Choice C is wrong becuae there is no contrast, only negative (you have to look at the parallels between structures)

Some ethicists hold that the moral goodness of an individual’s actions depends solely on whether the actions themselves are good, irrespective of the context in which they are carried out. Philosopher L. Sebastian Purcell has shown that surviving works of Aztec (Nahua) philosophy express a very different view. Purcell reveals that these works posit an ethical system in which an individual’s actions are judged in light of how well they accord with the individual’s role in society and how well they contribute to the community. To the extent that these works are representative of Aztec thought, Purcell’s analysis suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.

  the Aztecs would have disputed the idea that the morality of an individual’s actions can be assessed by appealing to standards of behavior that are independent of the individual’s social circumstances. 

• B.

  the Aztecs would not have accepted the notion that the morality of an individual’s actions can be fairly evaluated by people who do not live in the same society as that individual.  

• C.

  actions by members of Aztec society who contributed a great deal to their community could be judged as morally good even if those actions were inconsistent with behaviors the Aztecs regarded as good in all contexts.

• D.

  similar actions performed by people in different social roles in Aztec society would have been regarded as morally equivalent unless those actions led to different outcomes for the community. 

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that morally judging an action according to Aztec ethics requires an understanding of the action’s effects and the individual’s social circumstances, it does not specify that only members of that society can acquire this information. (correct answer is A)

A common pattern I am noticing is that you have to really ask yourself before choosing an answer choice—>is it explicity said in the text (if its an inference then you cannot choose it)

A 2017 study of sign language learners tested the role of iconicity—the similarity of a sign to the thing it represents—in language acquisition. The study found that the greater the iconicity of a sign, the more likely it was to have been learned. ______ the correlation between acquisition and iconicity was lower than that between acquisition and another factor studied: sign frequency.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. In fact,
B. In other words,
C. Granted,
D. As a result

C is the correct answer. Granted means that something was true or in that case.

The phrase In other words is more so for restating an idea, however, this is not restating an idea, its adding more info

What does “in any case” mean

“no matter what happens” or “no matter the situation”

what is “nevertheless” used for?

To show contrast (BUT)

what is “naturally” used for?

to coincide with a point

what is “ultimately” used for?

in the long run or elaborating/expanding on an existing point

is was singular or plural

singular (often used with I or she or he)

is were singular or plural

plural (often used with we, you, they)

What is a pronoun antecedent agreement

Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a grammar rule that requires a pronoun to match its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), as well as in person. For example, in the sentence "The dog wagged its tail," the singular pronoun "its" agrees with the singular antecedent "dog".