SAT Reading & Writing · your traps

Find the error: · "…used for other cases in favor of desegregation. showing that the separation had unequal quality and funding."

Trap: Fragment (an -ing phrase with no subject or main verb) · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: "…in favor of desegregation, showing that…"

Find the error: · "The Vicario twins are revealed to be the criminals in the first chapter, they had killed him because…"

Trap: Comma splice · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: "…in the first chapter. They had killed him…"

Find the error: · "They help me through my tough times the most I may not be the best at balancing everything."

Trap: Run-on (no punctuation between sentences) · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: "…the most. I may not be…"

Find the error: · "Sparing their lives during most of the trials."

Trap: Fragment · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: attach with a comma: "…, sparing their lives during most of the trials."

Find the error: · "The largest failure of the era is that it wasn't able to fix was the social treatment of black Americans."

Trap: Fused frames (two main verbs: is … was) · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: "The era's largest failure was the social treatment of Black Americans."

You notice: A choice joins two complete sentences with only a comma.

Trap: Comma splice. Use a period, a semicolon, or a comma + and/but/so.

You notice: A choice starts a new sentence with an -ing phrase ("Showing…", "Sparing…").

Trap: Fragment, your most frequent. Attach it to the sentence before with a comma.

Find the error: · "A place we always went to when in the city were museums."

Trap: Attraction trap (the verb follows the nearest noun) · Type: Subject-Verb Agreement · Fix: subject = "A place" → "was"

Find the error: · "Putnam answers that Giles Corey is lying, and everyone in the court believes him."

Trap: Ambiguous reference (him = Putnam or Giles?) · Type: Pronoun · Fix: "…believes Putnam."

Choose the precise word: · "…the 'separate but equal' argument that had ___ Jim Crow laws for decades." · A) withheld B) upheld C) withdrawn D) uplifted

B) upheld · Your word: withheld = kept back

Choose the precise word: · "…what matters is how they use their ___." · A) recourse B) resources C) reprisals D) remorse

B) resources · Your word: recourse = something you turn to for help

Choose the precise word: · "Daisy's life has been ___ reality." · A) exempt from B) sheltered from C) excused by D) exiled from

B) sheltered from · Your word: exempt = excused from a duty or rule

Choose the precise word: · "…that does not ___ the fact that they did nothing to stop the murder." · A) disclose B) excuse C) expose D) declare

B) excuse · Your word: disclose = reveal (nearly the opposite)

Choose the precise word: · "The doctrine of ___ assured destruction…" · A) military B) mutually C) mutual D) massively

B) mutually · Your word: military (a near-miss that changes the idea)

Choose the precise word: · "I hold no ___ for Britain's actions." · A) remorse B) sympathy C) apology D) penance

B) sympathy · Your word: remorse = guilt for your own wrong

Choose the precise word: · "Castro never ___ in pursuit of his goal." · A) waned B) wavered C) wandered D) waived

B) wavered · Your word: waning = shrinking, fading

Choose the precise word: · "In 1964, President Johnson ___ the Civil Rights Act into law." · A) officiated B) signed C) ordained D) presided

B) signed · Your word: officiated = refereed / ran a ceremony

Choose the precise word: · "She believes that she and Tom will eventually ___." (Tom is married.) · A) elope B) marry C) escape D) emigrate

B) marry · Your word: elope = run off secretly to marry

You notice: A choice is a fancier word related to the topic, but its exact meaning doesn't fit.

Trap: Near synonym, your #1 habit. Plug in its dictionary meaning; if the sentence changes, eliminate it.

Find the error: · "Holden enjoys every interaction he's had with a child."

Trap: Too strong ("every") · Type: Inference · Fix: "Holden is happiest in his scenes with children."

Find the error: · "Almost all of the countries fighting did not have justifications."

Trap: Too broad · Type: Inference · Fix: "Several of the major powers entered with weak justifications."

Find the error: · "Fantasy is ultimately impossible because it can never be achieved."

Trap: Circular (the reason restates the claim) · Type: Inference · Fix: "…because no one can stop a child from growing up."

You notice: A choice uses every / all / always / completely / directly.

Trap: Too strong. Eliminate unless the passage says exactly that.

Find the error: · "Non-colored people weren't offered contracts to buy houses."

Trap: Reversed meaning (says the opposite) · Fix: "Black families weren't offered contracts…" · Habit: reread every not / non- / no

Find the error: · "…a silent prohibition that nuclear weapons should be used."

Trap: Reversed meaning · Fix: "…should never be used."

Find the error: · "The Montgomery bus boycott ended with the desegregation of the city's buses; showing how impactful protesting for change could be."

Trap: Semicolon before a fragment (a semicolon needs a full sentence on BOTH sides) · Type: Sentence Boundaries · Fix: "…buses. It showed how…" or "…buses, showing how…"

Find the error: · "Countries do have the right to defend themselves, but it is how they use their resources is what really matters."

Trap: Two sentence frames stacked ("it is…" + "…is what"), so one clause gets two main verbs · Type: Sentence structure · Fix: "…but how they use their resources is what really matters."

Find the error: · "The head chef, along with her two assistants, test each new dish a dozen times."

Trap: Add-on phrase ("along with", "as well as", "together with" don't make the subject plural) · Type: Subject-Verb Agreement · Fix: cross out the add-on → "The head chef … tests"

Find the error: · "Marcus Bell, who the committee had described as the most original geologist, declined the prize."

Trap: who vs. whom · Type: Pronoun case · Test: swap in he/him → "the committee had described him" → whom · Fix: "Marcus Bell, whom the committee…"

Find the error: · "The songs of humpback whales are longer than whales of other species."

Trap: Comparing different kinds of things (songs vs. whales) · Type: Logical comparison · Fix: "…longer than those of other species" (those = songs)

You notice: A grammar question (comma, verb, pronoun).

Habit: mark the structure before you choose. · Verb question: cross out the add-on phrase to find the real subject. · Comma / semicolon / period: draw a line where the sentences meet and ask "can each side stand alone?" · You got 9/9 on evidence by marking up. Do the same here.

Find the error: · "The kit includes several tools, including: a pipette, gloves, and a timer."

Trap: Colon after "including" / "such as" · Type: Punctuation (Boundaries) · Rule: a colon needs a complete sentence before it · Fix: "…several tools, including a pipette, gloves, and a timer."

You notice: A sentence compares with "than", "like", "compared with" or "similar to".

Habit: check that both sides are the same kind of thing. · Ask: what is being compared? (lifespan vs. lifespan, songs vs. songs) · Fix with "that of" (one thing) or "those of" (more than one). · You've missed this twice: songs vs. whales, lifespan vs. trout.

Find the error: · "Among the letters in the archive was two drafts of the speech she never gave."

Trap: Inverted subject (the verb comes BEFORE its subject) · Type: Subject-verb agreement · Test: flip it around → "Two drafts ... were among the letters." · Fix: "was" → "were"

Find the error: · "Neither of the two proposals address the cost of the new bridge."

Trap: "Neither / Each / Either / Every one" + "of" phrase · Type: Subject-verb agreement · Rule: the subject is "neither" (singular); cross out "of the two proposals" · Fix: "address" → "addresses"

Find the error: · "The average lifespan of a tortoise is far longer than a dog."

Trap: Comparing different kinds of things (lifespan vs. dog) · Type: Logical comparison · Fix: "…longer than THAT OF a dog" (that = the lifespan; use THOSE for plurals)

You notice: A Command of Evidence question where the claim has two parts ("X, not Y" / "both X and Y").

Habit: underline each part of the claim. · The right answer supports BOTH parts. · Trap: a choice that proves only half the claim looks right but isn't.