SAT Reading and writing

prepositional phrases

are groups of words that begin with of, for, in, from, to, with, on, by, at, about, and include a noun or pronoun, often indicating location, direction, or time in a sentence—> take them out when checking subject and verb agreement

used to link events in a cause and effect relationship, help to highlight what happened as a result of something else

accordingly

as a result

because

consequently

finally

for example

for instance

hence

meanwhile

next

then

therefore

thus

whereby

used to describe opposing relationship between events can explain that something happened despite something else, or can indicate that an argument is shifting focus

although

aside from

besides

but

by contrast

contrastingly

conversely

despite this

however

in contrast

instead

nevertheless

on the contrary

on the one hand…

…on the other hand

otherwise

still

whereas

while

yet

used to connect things that are equal or similar or to add examples that emphasize the direction of the argument

additionally

after all

as a rule

also

further

furthermore

incidentally

indeed

in addition

in any case

in effect in fact

in other words

in point of fact

just as

likewise

moreover

not only…but also

similarly

comma splices

bad — two complete sentances are joined with a comma (can be fixed with adding a period or semicolon) ex. The car is old, it is blue.

semicolon ;

used to join two complete sentences like a period

colon :

used to introduce an explanation, a definition, or a clarification (never put a colon after 'such as’)

dash —

used identically to a colon - to introduce an explanation, definition, or clarification (2 dashes are used as parenthesis)

commas ,

when not sure, you probably don’t need the comma - check if you need a comma by reading it exaggerated pauses at every comma (if choppy delete) always use to surround nonessential information (can be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning or affecting the grammatical correctness of what remains) —> never use between a subject and a verb (walking to the store, was a chore) or after a preposition (of, in, to, for, with)

apostrophes

shows possession

(the dog’s bowl = one dog, one bowl)

(the dogs’ bowl = two dogs, multiple bowls)

(women’s coats = multiple women, multiple coats)

its=possession

it’s = it is

its’ = fake