choosing the better sentence on standardized tests time4writing provides these teachers materials to...

Choosing the Better Sentence on Standardized Tests

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Standardized tests, particularly the SAT, require students to identify the better sentence of two given sentences.

Sometimes it is easy to tell which is better:

A)He is the one that was at the game.

B)He is the one that at the game was.

Answer: A

But sometimes it can be tricky...


The answer here is not so obvious:

A)I made pizza using the dough that I made in a bread machine. B)Using dough from a bread machine, I made pizza.

Which do you think the better sentence is?

TIP: Say each sentence slowly, either in your head or out loud. Which sounds more

clear and concise? Copyright 2012 www.time4writing.com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Did you choose B? If so, you were right!What was wrong with A?

I made pizza using the dough that I made in a bread machine. • It is repetitive to use the verb "made" twice. Then there is a

third verb, "using". This makes it a loose sentence with too many clauses. B is much clearer:

Using dough from a bread machine, I made pizza.


When you are given two sentences and asked to choose the better one, identify and eliminate:

•Sentence fragments omissing a subject or verb

•Run-on sentences (comma splices or fused sentences)omissing a conjunction

•Loose sentencesotoo many subordinate clauses piled in

•Choppy sentencesotoo short and blunt


Sometimes, neither of the sentences will have any grammatical or mechanical errors.

•Look for the sentence that has problems with its

structure.

•Read each sentence to sense which flows better and conveys information more directly.


Let's try another one. Identify the better sentence:

A)We went to a restaurant to celebrate her birthday last night.

B)Last night, to celebrate her

birthday, we went to a restaurant.

Which do you think is the better sentence?


Did you choose A? If so, great job!Why is B not a good choice?

B) Last night, to celebrate her

birthday, we went to a restaurant.

Sentence B is not as direct as the first. It is better to start off the sentence saying who did what. Sentence A

flows better: A)We celebrated her birthday at a

restaurant last night.


The end.

More free SAT WRITING resources: •identifying sentence errors•editing & revising paragraphs•improving sentences•writing the SAT essay - characteristics

of effective writing

Eight-week WRITING courses:•elementary school•middle school•high school


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