Eighteen of the 49 total SAT Writing questions fall in the category of Identifying Sentence Errors. Typically, this is one of the easiest parts of the section, requiring primarily that students know a set of grammatical rules and common errors. Unlike the Improving Sentences section, in the ISE section students are not required to offer a solution or an improvement to grammatically incorrect sentences. No matter the level of difficulty, just as with the rest of the SAT, students can employ strategies to successfully navigate this section.
Follow Rules of Written Grammar
Remember that the Identifying Sentence Errors portion follows the rules of standard written English, not casual, verbal communication. Sometimes the more commonly spoken form is not necessarily the grammatically correct usage. So remind students not to mark an answer simply based on how the sentence sounds; sometimes the written English version can sound awkward when one is accustomed to the spoken English version.
From Easy to Hard
As with many segments of the SAT exam, the questions in the Identifying Sentence Errors section typically increase in difficulty. Why does this matter? If the later questions are trickier, they may require more time. Students should pace themselves and plan accordingly. Also, if students find that one of the last few questions is incredibly obvious or easy, they should double-check their analysis to make certain they are not being tricked into selecting an answer that sounds obviously wrong but is in fact grammatically correct.
You Can Choose E
Do not be afraid of option E! Some sentences will not have an error, so students should not force it and should not waste time agonizing over it. After going through a mental checklist of all the possible errors, if nothing strikes the students as being wrong, then they should select E: No Error.
Use Your Toolbox
Providing students with a list of common sentence errors -- a kind of "toolbox" -- can be a great strategy to more quickly, calmly and successfully complete the Identifying Sentence Errors section. After quickly and carefully reading each sentence, if nothing intuitively strikes the students as wrong, then they can run through the tools in their toolbox. Seven of the most common errors in this section, with specific examples, are: 1. Faulty comparisons: Make sure compatible things are being compared. INCORRECT: The players on our team are much faster than the other team. CORRECT: The players on our team are much faster than the players on the other team. 2. Subject-verb disagreements INCORRECT: Pablo, who has three dogs, run every morning. CORRECT: Pablo, who has three dogs, runs every morning. A real SAT example of subject-verb disagreement, courtesy of the College Board's Question of the Day, is: INCORRECT: An abundant supply of milk from dairy farms nearby make the Bern region of Switzerland a leading producer of condensed milk and milk chocolate. CORRECT: An abundant supply of milk from dairy farms nearby makes the Bern region of Switzerland a leading producer of condensed milk and milk chocolate. 3. Word choice INCORRECT: The blog post was incredulous. CORRECT: The blog post was incredible. 4. Comparative vs. superlative INCORRECT: The critics who reviewed Zadie Smith's two novels liked the first one best. CORRECT: The critics who reviewed Zadie Smith's two novels liked the first one better. 5. Parallelism INCORRECT: I love dancing, writing and to cook. CORRECT: I love, dancing, writing and cooking. A real SAT example of parallelism, courtesy of the College Board's Question of the Day, is: INCORRECT: Today photography is widely recognized as a fine art, featuring them in art museums, discussed by critics, and studied in art history courses. CORRECT: Today photography is widely recognized as a fine art, featured in art museums, discussed by critics, and studied in art history courses. 6. Pronouns INCORRECT: Mom gave Samantha and I ten dollars. CORRECT: Mom gave Samantha and me ten dollars. A real SAT example of pronouns, courtesy of the College Board's Question of the Day, is: INCORRECT: By the time Mitzie and myself got to the box office, all of the tickets were sold out. CORRECT: By the time Mitzie and I got to the box office, all of the tickets were sold out. 7. Idioms INCORRECT: Phillip can't come into work today because he's sick like a dog. CORRECT: Phillip can't come into work today because he's sick as a dog.
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