Practice Test

Why it is hard

The paragraph is short, plainly worded and about two named girls, so the one singular pronoun stands out once students look for the person each pronoun stands for. Points are lost mainly by students unsure what “vague” means, who suspect a sentence with several pronouns or a plural “they” instead. Tracing each pronoun back to its noun settles the question in seconds.

1. Something you must already know minor Working it out

   Students must know what makes a pronoun vague: “she” in sentence 3 could mean either Eliza or Brianna, while each plural “they” clearly means both girls. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

Strategy: Circle every pronoun, draw a line from each to the noun it replaces, and look for one where the line could go to more than one person.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Sees two pronouns, “their” and “they,” in the first sentence and suspects confusion, though both are plural and plainly refer to Eliza and Brianna together.

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Thinks “The girls” and “they” are too general and wants the names repeated, though both point clearly back to the two girls just named.

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Wonders whether “they” could include the choir members of the sentence before, though “Both girls” at the start of sentence 4 fixes who “they” are.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The errors sit together in the paragraph's last sentence, and neither is heard easily, so students who judge by ear look for problems elsewhere. The strongest pull applies two familiar but wrong rules, no comma before “and” and a plural pronoun for a mixture of several ingredients, to a sentence that is already correct. The question rewards testing each pronoun against its noun and each comma against a rule before reading the pairs.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   Both real errors sound natural: “each pancake … when they start to bubble” passes because several pancakes are cooking, and “sweet delicious breakfast” seldom sounds as if it needs a comma between its adjectives. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   Eight underlined spots are paired into four proposed revisions, one pair per sentence, and a pair is right only if both of its edits fix real errors, so every edit has to be tried in place. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, test each underlined spot yourself: find what each pronoun and verb refers to, and decide whether each comma is needed. Then look for the pair whose two edits both fix real errors.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.
• Agreement: A verb that does not agree with its subject, or a pronoun that does not agree with the word it stands for.
• Punctuation: A comma, semicolon, colon, dash or apostrophe used where it does not belong, or missing where it does.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Deletes the comma after the first of three names in a series and changes “their” to “her,” though the pronoun refers to all three siblings.

• B Agreement (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Counts two tasks, opening the box and pouring, and wants the plural “are,” though the subject is the singular “job,” and drops the comma before “slowly adding.”

• C Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: strong

  Applies the rule that a comma never comes before “and,” though this one joins two complete clauses, and makes “it” plural for the ingredients, though it means the mixture.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The faulty pronoun is camouflaged by the list right before it, which makes a plural sound natural, so students who read by ear pass the last sentence and flag a correct one. The likeliest victim is sentence 2, where “it” comes before the noun it stands for, which some students wrongly believe is not allowed. The question rewards asking, for each pronoun, what noun it stands for and whether the number matches.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   “Them” in sentence 4 follows the plural list “downturned mouth, slimy skin, and pale coloring,” so it sounds right, though what was voted ugliest is the singular blobfish. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   The stem names no kind of error, and every sentence has a pronoun or a set-off phrase that could be suspect, from the opening appositive to the “Because it has” clause, so all four must be checked. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Check each sentence in turn: the subject and verb, what every pronoun refers to, and what each describing phrase attaches to, without trusting how smoothly the sentence sounds.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: moderate

  Suspects the long interruption “a creature that certainly resembles its name” or the comma in “pink, gelatinous,” though both are correct and the sentence is complete.

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: strong

  Believes a pronoun cannot come before its noun, so flags “Because it has very few muscles,” though “it” correctly looks ahead to “the blobfish” in the main clause.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Assumes “It” must point to the nearest noun, “the ocean floor,” and calls it unclear, though only the blobfish could wait for food to float by.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: The handbook's explanation of sentence 1 calls “a creature that certainly resembles its name” a clause; it is an appositive phrase, a noun phrase that renames “the blobfish”, and now says so. Its explanation of sentence 2 says the “Because…” clause “modifies the words ‘the blobfish’”; an introductory “because” clause tells why something happens, so it modifies the verb, and the sentence now says it explains why the blobfish spends its life floating. The answer, sentence 4, is unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

None of the versions is plainly ungrammatical, so the ear gives little help, and the version with “because” looks best to students who value a clearly stated cause. Its cost is wordiness and a weaker link: the result comes first and the reference back to sentence 11 is buried mid-sentence. The question rewards keeping the original order, cause then effect, and folding sentence 13 in as a short closing phrase.

1. How sentences fit together moderate Working it out

   “Prior to this planet-wide dust storm” points back to sentence 11, so the best version keeps it first; three versions move it later, which loosens the link between the two sentences. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   All four versions keep every fact of sentences 12 and 13 and run 29 to 32 words, so none can be ruled out by content; order, pronouns and repetition decide. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   Each version is one long sentence built around a participial phrase or a “because” clause, and at that length a stranded “it” or a doubled “the rover” is easy to miss. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: Read sentence 11 first, then compare the versions on how smoothly each connects to it, how many words it uses, and whether every pronoun has a clear antecedent.

Traps

• Wordy, vague or informal: A revision is grammatical but wordy, imprecise or too casual for the passage.
• Unclear pronoun: A pronoun whose reference is vague or ambiguous, or one in the wrong case.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Wordy, vague or informal (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Opens with the effect as a participial phrase, which pushes “prior to this planet-wide dust storm,” the link to sentence 11, to the end and names “the rover” twice.

• B Unclear pronoun (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: weak

  Packs sentence 12 into a 19-word opening phrase, so “it” follows “this planet-wide dust storm” and no longer points clearly to the rover buried inside the phrase.

• C Wordy, vague or informal (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Likes the clear cause word “because,” but the result now comes first, “the rover” appears twice, and “prior to this planet-wide dust storm” splits the subject from its verb.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option B says the combination turns sentence 12 into “an overly long dependent clause,” and its explanation of Option D says Option D adds sentence 13 to sentence 12 “as a dependent clause” by changing “These prevented” to “preventing.” Neither is a clause: “Periodically depositing a layer of dust onto the solar panels of the rover prior to this planet-wide dust storm” (Option B) and “preventing it from charging its batteries” (Option D) have no subject or finite verb of their own. Both are participial phrases, and the site now calls them that. The reasoning and the answer, Option D, are unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

Students no longer have to supply the fix, only find the faulty spot, so the question rests on recognizing a comma splice. The error sits in the first sentence behind a long museum name, while the phrases “including Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves” and “written in 1863” look more suspicious to anyone unsure about phrases set off by commas. Testing each spot for a full sentence on both sides finds it quickly.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   A comma alone joins two full clauses at “Institution, the,” and because the long museum name delays the break, the comma reads as a pause rather than a missing period. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The first clause runs 19 words, most of them the museum’s name, so by the time “the museum is already” arrives it sounds like a continuation, not a new sentence. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   Each of the four clickable phrases straddles a comma or a period, so students must check, at every one, whether the words on each side could stand as a sentence. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find the subject and main verb of each sentence and count how many complete thoughts it holds, then check whether the punctuation at each underlined spot suits what comes on either side.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Suspects the break after “year” because two sentences meet there, though a period already separates two complete sentences correctly, each with its own subject and verb.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Believes a phrase opening with “including” after a comma is a fragment, though it correctly attaches examples to “more than 30,000 objects” within a complete sentence.

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Thinks “written in 1863” cannot describe the copy without “which was,” though the sentence already has its verb “is” and the participial phrase is correctly set off.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of choice 3 calls “including Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves and a dress sewn by Rosa Parks” a “nonrestrictive appositive phrase.” An appositive renames a noun; this phrase gives examples of the objects, and “including” followed by a noun phrase works as a preposition, so it is a prepositional phrase. The explanation of choice 4 calls “written in 1863 during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln” a “nonrestrictive clause”; it has no subject or finite verb of its own, so it is a participial phrase. The site now says “nonrestrictive prepositional phrase” and “nonrestrictive participial phrase.” Both parts are still correctly constructed, and the answer, “Institution, the,” is unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The two sentences are short, and the work lies in naming how they relate before reading the versions. The most tempting one, beginning “While,” keeps both facts but drops the word “allow,” so the missions no longer explain the data. Students who test each connector against the relationship also catch the concession in “Although” and the contrast in “but,” which also moves the date onto the data collection.

1. How sentences fit together moderate Working it out

   Students must first name the relationship, that the missions make the data possible, a link only the version with “which allow” keeps, since the others recast it as time, concession or contrast. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   All four versions keep both facts and read smoothly, so each joining word, “While,” “Although,” “which” and “but,” has to be tested for what it claims. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, decide in a few words how the two facts are connected, then reject any version whose joining word signals a different relationship or shifts what a detail describes.

Traps

• Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.
• Changes the meaning: A revision is correct English but no longer says what the writer meant.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Keeps both facts and reads smoothly, but “While” presents the missions and the data collection as merely happening at the same time and drops “allow,” the link between them.

• B Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Treats “Although” as a neutral joining word, but it makes the data collection happen in spite of the missions, when the missions are what make it possible.

• D Changes the meaning (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Joins the facts with “but,” implying a contrast, and moves “since 1973” from the missions to the data collection, so the date now describes something else.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: Rejecting D, the handbook's explanation says “but” “suggests an adverse relationship between ideas”. “Adverse” means harmful; the point is that “but” signals a contrast, which the two sentences don't have. It now says “a contrasting relationship”. The answer, C, is unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The dangling phrase is easy to accept because the reader already knows from sentence 1 what left the residents in the dark. Students who do not ask what the opening phrase describes look elsewhere, and sentence 4 is the likeliest victim, since its closing phrase about an odd coincidence seems to hang loose. The question rewards naming the subject of each sentence and checking that every added phrase belongs to it.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   The opening phrase of sentence 2, “Leaving approximately 73,000 residents without electricity,” has no word to modify; it sounds acceptable because sentence 1’s power outage supplies the missing subject. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   The error is not named, and three sentences hold features that invite doubt: sentence 1’s date and place names, sentence 3’s dash and exclamation point, sentence 4’s two set-off phrases. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Take the sentences one at a time: name the subject and main verb, ask what each opening or added phrase describes, and check whether each mark of punctuation has a job.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Suspects the long opening date or the string of place names, though sentence 1 has a clear subject and verb and its introductory phrase is correctly punctuated.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Treats the dash and the exclamation point as errors because they look informal, though the dash correctly sets off “on the exact same day” and the sentence is complete.

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Rightly checks what each phrase describes but decides “an odd coincidence to say the least” dangles, though it correctly sums up the whole clause before it.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The shift to “Then she studies” stands out in a story told in the past tense with “spent,” “did” and “recited,” and finding either half of the right option is enough to choose it. That makes this one of the easiest editing questions. Students who miss it usually trust a half-remembered comma rule, such as a comma before “so,” and stop checking the verb in the same option.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong minor Working it out

   Only two nouns, “emotions” and “motivations,” follow “the,” so the comma between them has no job, yet a habit of putting commas before “and” in lists hides it. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   The four options each pair a tense change with a comma change, one option per sentence, and an option is right only when both of its edits repair real errors. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find the tense of the paragraph's first verb, check every underlined verb against it, and then confirm that the comma change in the same choice is needed too.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Verb tense or form (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Thinks “had spent” is needed because the preparing came before the audition, and accepts a comma after “play” that would cut off “at the community theater.”

• B Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Applies the rule of a comma before “so” joining two clauses, missing that “so that” opens a purpose clause with no comma, and accepts the present-tense “does.”

• D Verb tense or form (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: weak

  Notices that the tenses clash but takes the present-tense “studies” as the standard, shifts “recited” to match, and drops the comma that sets off “making slight adjustments.”

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The three facts form a simple chain of causes, and most students see that rehearsal explains the easy delivery. Points are lost by checking only the first connector: one version starts with a correct “so” and then joins the applause with “but,” as if it were a surprise. Versions opening with “Though” or using “yet” fail on the first link, so they are easier to rule out.

1. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   Every version runs 27 words and keeps the same three facts, differing only in its two connecting words, so a wrong one can hide at the end, as “but” does after a correct “so.” (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

2. How sentences fit together minor Working it out

   Students must first see the chain the sentences imply, weeks of rehearsal causing an easy delivery and the easy delivery earning applause, before any connector can be judged. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, decide how each sentence leads to the next, then check every connecting word in each version, since one wrong word anywhere makes the whole combined sentence wrong.

Traps

• Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Opens with “Though,” which treats weeks of rehearsal as something that should have worked against Jordan, when practice is the reason his lines came easily.

• B Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Gets the second link right with “so” but joins rehearsing and easy delivery with “yet,” as if delivering lines smoothly were surprising after weeks of practice.

• D Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Joins rehearsal and easy delivery correctly with “so,” then adds the applause with “but,” as if a burst of applause after a smooth performance were unexpected.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

Because every version keeps all three facts and is grammatical, the question is about emphasis and connection, which students rarely check for. Two versions open with Io and its volcanoes and leave the seventy-nine moons trailing after “and,” and one of them also calls Io a moon twice. The strongest pull is the version with the right order that still joins Io with “and,” so Io’s name reads as a second piece of news rather than an example of the moons just counted.

1. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

   The “and one of them is named Io” version matches the key in its order and in its which-clause about volcanoes; only its connector differs from the key’s “including one named Io.” (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

2. How sentences fit together moderate Working it out

   Students must see that sentence 1 is the main news and that sentences 2 and 3 narrow to one example, so Io belongs inside the sentence about Jupiter’s seventy-nine moons. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   Every version is grammatical and keeps all three facts, so none can be ruled out by an error; each is judged on which idea leads and how the others attach. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Decide which of the three sentences states the main idea and which ones add detail, then check whether each version’s order and structure show that relationship.

Traps

• Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.
• Changes the meaning: A revision is correct English but no longer says what the writer meant.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Changes the meaning (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Opens with Io and its volcanoes and adds the moon count with “and,” so the main news about Jupiter trails behind its own example as an afterthought.

• B Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Keeps the right order and the which-clause, but “and one of them is named Io” adds Io as a second piece of news instead of an example of those moons.

• D Changes the meaning (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: weak

  Leads with Io’s volcanoes, then says Io “is one of Jupiter’s moons” right after calling it “a moon,” and leaves the main news about Jupiter for the end.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The error is in the first sentence, but it hides behind a comma that sounds like an ordinary pause, while the later spots carry features that look riskier: a transition word, a clause beginning “much of which,” the phrase “in fact.” Students who test each spot for a complete sentence on both sides find the splice at once. Those who look for a revision that merely sounds polished are drawn to the semicolon, which is correct but fixes nothing.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   The comma after “continents” joins two complete sentences, and because “at one time” sounds like an introductory phrase continuing the thought, the splice reads as a natural pause. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   Each revision changes only punctuation at one underlined spot, and the semicolon one is correct English, so students must ask whether each spot was wrong to begin with, not only whether the change looks right. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The paragraph’s sentences are long, with the appositive “known as Pangaea” and the clause “much of which were,” whose odd-sounding verb draws suspicion to a spot that is correctly punctuated. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: At each underlined spot, read the words on both sides and ask whether each side could stand as a sentence, then pick the revision that leaves every sentence correctly joined or separated.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.
• Fragment or run-on: Creates or keeps a sentence fragment, a run-on sentence or a comma splice.

The wrong answers, classified

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Knows a semicolon can join two clauses before “additionally” and picks that tidy-looking change, though the period it replaces was already correct and the comma splice up front remains.

• C Fragment or run-on (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Treats the long second sentence as a run-on and splits it after “Panthalassa,” leaving “Much of which were in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere” as a fragment with no main clause.

• D Fragment or run-on (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Thinks “in fact” belongs inside the sentence before it, set off by commas, which joins two complete sentences with only a comma and creates the error the paragraph already has.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option C says a period after “Panthalassa” would separate the dependent clause “much of which were in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere” “from its subject: ‘ocean waters called Panthalassa.’” The clause has a subject of its own, “much”; “ocean waters called Panthalassa” is its antecedent, the noun phrase that “which” refers to. The explanation also calls the clause “an adjective for ‘ocean waters’”; a clause is not an adjective but an adjective (relative) clause, which modifies the noun. The site now says “from its antecedent” and “an adjective clause that modifies ‘ocean waters.’” The reasoning and the answer, A, are unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The paragraph's only real errors sit at the end of its longest sentence, where a plural noun pair just before the faulty verb hides the mismatch. Students who do not hear “allow” as wrong start doubting correct marks instead, such as the colon before an embedded question or the comma after “To start with.” Every wrong pair also changes a verb or pronoun that already agrees, so reading each edit back into its sentence rules those pairs out.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   In sentence 4 the plural pair “texture and flavor” sits just before “and allow,” so the verb sounds right, but it belongs to “which,” the warmer serving, and must match “enhances.” (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   Each pair proposes two edits in one sentence, eight in all, and a pair is right only if both of its edits fix real errors, so every edit has to be tried in place. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   Sentence 4 hangs a which-clause with two verbs onto the main clause, and the comma before “and allow” splits that clause's compound predicate in a way few students hear as wrong. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, find each verb's true subject and test every marked comma yourself; then look for the choice whose two edits both fix errors you found.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.
• Agreement: A verb that does not agree with its subject, or a pronoun that does not agree with the word it stands for.
• Punctuation: A comma, semicolon, colon, dash or apostrophe used where it does not belong, or missing where it does.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Agreement (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: strong

  Hears “the two” as the subject and wants “are,” and distrusts a colon before a question, though “the difference” is singular and the colon is correct.

• B Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Believes a short opener like “To start with” needs no comma and accepts “they are,” though the pronoun stands for the singular “butterfat content.”

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Picks edits to a sentence that is already correct, unbalancing the commas around the which-clause and giving the singular “mixing process” a plural verb.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

None of the wrong versions drops a fact, and two of them are loose rather than plainly ungrammatical, so the ear is little help. Students lose the point by accepting the smoothest chain of clauses without asking what each connector claims: whether the crew and the tourists really contrast, what the price belongs to, and what the price explains. The question rewards deciding the three links before reading the versions, then checking them one connector at a time.

1. How sentences fit together major Working it out

   Sentence 2 simply adds to sentence 1, while sentence 3’s price works against the tourist plan and explains why few will go, so every “but,” “though,” “because” or “so” in a version must fit one of those links. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

2. Complex sentences moderate Understanding the question

   Each version is one sentence of 48 to 53 words with four clauses, and at that length a “which cost” hanging on the wrong noun or a comma before “therefore” is easy to read past. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

3. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   All four versions keep the same facts in the same order and share most of their words, so none can be ruled out by content; each connecting word has to be tested in turn. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Before reading the choices, decide how each sentence relates to the next: added fact, contrast, or cause and result. Then check every connecting word in each version against those links.

Traps

• Misplaced modifier: A describing word or phrase that attaches to the wrong word, or to nothing in the sentence.
• Wordy, vague or informal: A revision is grammatical but wordy, imprecise or too casual for the passage.
• Wrong transition: A connecting word or phrase that signals the wrong relationship, such as contrast where the idea continues.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Keeps the price as the reason few can go, marked by “so,” but misses that “which cost” hangs on “the space station” and that “but” sets crew against tourists.

• C Wordy, vague or informal (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Keeps every fact in order, but stacking “but,” “though” and “so” in one sentence turns the price into an aside instead of plainly the reason few people will go.

• D Wrong transition (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: moderate

  Keeps sentence 3’s “because the cost is” word for word, but here it explains why tourists are allowed, and “therefore” after a comma splices on the result.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The faulty sentence is easy to understand, because the reader supplies the link between New Jersey and the thirty-five seasons without noticing the clause is in the wrong place. Students who go by sound skip it and suspect a busier sentence instead, most often the first, with its parentheses and a “who” that refers to a team. The question rewards asking, for each describing clause, which word it actually sits beside.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   Sentence 2’s “where the team played for thirty-five seasons” follows “financial troubles,” not “New Jersey,” but readers silently attach it to the state, so the misplaced clause does not sound wrong. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   The stem names no kind of error, and every sentence carries a describing clause or phrase, from “who played” to “including two appearances” to a second “where” clause, so all four must be tested. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   Sentence 1 runs 31 words with two abbreviations in parentheses and a “who” clause, which makes a correct sentence look like the likeliest home for an error. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: In each sentence, find every describing clause or phrase and the word just before it. Ask whether the clause can logically describe that word; a mismatch marks the sentence to revise.

Traps

• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: strong

  Believes “who” cannot refer to a team, or distrusts the long sentence with two abbreviations, though “who played in the Long Island area” correctly describes the New York Nets.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Takes “including two appearances in the NBA finals” for a fragment tacked on with a comma, though the phrase correctly adds detail to “sixteen playoff appearances.”

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Hears the shift from “returned” to “now plays” as a tense error, though “now” marks the present, and this “where” clause sits right after New York, the place it describes.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The sentence makes sense on a first reading, which is exactly why its error slips past students who edit by ear. Asking who is promoting the club exposes it and removes both rewrites that keep the bake sale as the subject, however neatly they are punctuated. What is left is a judgment of style, and the smoother rewrite keeps the subject and verb together instead of interrupting them with two phrases.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   “To promote their club” has to describe whatever comes right after its comma, and that is “a bake sale”; the meaning is so plain that few students notice the sale doing the promoting. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The original is passive, “a bake sale will be sponsored by members of the debate team,” which places the people who act after the verb, far from the phrase that should describe them. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   Each rewrite rearranges the opening phrase, the time phrase and the main clause, so each has to be read through to see what follows “To promote their club” and whether anything splits a subject from its verb. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

4. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

   Two rewrites make the team members the subject of “will sponsor” with identical words; they part only on where the two phrases go, at the edges of the sentence or wedged between subject and verb. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Ask who is really doing the promoting, then read each rewrite aloud in full, checking which words follow the opening phrase and whether the sentence reads smoothly from start to finish.

Traps

• Misplaced modifier: A describing word or phrase that attaches to the wrong word, or to nothing in the sentence.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Moves “on Wednesday” ahead of the bake sale as if the time phrase were the misplaced part, but the sentence stays passive and the sale is still what “To promote their club” describes.

• B Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: moderate

  Is drawn by the tidy commas around both fronted phrases, yet “a bake sale” still comes straight after them, so the sale remains the thing promoting the club.

• D Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Rightly makes “Members of the debate team” the subject but parks “on Wednesday to promote their club” between it and “will sponsor,” a clumsy break the smoother rewrite avoids.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

Every choice makes the same kind of change, so the question comes down to telling one real comma splice from three commas doing legitimate work. The most dangerous spot is after “race,” where a subject and verb sit on both sides of the comma, just as at the real error, and only the word “Once” marks the first part as dependent. Students who test each side for a complete thought, not just for a subject and a verb, find the splice in the opening sentence quickly.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   The run-on hides behind the short phrase “at that time,” which makes the comma after “name” sound like an ordinary pause; only checking that each side can stand alone exposes the comma splice. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   All four revisions swap a comma for a period, so every underlined spot needs the same test: could the words before it and the words after it each stand as a sentence? (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The three correct commas guard three different structures, an opening “Once” clause, a participial phrase beginning with “paving” and an appositive after “261,” and each has to be recognized as unable to stand alone. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: At each underlined comma, read the words before it and the words after it as separate pieces and ask whether each could stand alone as a sentence; that shows where a period belongs.

Traps

• Fragment or run-on: Creates or keeps a sentence fragment, a run-on sentence or a comma splice.

The wrong answers, classified

• B Fragment or run-on (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Finds a subject and verb on both sides of the comma after “race” and calls it a splice, missing that “Once” makes the first part a dependent clause that cannot stand alone.

• C Fragment or run-on (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Treats the long third sentence as a run-on and ends it after “hours,” leaving “Paving the way for the official rule change” as a fragment with no subject or main verb.

• D Fragment or run-on (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Spots the subject and verb “she had worn” after the comma following “261,” but they sit inside a phrase that renames the number, so the new sentence would be a fragment.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Stem and explanation: The handbook spells the runner’s name “Katherine Switzer” in the paragraph and twice in the explanation. She is Kathrine Switzer, who entered the 1967 Boston Marathon as “K. V. Switzer,” so the site now spells her name that way, in the question’s title too. No answer depends on the spelling.
• Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option C calls “paving the way for the official rule change that allowed for the inclusion of women” a dependent clause, and on that basis calls the sentence a complex sentence. The words have no subject or finite verb of their own: they are a participial phrase, which the site now calls them, and the site no longer calls the sentence complex for that reason. Its explanation of Option D calls “the same number she had worn in that first run in 1967” a modifying clause; it is an appositive phrase, a noun phrase that renames “number 261,” and the site now says so. Neither phrase can stand alone as a sentence, so Options C and D are still wrong, and the answer, Option A, is unchanged.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The paragraph holds two errors of different kinds, an unclosed “who” clause and a slip into present tense, and the other two proposed edits change text that is already correct. Students who catch the tense shift but not the comma are left between two pairs, and many then delete the sound comma after the opening “When” clause. The question rewards finding both errors in the paragraph before reading the pairs.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   The “who owned a cleaning product company” clause opens with a comma but never closes, and sentence 2 still reads smoothly aloud, so the missing comma after “company” is easy to miss. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer

   The right pair and the pair that deletes the comma after “homes” share the “becomes” to “became” fix, so only the comma edit, after “company” or after “homes”, tells them apart. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   The four pairs draw on four possible edits in four sentences, so each edit has to be judged on its own and a pair accepted only when both are needed. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Find the errors yourself before looking at the pairs: check whether each comma is needed or missing, and check that each verb's tense fits when its event happened.

Traps

• Punctuation: A comma, semicolon, colon, dash or apostrophe used where it does not belong, or missing where it does.
• Verb tense or form: The wrong tense, an inconsistent shift of tense, or a wrong verb form.
• Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: strong

  Gets the “becomes” to “became” fix but, missing the unclosed “who” clause in sentence 2, deletes the comma that correctly ends the opening clause of sentence 1.

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Changes two correct parts, deleting the comma after an opening clause and adding a needless past perfect, while both real errors in sentences 2 and 3 stay.

• D Verb tense or form (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Adds the needed comma after “company” but thinks the later event needs “had remarketed”, missing the real tense error, the present-tense “becomes” in sentence 3.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The faulty sentence is the first one and the smoothest-sounding, because the mind supplies the missing volunteers who walk the dogs. Students who judge by ear pass over it and then flag a correct sentence that merely sounds busy. The question rewards asking, for every opening phrase, which noun it actually attaches to.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong major Working it out

   Sentence 1's opening list, “Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens”, grammatically describes “the animal shelter”, an error that sounds natural because readers know volunteers will do those tasks. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer

   The stem names no kind of error, so all four sentences must be checked, and sentences 2, 3 and 4 each contain a long phrase that could look misplaced. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

3. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   Every sentence carries a lengthy modifier, from the interrupting “especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals” to the closing definition of empathy, so the faulty one does not stand out. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

Strategy: In each sentence, find every descriptive phrase and ask which noun sits next to it. Any phrase placed beside a noun it cannot logically describe marks the sentence to revise.

The wrong answers, classified

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: strong

  Flags the interruption “especially those who aspire to care for and protect animals” as an error, though it correctly describes “young people” and the sentence is complete.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Suspects the opening phrase “In addition to hands-on training with animal care” dangles like sentence 1's, but it leads straight into “volunteers”, who receive the training.

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Picks the “which is the awareness and understanding of the feelings of others” clause as misplaced, though it sits right after “empathy”, the word it defines.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

Students who miss this one usually look for the error in the wrong place: the phrases “including Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves” and “written in 1863” look suspicious, while the real splice hides behind the long museum name. The question rewards checking each spot for a subject and verb on both sides of its punctuation. Two choices offer the same “, and the” fix, so knowing the fix is not enough without finding where it belongs.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   The error is a comma splice after “Institution,” where a comma alone joins two complete clauses, and a comma sounds like a natural pause when the sentence is read aloud. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The eight-word museum name stretches the first clause, so by the time “the museum is already” arrives, it reads like a continuation rather than a new subject and verb. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   The four underlined spots fall in four different sentences, and each has to be tested for whether a complete sentence sits on both sides of its punctuation. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Check each sentence for a subject and main verb and count its complete thoughts, then decide whether the spot each choice changes actually breaks a rule before picking a fix.

The wrong answers, classified

• B Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Recognizes “, and the” as the usual run-on fix but applies it where a period already separates two complete, correctly punctuated sentences.

• C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Believes a phrase opening with “including” after a comma is a fragment, so turns it into a which-clause, though the phrase already attaches correctly to “objects.”

• D Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Thinks “written in 1863” cannot describe the copy without “which was,” though the sentence already has its verb “is” and the phrase is correctly set off.

What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why

• Explanation: The handbook says the correct revision “adds the word ‘and’ before the comma.” In “Institution, and the,” the word “and” comes after the comma, so the site now says “after the comma.”

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The original sentence is easy to understand, which is exactly why its dangling modifier slips past students who judge by sound. Rewrites that only move “on Wednesday” keep the passive voice and the error, so asking who is doing the promoting rules them out at once. Among the rewrites that put the team members first, the remaining decision is about smoothness: whether a phrase should sit between the subject and its verb.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out

   “To promote their club” has no logical doer in the original, since a bake sale cannot promote anything, but the meaning is so clear that the dangling modifier is hard to hear. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Complex sentences minor Understanding the question

   The passive “will be sponsored by members of the debate team” pushes the real actors to the end, which is why the opening phrase lands on “a bake sale.” (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)

3. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   All four rewrites shuffle the same three phrases, so each must be read whole to see which noun follows the opening phrase and whether the main clause is interrupted. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

4. A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer

   The interrupted rewrite uses the same words as the right one and also makes the team members the subject; only where “on Wednesday to promote their club” sits, between subject and verb, separates them. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)

Strategy: Ask who is actually promoting the club, then read each rewrite to see which words the to-phrase attaches to and how smoothly the whole sentence reads.

Traps

• Misplaced modifier: A describing word or phrase that attaches to the wrong word, or to nothing in the sentence.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Moves “on Wednesday” as if the time phrase were the problem and keeps the passive voice, so “To promote their club” still describes the bake sale.

• B Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a surface strategy Expected pull: weak

  Shuffles both phrases to the front without a comma between them, yet “a bake sale” still follows, so the club-promoting phrase still describes the sale.

• D Misplaced modifier (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: moderate

  Correctly makes “Members of the debate team” the subject but misplaces “on Wednesday to promote their club” between subject and verb, an awkward interruption the best revision avoids.

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it

Why it is hard

The tense error is easy to hear: “Then he studies” breaks a past-tense story told with “spent,” “did” and “recited.” Spotting either half of the correct choice is enough to find it, which is why this is one of the easier editing questions. Students who go wrong are usually drawn by a comma rule they half remember, such as a comma before “so,” and stop checking the verb.

1. A rule that doesn't sound wrong minor Working it out

   The comma in “emotions, and motivations” separates just two items, and many students have learned to put a comma before “and” in any list without counting the items. (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

2. Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer

   Each choice bundles a verb change and a comma change in a different sentence, so all four sentences must be checked, and a choice is right only if both of its edits are needed. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)

Strategy: Note the tense of the paragraph’s first verb, check every other verb against it, and only then test whether the comma half of that choice is also needed.

The wrong answers, classified

• A Verb tense or form (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: weak

  Thinks “had spent” is needed because the preparing came before the audition, and accepts a comma after “play” that would split “a play at the community theater.”

• B Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals a misconception Expected pull: moderate

  Follows the rule of a comma before “so” joining two clauses, missing that “so that” introduces a purpose clause and takes no comma, and accepts the present-tense “does.”

• D Verb tense or form (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)

  Reveals partial knowledge Expected pull: weak

  Notices that the tenses clash but takes the present-tense “studies” as the standard, shifts “recited” to match, and drops the comma that sets off “making slight adjustments.”

How the questions are analyzed, and the research behind it