12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Eight Answers and Explanations I 7 53
writing as a kind of blissful mystical experience in which
sentences and paragraphs form before the writer's eyes.
Look through the choices to see which one jumps out-you
know enough at this point to predict what Passage 2's
author would say. He would see this description of the
writing process as overly romantic and point out that it
does not reffed the hard work that writing involves, (A).
The author of Passage 2 doesn't give an opinion about the
musicality of words or the structure of a work. His idea that
writers are born, not made is not his main concern; the true
nature of writing is. As for (0), this criticism simply doesn't
apply to the description of the writing process in Passage 1.
19. E
Difficulty: High
The author of Passage 1 spends his last paragraph discussing
the terror that a writer faces staring at a blank page and
the fact that a writer has to be willing to risk suffering in the
process of writing. The author of Passage 2 talks about the
enormous amount of bruising self-questioning he had to
undertake before he started to write. Judging from this, the
two authors would agree that writing entails a lot of emotional
pain, (E). The author of Passage 2, but not the author
of Passage 1, stresses the importance of life experience,
background reading, and maturity. Only the author of
Passage 1 emphasizes the importance of inspiration.
SECTION 9
1. B
Difficulty: Medium
Look for the most concise answer choice that does not
introduce any additional grammatical errors. As written, this
sentence is unnecessarily wordy. Choice (B) is concise and
contains no errors. Choices (C), (0), and (E) are still overly
wordy.
2. c
Difficulty: High
Make sure that verb tenses properly express the sequence of
events in a sentence. As written, this sentence is unnecessarily
wordy, and the verb phrase would have is inappropriate in
context. Choice (C) corrects both errors. In (B), the pronoun it
does not have a clear antecedent. Choice (0) is overly wordy,
and the first-person pronoun our is inconsistent with students.
Choice (E) also incorrectly uses our.
3. c
Difficulty: Medium
Did the design of the interior lobby import the marble?
Of course not. This sentence contains a modifying phrase
without any clear subject for the phrase to modify. Choice
(C) fixes this error by adding the verb required, as the
design clearly required imported marble. Choice (B) doesn't
address the modification problem. Choices (0) and (E)
change importing to the past tense verb imported and may
sound more concise, but they still indicate that the design
imported the marble.
4. D
Difficulty: Low
The verb form having shown incorrectly indicates that
the second clause happened before the first. Choice (0)
corrects this and makes the second clause independent.
Choice (B) incorrectly uses the past perfect had been.
Choice (C) doesn't correct the fragment. Choice (E)
redundantly uses the contrast transition word but. The
relationship between the clauses has already been
established with although at the beginning of the sentence.
5. A
Difficulty: Medium
This sentence might sound odd, but it is grammatically
correct. The transition word although correctly sets up
a contrast between the two clauses: many artists are
left-handed, but using this as a biological explanation for
creativity is debatable. Choice (B) removes the transition
word altogether, thereby creating a run-on sentence with a
comma splice. Choice (C) illogically adds the causal word
therefore. Choice (0) incorrectly uses the word where,
which indicates a continued idea, not a contrast. Choice (E)
starts with the word conversely, which would only be correct
if it were preceded by a contrasting idea.
6. B
Difficulty: Medium
As written, this is a run-on created by a comma splice.
Choice (B) shows the correct sequence of events (she was
slower after her early speed had been exciting), and the