sat practice test 1writing

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section Question 18 According to Box, a leading Greenland expert, tundra fires in 2012 from as far away as North America produced great amounts of soot, some 17 *of it* drifted over Greenland in giant plumes of smoke and then 18 *fell* as particles onto the ice sheet. Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice, limiting 19 *it's* ability to reflect the Sun's rays. As Box explains, "Soot is an extremely powerful light absorber. It settles over the ice and captures the Sun's heat." The result is a self-reinforcing cycle. As the ice melts, the land and water under the ice become exposed, and since land and water are darker than snow, the surface absorbs even more heat, which 20 *is related to the rising temperatures.* A) NO CHANGE B) falls C) will fall D) had fallen

Choice A is the best answer because the verb tense is consistent with the preceding past tense verbs in the sentence, specifically "produced" and "drifted." Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because each utilizes a verb tense that is not consistent with the preceding past tense verbs in the sentence.

Writing Section Question 21 [1] Box's research is important because the fires of 2012 may not be a one-time phenomenon. [2] According to scientists, rising Arctic temperatures are making northern latitudes greener and thus more fire prone. [3] The pattern Box observed in 2012 may repeat 21 *itself again,* with harmful effects on the Arctic ecosystem. [4] Box is currently organizing an expedition to gather this crucial information. [5] The next step for Box and his team is to travel to Greenland to perform direct sampling of the ice in order to determine just how much the soot is contributing to the melting of the ice sheet. [6] Members of the public will be able to track his team's progress—and even help fund the expedition—through a website Box has created. 22 A) NO CHANGE B) itself, C) itself, with damage and D) itself possibly,

Choice B is the best answer because it is free of redundancies. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because each of the three presents a redundancy: Choice A uses "repeat" and "again"; Choice C uses "damage" and "harmful effects"; and Choice D uses "may" and "possibly."

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section Question 2 Which choice provides the most relevant detail? A) NO CHANGE B) supplement and convert it into gas to use as fuel in electricity production. C) supplement, while sweet whey is more desirable as a food additive for humans. D) supplement, which provides an important element of their diet. [1] The main environmental problem caused by the production of Greek yogurt is the creation of acid whey as a by-product. [2] Because it requires up to four times more milk to make than conventional yogurt does, Greek yogurt produces larger amounts of acid whey, which is difficult to dispose of. [3] To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey. [4] They can add it to livestock feed as a protein 2 supplement, and people can make their own Greek-style yogurt at home by straining regular yogurt. [5] If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff 3 can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes. [6] Yogurt manufacturers, food 4 scientists; and government officials are also working together to develop additional solutions for reusing whey. 5

Choice B is the best answer because it offers a second action that farmers can undertake to address the problem of acid whey disposal, thus support- ing the claim made in the previous sentence ("To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey"). Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they do not offer examples of how farmers could make use of acid whey. Personal Note: always use context cluses and look before and after the underlined words for words. Read the question extremely carefully and do not overloo anything because it can easily cost you a right answers.

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section Question 14 Typically, the ice sheet begins to show evidence of thawing in late 13 *summer. This follows* several weeks of higher temperatures. 14 *For example,* in the summer of 2012, virtually the entire Greenland Ice Sheet underwent thawing at or near its surface by mid-July, the earliest date on record. Most scientists looking for the causes of the Great Melt of 2012 have focused exclusively on rising temperatures. The summer of 2012 was the warmest in 170 years, records show. But Jason 15 *Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State* believes that another factor added to the early 16 *thaw;* the "dark snow" problem. A) NO CHANGE B) However, C)As such, D) Moreover,

Choice B is the best answer because it provides a conjunctive adverb that accurately represents the relationship between the two sentences. "However" signals an exception to a case stated in the preceding sentence. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because each provides a transition that does not accurately represent the relationship between the two sentences, and as a result each compromises the logical coherence of these sentences.

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section Question 17 According to Box, a leading Greenland expert, tundra fires in 2012 from as far away as North America produced great amounts of soot, some 17 *of it* drifted over Greenland in giant plumes of smoke and then 18 *fell* as particles onto the ice sheet. Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice, limiting 19 *it's* ability to reflect the Sun's rays. As Box explains, "Soot is an extremely powerful light absorber. It settles over the ice and captures the Sun's heat." The result is a self-reinforcing cycle. As the ice melts, the land and water under the ice become exposed, and since land and water are darker than snow, the surface absorbs even more heat, which 20 *is related to the rising temperatures.* A) NO CHANGE B) soot C) of which D) DELETE the underlined portion

Choice C is the best answer because it provides the correct preposition ("of") and relative pronoun ("which") that together create a dependent clause following the comma. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because each results in a comma splice. Two independent clauses cannot be joined with only a comma.

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section question 5 [1] The main environmental problem caused by the production of Greek yogurt is the creation of acid whey as a by-product. [2] Because it requires up to four times more milk to make than conventional yogurt does, Greek yogurt produces larger amounts of acid whey, which is difficult to dispose of. [3] To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey. [4] They can add it to livestock feed as a protein 2 supplement, and people can make their own Greek-style yogurt at home by straining regular yogurt. [5] If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff 3 can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes. [6] Yogurt manufacturers, food 4 scientists; and government officials are also working together to develop additional solutions for reusing whey. 5 To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 5 should be placed A) Where it is now B) After Sentence 1 C) After Sentence 2 D) After Sentence 3

Choice C is the best answer because sentence 5 logically links sentence 2, which explains why Greek yogurt production yields large amounts of acid 17 18 whey, and sentence 3, which mentions the need to dispose of acid whey properly. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because each would result in an illogical progression of sentences for this paragraph. If sentence 5 were left where it is or placed after sentence 3, it would appear illogically after the discussion of "the problem of disposal." If sentence 5 were placed after sentence 1, it would illogically discuss "acid-whey runoff " before the mention of acid whey being "difficult to dispose of."

Sat Practice Test 1 Writing Section Question 16 Typically, the ice sheet begins to show evidence of thawing in late 13 *summer. This follows* several weeks of higher temperatures. 14 *For example,* in the summer of 2012, virtually the entire Greenland Ice Sheet underwent thawing at or near its surface by mid-July, the earliest date on record. Most scientists looking for the causes of the Great Melt of 2012 have focused exclusively on rising temperatures. The summer of 2012 was the warmest in 170 years, records show. But Jason 15 *Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State* believes that another factor added to the early 16 *thaw;* the "dark snow" problem. A) NO CHANGE B) thaw; and it was C) thaw: D) thaw: being

Choice C is the best answer because the colon signals that the other factor that contributed to the early thaw is about to be provided. Choice A is incorrect because it results in a sentence that deviates from grammatical standards: a semicolon should be used to separate two inde- pendent clauses, but in choice A the second clause only has a subject, not a verb. Choice B is incorrect because it is unnecessarily wordy. Choice D is incorrect because "being" is unnecessary and creates an incoherent clause.

Writing Section Question 24 When I left my office job as a website developer at a small company for a position that allowed me to work full-time from home, I thought I had it made: I gleefully traded in my suits and dress shoes for sweatpants and slippers, my frantic early-morning bagged lunch packing for a leisurely midday trip to my refrigerator. The novelty of this comfortable work-from-home life, however, 23 *soon got worn* off quickly. Within a month, I found myself feeling isolated despite having frequent email and instant messaging contact with my colleagues. Having become frustrated trying to solve difficult problems, 24 *no colleagues were nearby to share ideas.* It was during this time that I read an article 25 *into* coworking spaces. A)NO CHANGE B) colleagues were important for sharing ideas. C) ideas couldn't be shared with colleagues. D)I missed having colleagues nearby to consult.

Choice D is the best answer because it is the only choice that provides a grammatically standard and coherent sentence. The participial phrase "Having become frustrated. . ." functions as an adjective modifying "I," the writer. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because each results in a dangling modi- fier. The participial phrase "Having become frustrated . . ." does not refer to choice A's "no colleagues," choice B's "colleagues," or choice C's "ideas." As such, all three choices yield incoherent and grammatically incorrect sentences.

Writing Section Question 22 [1] Box's research is important because the fires of 2012 may not be a one-time phenomenon. [2] According to scientists, rising Arctic temperatures are making northern latitudes greener and thus more fire prone. [3] The pattern Box observed in 2012 may repeat 21 *itself again,* with harmful effects on the Arctic ecosystem. [4] Box is currently organizing an expedition to gather this crucial information. [5] The next step for Box and his team is to travel to Greenland to perform direct sampling of the ice in order to determine just how much the soot is contributing to the melting of the ice sheet. [6] Members of the public will be able to track his team's progress—and even help fund the expedition—through a website Box has created. 22 To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 4 should be placed 22 A) B) C) D) where it is now. after sentence 1. after sentence 2. after sentence 5.

Choice D is the best answer because sentence 5 describes the information Box seeks: "to determine just how much the soot is contributing to the melt- ing of the ice sheet." Unless sentence 4 comes after sentence 5, readers will not know what the phrase "this crucial information" in sentence 4 refers to. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because each results in an illogical sen- tence progression. None of the sentences that would precede sentence 4 pro- vides details that could be referred to as "this crucial information."

Writing Section Question 20 According to Box, a leading Greenland expert, tundra fires in 2012 from as far away as North America produced great amounts of soot, some 17 *of it* drifted over Greenland in giant plumes of smoke and then 18 *fell* as particles onto the ice sheet. Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice, limiting 19 *it's* ability to reflect the Sun's rays. As Box explains, "Soot is an extremely powerful light absorber. It settles over the ice and captures the Sun's heat." The result is a self-reinforcing cycle. As the ice melts, the land and water under the ice become exposed, and since land and water are darker than snow, the surface absorbs even more heat, which 20 *is related to the rising temperatures.* Which choice best completes the description of a self-reinforcing cycle? 20 A) B) C) D) NO CHANGE raises the surface temperature. begins to cool at a certain point. leads to additional melting.

Choice D is the best answer. The preceding sentences in the paragraph have established that a darker surface of soot-covered snow leads to more melting because this darker surface absorbs heat, whereas a whiter surface, free of soot, would deflect heat. As the passage points out, exposed land and water are also dark and cannot deflect heat the way ice and snow can. Only choice D reflects the self-reinforcing cycle that the preceding sentences already imply. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because the information each provides fails to support the previous claim that the "result" of the soot "is a self- reinforcing cycle."