Question ID 3b9318f2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: 3b9318f2
In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______ have missed his equally deep
engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but
B. Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who
C. there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they
D. the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they
ID: 3b9318f2 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase
“many critics” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “in assessing…Kurosawa.” In
doing so, this choice clearly establishes that it is the critics—and not another noun in the sentence—who assess Kurosawa’s
films.
Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “Kurosawa’s…sources”
immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that his use of Western literary sources is what assesses
Kurosawa’s films. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the function word “there”
immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that “there” is what assesses Kurosawa’s films. Choice D is
incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the focus…critics” immediately after
the modifying phrase illogically suggests that the critics’ focus is what assesses Kurosawa’s films.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 11c6fbdc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: 11c6fbdc
In the list “Adorable Things” from Sei Shōnagon’s Pillow Book, the author delights in baby sparrows, a face
drawn on a melon, and a young courtier in ceremonial garb. So shrewd an observer is Shōnagon, a lady-in-
waiting to Empress Teishi, that her book’s musings on tenth-century Japanese courtly life ______ readers a
thousand years later.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. fascinate
B. has fascinated
C. fascinates
D. is fascinating
ID: 11c6fbdc Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The plural verb "fascinate" agrees in
number with the plural subject "musings."
Choice B is incorrect because the singular verb "has fascinated" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "musings."
Choice C is incorrect because the singular verb "fascinates" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "musings."
Choice D is incorrect because the singular verb "is fascinating" doesn’t agree in number with the plural subject "musings."
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 6510a8cd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: 6510a8cd
Supported by biochemical analyses of over 2,000 skeletons from the Middle Ages, ______
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. vegetables and grains were, a 2022 study found, the primary components of early medieval rulers’ diets.
B. early medieval rulers’ diets were found, in a 2022 study, to have primarily consisted of vegetables and
grains.
C. the primary components of early medieval rulers’ diets were vegetables and grains, according to a 2022
study.
D. findings from a 2022 study suggested that vegetables and grains were the primary components of early
medieval rulers’ diets.
ID: 6510a8cd Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase
"findings from a 2022 study" the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase
"supported...Ages." In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that the findings—and not another noun in the sentence—are
supported by the biochemical analyses.
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of "vegetables and grains" immediately after
the modifying phrase illogically suggests that vegetables and grains are supported by biochemical analyses. Choice B is
incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of "early medieval rulers’ diets" immediately after the
modifying phrase illogically suggests that the rulers’ diets are supported by biochemical analyses. Choice C is incorrect
because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of "the primary components" immediately after the modifying
phrase illogically suggests that the primary components are supported by biochemical analyses.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 638832ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: 638832ee
In 1994, almost 200 years after the death of Wang Zhenyi, the International Astronomical ______ the
contributions of the barrier-breaking 18th-century astronomer and author of “Dispute of the Procession of the
Equinoxes,” naming a crater on Venus after her.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Union would finally acknowledge
B. Union to finally acknowledge
C. Union, having finally acknowledged
D. Union, finally acknowledging
ID: 638832ee Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. It’s the only choice that offers a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject
“International Astronomical Union” to make a complete sentence. This might seem like an odd use of “would,” but when
speaking from a point of view in the past, we can actually use “would” to express something that happened later. That’s the
case here: 200 years after Wang Zhenyi’s death, the IAU would finally acknowledge her contributions.
Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb elsewhere in the sentence, so we need
a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “the International Astronomical Union” and serve as that main
verb. “To acknowledge” can’t do that. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb
elsewhere in the sentence, so we need a form of the verb “acknowledge” that can go with the subject “the International
Astronomical Union” and serve as that main verb. “Having acknowledged” can’t do that. Choice D is incorrect. This choice
creates a sentence fragment. There’s no main verb elsewhere in the sentence, so we need a form of the verb “acknowledge”
that can go with the subject “the International Astronomical Union” and serve as that main verb. The “-ing” form can’t do that.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID a6ee5b63
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: a6ee5b63
In a recent analysis of lyrical trends in 350,000 songs, researchers cite increases in certain measures, such
as the ratio of choruses to verses, as evidence music lyrics are becoming more repetitive. For instance, from
1970 to 2020, ______ chorus-to-verse ratios trended similarly, with each genre’s data indicating that relative to
the number of unique verses, the number of repeated choruses in songs increased.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. rocks and raps
B. rock’s and rap’s
C. rocks and rap’s
D. rock and rap’s
ID: a6ee5b63 Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of possessive nouns. The singular possessive nouns
"rock’s" and "rap’s" correctly indicate that the chorus-to-verse ratios belong to the genres of rock and rap.
Choice A is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive nouns "rock’s" and "rap’s," not the plural nouns
"rocks" and "raps." Choice C is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun "rock’s," not the plural
noun "rocks." Choice D is incorrect because the context requires the singular possessive noun "rock’s," not the singular noun
"rock." This choice incorrectly suggests that there was a single chorus-to-verse ratio for rock and rap together, whereas the
ratio was calculated for each genre individually.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID fbb913d6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: fbb913d6
Unique among animal species, humans use our vocal apparatuses primarily for two separate communicative
purposes: to talk and to sing. The question of what cross-cultural traits distinguish these distinct modes, and
secondarily what pressures led humans to develop them in the first place, ______ neuropsychologist Daniela
Sammler’s 2024 study “Signatures of Speech and Song: ‘Universal’ Links despite Cultural Diversity.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. animates
B. have animated
C. animate
D. animating
ID: fbb913d6 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "animates" agrees in
number with the singular subject "question."
Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "have animated" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "question."
Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "animate" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "question." Choice
D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle "animating" doesn’t supply the clause
with a finite verb.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID a243dfaa
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: a243dfaa
When they were first discovered in Australia in 1798, duck-billed, beaver-tailed platypuses so defied
categorization that one scientist assigned them the name Ornithorhynchus paradoxus: “paradoxical bird-
snout.” The animal, which lays eggs but also nurses ______ young with milk, has since been classified as
belonging to the monotremes group.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. they’re
B. their
C. its
D. it’s
ID: a243dfaa Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The singular possessive pronoun "its" agrees with the singular antecedent "the animal" and
indicates that the "young" belong to it.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "They’re" is a contraction of "they are," a
plural pronoun and verb, but the antecedent "the animal" is singular. Also, we don’t need the extra verb "are" — we already
have a main verb in this clause, so adding "are" would be confusing and ungrammatical. Choice B is incorrect. This choice
creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "Their" is a plural pronoun, but the subject of the sentence is "the animal," a
singular noun. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a confusing and ungrammatical sentence. "It’s" is a contraction for
"it is." We already have the verb "nurses" in this clause, so we shouldn’t add the verb "is."
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID bfca6135
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: bfca6135
The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a commonly used measure of competition between companies in a
particular market, ranges from a score of zero to 10,000 points. Compared with that of a highly concentrated
market—that is, a market controlled by very few companies—______
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. a market that is less concentrated will have a much lower HHI score.
B. the HHI score of a less concentrated market will be much lower.
C. when a market is less concentrated, its HHI score will be much lower.
D. a less concentrated market will have an HHI score that is much lower.
ID: bfca6135 Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase
"the HHI...market" the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase "compared...market." In
doing so, this choice clearly establishes that the HHI score of a less concentrated market—and not another noun in the
sentence—is being compared with the HHI score of a highly concentrated market.
Choice A is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of "a market that is less concentrated"
immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that a market is being compared with an HHI score. Choice C is
incorrect because it results in a confusing, illogical sentence. The placement of the modifier "when a market is less
concentrated" after "a highly concentrated market" is contradictory. Furthermore, it’s ambiguous what "its" is referring to in
"its HHI score," resulting in an illogical comparison. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The
placement of "a less concentrated market" immediately after the modifying phrase illogically suggests that a market is being
compared with an HHI score.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID ff4676f7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: ff4676f7
Ten of William Shakespeare’s plays are classified as histories. Although each one of these plays, which
include Henry V and Richard III, ______ on a single historical figure (specifically, an English king), some, such
as Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two, feature different episodes from the same monarch’s life.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. focuses
B. focus
C. are focused
D. were focused
ID: ff4676f7 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "focuses" agrees in
number with the singular subject "each one of these plays," which refers to each play individually.
Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "focus" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "each one of these
plays." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "are focused" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "each
one of these plays." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "were focused" doesn’t agree in number with the singular
subject "each one of these plays."
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID bff1d6df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, Hard
Conventions and Sense
ID: bff1d6df
Planetary scientist Briony Horgan and her colleagues have determined that as much as 25 percent of the
sand on Mars is composed of impact spherules. These spherical bits of glass form when asteroids collide
with the planet, ejecting bits of molten rock into the atmosphere that, after cooling and solidifying into glass,
______ back onto Mars’s surface.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. to rain
B. raining
C. having rained
D. rain
ID: bff1d6df Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. "That…[rain] back onto Mars’s surface" is a relative clause that describes the "bits of molten
rock." Forming the clause requires a conjugated, finite verb, and this is the only choice that provides that.
Choice A is incorrect. "To rain" is an infinitive and can’t serve as the main verb of a clause. A conjugated verb is needed here
to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…[rain] back onto Mars’s surface," which describes the "bits of molten rock."
Choice B is incorrect. "Raining" is a present participle and, on its own, can’t serve as the main verb of a clause. A conjugated
verb is needed here to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…[rain] back onto Mars’s surface," which describes the
"bits of molten rock." Choice C is incorrect. "Having rained" is a perfect participle and can’t serve as the main verb of a
clause. A conjugated verb is needed here to form the main verb of the relative clause "that…[rain] back onto Mars’s surface,"
which describes the "bits of molten rock."
Question Difficulty: Hard