PSAT Practice Writing

Which choice best maintains the sentence pattern already established in the paragraph?

• NO CHANGE

• Coordinating stoplight timing can help alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a congested downtown area.

• Stoplight timing is coordinated to alleviate rush hour traffic jams in a congested downtown area.

• In a congested downtown area, stoplight timing is coordinated to alleviate rush hour traffic jams.

Which choice results in the most effective transition to the information that follows the paragraph?

• NO CHANGE

• where job opportunities are more plentiful.

• and the majority are employed by government agencies

• DELETE the underlined portion and end the sentence with a period

7

• NO CHANGE

• For instance,

• Furthermore,

• Similarly,

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

• Kept, because it provides supporting evidence about the benefits of walking.

• Kept, because it provides an additional example of a community stakeholder with whom transportation planners work.

• Deleted, because it blurs the paragraph’s focus on the community stakeholders with whom transportation planners work.

• Deleted, because it doesn’t provide specific examples of what the numerous benefits of walking are.

What is the purpose of a thesis statement in an essay?

• To summarize the conclusion

• To list the sources used

• To state the main argument or claim

• To describe the methodology

Tags

DOK Level 3: Strategic Thinking

The contents of the Writing and Language Test include (select all that apply):

• 4 Passages

• 44 Passage Based Questions

• All Questions are Multiple Choice

• No Mathematical Computation is Required

Ever since introducing coffee to Italy several centuries ago, it has been a ubiquitous part of Italian culture.

• NO CHANGE

• they introduced coffee

• their introduction of coffee

• coffee was introduced

At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence. These espresso-based coffee drinks have become increasingly popular in the United States over the past several decades. Should the writer make this addition here?

• Yes, because it adds force to the writer's argument about the popularity of coffeehouses in Italy.

• Yes, because it elaborates on the statement in the previous sentence about different types of drinks.

• No, because it suggest that coffee drinking is not as popular in Italy as the writer claims it is.

• No, because it digresses from the main topic of how coffee is regarded in Italy.

Each caffetteria functions as a social hub in its neighborhood, and the way in which most patrons consume their coffee contribute to this fact

• NO CHANGE

• contributes

• contributing

• which contributes

Ever since [1] introducing coffee to Italy several centuries ago, it has been a ubiquitous part of Italian culture.

• a. NO CHANGE

• b. they introduced coffee

• c. their introduction of coffee

• d. coffee was introduced

Answer explanation

Choice D is the best answer because the pronoun “it” in the independent clause that begins “it has been . . .” needs the antecedent “coffee.” The passive voice phrase “coffee was introduced” is acceptable in this context because indicating who introduced coffee to Italy is not important to the passage.