Hi, everybody! I like writing practice SAT questions, so I’ve been working on getting TestMagic set up to publish some practice SAT questions for people to solve. For now, you should simply read the question and choose your answer (in your head). In the future, we may set things up with some quiz functions.
So first, let’s try a challenge practice SAT writing question. Your job is to choose the underlined portion that is incorrect. If you think nothing is incorrect, choose No error
Some sociologists claim that in modern society, people often become indifferent to the suffering of others both because their lives are complex or fulfilling or because an excess of media images and news reports has inuredthem to misfortune and violence. No error
By the way, I like to use challenge SAT vocabulary in SAT questions. In this question, I put inured (accustomed to or habituated) and indifferent (having no significant feelings about (something)) in the question in case you weren’t already familiar with the words.
The best answer is B. We need to change “or” to “and”. Rule: We are using the correlative conjunction both… and… here–after both, we need to use and, not or.
This question is tricky for several reasons. First, it is both long and complex. Did the first or confuse you? (The one in their lives are complex or fulfilling.) That or is perfectly acceptable, as it serves as the conjunction to join the two adjectives complex and fulfilling.
You may have wondered about the two instances of the prepositions to (in indifferent to and inured to); these are used correctly.
Finally, we have the classic subject-verb agreement trap in an excess of media images and news reports has. Should that be an excess of media images and news reports has or an excess of media images and news reports have? The subject of the verb has (this is the correct form, by the way) is excess, not media images or news reports. excess is singular; we therefore need the third-person singular verb has.
If you have any questions, please post them below in the comment section. :)
