Pronouns

Link of the Day

Sometimes fact can sound like fiction, and produce an extremely interesting current event for your SAT essay.  Scientists have found a way to make a tiny cylinder invisible, creating a lot of excitement about the possible applications of such a feat.   Think about this accomplishment in terms of planning, creativity, imitation, and technology.  How could you relate this article about a current event to past SAT essay prompts?

11/13 Identifying Sentence Errors:  Pronouns

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the entire sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then check each underlined portion of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  If you find an error, mark it and quickly check the remaining underlined words.

Whether the Sumerians Awere the first people Bto develop writing is Cuncertain, but Dtheirs is the oldest known writing system. ENo error

(A)   Always check to make sure that a verb matches the subject.  The subject, Sumerians, is plural, so “were” is required instead of “was.”  Then check to make sure that the verb is in the correct tense.  This sentence is about the past, so “were” is required instead of “are.”

(B)  It is idiomatically correct to include the preposition “to” before the word “develop.”

(C)  The word “uncertain” denotes that this statement is not definite, clearly conveying the meaning of the sentence.

(D)  When you see a pronoun, you must check to make sure that it refers to a single antecedent and that it agrees with that antecedent.  You already established that the sentence is about certain people, so the pronoun must be plural, and it must show possession.  Think about the “s” on the end of “theirs” as a shorter way to say “their writing system.”  You don’t want to write out “their writing system” because it will make the last portion of the sentence redundant.

(E)  None of the underlined portions of the sentence has an error, so this is the only remaining answer choice.

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 45% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Modifiers

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then evaluate the underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules that are taught in Knowsys classes.  Focus on the first error that you find to help you eliminate wrong answer choices.

Clara Barton founded the American branch of the Red Cross, a nurse who was sometimes called the “angel of the battlefield.”

This sentence should sound odd to you the first time that you read it.  You know that Clara Barton founded the American branch of the Red Cross, but how does she relate to “a nurse who was sometimes called the ‘angel of the battlefield?’” When you first read the sentence, it sounds as if that nurse is a new person rather than Clara Barton.  How can you fix this sentence?  The phrase following the comma modifies Clara Barton; it explains a little more about her.  Modifiers are part of the Knowsys Big 8 Grammar Rules.  The first rule that you learn about modifiers is to place the modifier as close as possible to the words that they modify.  You cannot move the modifying phrase after the comma because it is not underlined.  Therefore, you will have to move the subject, Clara Barton, closer to the modifying phrase.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) Clara Barton founded the American branch of the Red Cross,

(B) The founder of the American branch of the Red Cross was Clara Barton,

(C) It was Clara Barton founding the American branch of the Red Cross,

(D) Clara Barton, who founded the American branch of the Red Cross, she was

(E) In founding the American branch of the Red Cross, Clara Barton was

(A)  You do not need to reread this choice because it matches the original sentence, which has an error.  Eliminate it.

(B) This sentence moves Clara Barton as close as possible to the phrase that modifies her, matching your prediction about how to improve the sentence.  Keep this answer choice and quickly check your other options.

(C)  This choice does not fix the fact that Clara Barton is separated from the phrase that modifies her.  It also introduces an expletive construction: “it was.”  Avoid expletive constructions whenever possible.  Eliminate this choice.

(D)  This sentence contains a relative clause that is set off by two commas.  You should be able to ignore the information between the commas and have a complete sentence.  However, when you ignore the relative clause in this sentence, you will see an unnecessary pronoun: "Clara Barton she was a nurse who was sometimes called the “angel of the battlefield.”"  Eliminate this choice.

(E)  This answer is more grammatically correct than some of the other options, but it changes the meaning of the sentence.  This choice makes it sound as if Clara Barton earned her nickname, “the angel of the battlefield,” and became a nurse by founding an organization.  Does that make sense?  No!  She earned the nickname for helping wounded soldiers, and she was a nurse before she founded the Red Cross.

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Idioms

Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the entire sentence, listening for errors.  Then quickly check each underlined portion of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.

The Bear Gulch Limestone Formation Ain Montana is a sequence of bedded limestone layers Bup to 90 feet thick Cand approximately 8 miles Dacross. ENo error

(A)  The word “in” is the correct preposition to indicate a location such as Montana.

(B)  The phrase “up to” is an idiomatically correct way to inform readers that the layers will not be more than 90 feet thick.

(C)  The word “and” is the correct conjunction to demonstrate the relationship between these two measurements.  There is no contrast between the two requiring a word such as “but,” and the two measurements do not depend on each other so they do not require a word such as “so.”

(D)  You are already given a number to describe the thickness of the layers, so you must have a way of telling what the second number measures.  The word “across” provides the needed information.

(E)  You found no errors.  Remember that you are not looking to revise the sentence; you are only looking for errors.

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 44% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Pronouns

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Check the underlined portion of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first error that you find, and look to see which answer choice fixes the problem.

The modern recreational canoe closely resembles the Native American bark canoe in shape, length, weight, and carrying capacity, differing only in the materials of which they are made.

When there is a pronoun in an underlined portion of the sentence, you must check to make sure that it agrees with its antecedent.  Look at the pronoun “they.”  The word “they” is plural, but is there a plural antecedent for this word?  No.  The antecedent for the pronoun is “modern recreational canoe,” which is singular.  Instead of “they” this sentence requires “it.”  Mark that change, then notice that you now have “it are.”  These two words do not match, so change them to “it is.”  You are ready to look down at your answer choices.

(A) they are made

(B) they make them

(C) they made it

(D) it is made

(E) its making

The correct answer is (D).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 67% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Idioms

Link of the Day

It is now the month of November!  On the 1^st of November in the year 1512, the Sistine Chapel ceiling was opened to the public.  Read an article about this amazing work of art here, and see the whole ceiling here.  This would make an excellent historical example for your SAT essay.  Think about the broad themes of creativity and planning in connection to this historical example.  What other themes connect to this work of art?

11/1 Identifying Sentence Errors:  Idioms

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the entire sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then consider each underlined portion of the sentence, asking yourself whether it complies with the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  If you find an error, mark it.  Then quickly check the other choices.

Most ships Amove through the Suez Canal Bwith Ctheir own power, but large ships Dmust be assisted by a tugboat. ENo error

(A)  The word “move” is a verb.  Check to make sure that it agrees with the subject of the sentence.  It does.

(B)  Think about the word “with” in context.  “With” generally means “accompanied by,” or “in the same direction as.”  Is that the meaning that you need in this sentence?  No!  This is an improper idiom.  The power is actually moving the ship.  You need a word that will express that relationship.  Try inserting the word “under” or “by” into the sentence to make it idiomatically correct.

(C)  Check that the pronoun has one and only one antecedent and that it agrees in number with that antecedent.  “Their” refers to multiple “ships,” so it is correct.  Each ship also has its own level of power, so the addition of the word “own” makes sense.

(D)  The phrase “must be” adds important information to this sentence.  You could change it to another word such as “are,” but that would change the meaning of the sentence and is completely unnecessary because there is no error in this underlined portion.

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 45% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Comparisons

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A. 

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first problem that you find and check to see which answer choice fixes that problem.

Unlike her sister Heather, who would always put spiders safely outside if she found them in the house, Joanne’s fear kept her from going anywhere near the creatures.

This sentence may sound strange to you the first time that you read it.  If it did not sound strange, ignore the portion of the sentence between the commas and read it again.  The word “unlike” sets up a comparison.  What two things are being compared?  A person (Heather) is being compared to a feeling (Joanne’s fear).  This is not a logical comparison.  A person should be compared with a person.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) Joanne’s fear kept her from going anywhere near the creatures

(B) Joanne’s fear is what kept her from going anywhere near the creatures

(C) fear is why Joanne had not gone anywhere near them

(D) Joanne was too afraid to go anywhere near the creatures

(E) they scared Joanne too much to go anywhere near them

(A) is illogical.  You know that because it matches the original sentence.   (B) and (C) keep comparing a person with the feeling of fear.  (D) compares a person to a person.  (E) adds the pronoun “they.”  Now Heather is compared to “they,” which presumably refers to the spiders.  That does not make sense.

The correct answer is (D).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 56% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Idioms

Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then quickly check the underlined portions of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Identify and mark any error that you find and quickly check the other choices.

In the interior of the Arctic islands during the melting season, even small streams must be crossed Awith great care Bbecause near-zero water temperatures and the Ctypically rocky and unstable nature of Dstream beds. ENo error

(A)  Before the word “care,” it is idiomatically correct to use the word “with.”  Think of the phrase “handle with care.”  There is no error in this underlined portion.

(B)  The word “because” may seem right at first.  The word “because” indicates that there is a reason for the previous statement.  Why should you cross with care?  Cross with care because the waters are cold and the stream beds are unstable.  However, if you read until the end of the sentence, you will find that there is no verb after the word because.  That should sound odd to you; you should feel as if you need to add the phrase “are there” or “are dangerous” to the end of the sentence.  Think of other words that you could use to express reasons why you must cross with care.  The phrase “due to” may come to mind.  Replace “because” with “due to,” and you have found the correct idiom.

(C)  The word “typically” modifies the word “rocky.”  It lets you know that the streams in the Arctic are usually, but not always rocky, so it includes essential information.  The modifier is placed as close as possible to the word it modifies, so there is no error in this underlined portion.

(D)  What kind of bed is unstable as the ice melts?  You are not concerned with the beds in your home, only stream beds.  There is no error in this underlined portion.

(E)  This answer cannot be correct because you already identified an error.

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 53% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing questions, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Structure

Link of the Day

Today's question involves Jean Piaget, a man who changed the way that we think about thought.  He would make an excellent example for your SAT essay, particularly because most students do not know about his contributions to psychology. Most students will use the same historical figures: George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Hitler.  Take a moment to read about Jean Piaget's life here, and consider using him to make your essay stand out.

10/23 Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion using The Big 8.  Focus on the first error you find to eliminate wrong answer choices.

Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, and the first scientist that made systematic studies of how children learn.

As you read this sentence, you should be confused when you reach the “and.”  There is no information before the “and” that would necessitate a conjunction.  You are told that Jean Piaget is a Swiss psychologist, but that information is not given as part of a list that would require an “and.”  Once you notice this, you can be sure that your task will be to decide how to deliver the information about Jean Piaget.  Remember that your goal is always to create clear and precise sentences.  Continue reading the sentence and think about its structure.  You will need a verb to fix this sentence fragment: a verb that relates to Jean Piaget.  Notice that the original sentence includes “made” in the past tense.  It is also logical to look for a sentence that is in the past tense because you know that this man was the first to do something.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, and the first scientist that made

(B) Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist, also the first scientist making

(C) As a Swiss psychologist, it was Jean Piaget who was the first scientist making

(D) Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, the first scientist in having made

(E) The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget was the first scientist to make

(A)  You already know the original sentence is incorrect, so do not take the time to reread this answer choice.  (B) The verb “was” does not agree with “making." (C)  This answer is not concise.  Try to avoid “it was” constructions.  (D) This answer choice does not fix the sentence fragment, and it uses the awkward phrase “in having made.”  (E) This answer choice presents all the information in the original sentence clearly, without even using a single comma.

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 74% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing questions, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Parallelism

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  After you have read the whole sentence, quickly check the underlined portions of the sentence against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  When you think you have found an error, mark it.  Quickly check to see whether there is an error in any of the remaining answer choices before moving to the next question.

AAs a Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall Bwas known for his quest to end racial discrimination, his Copposition to the death penalty, and Dhe supported free speech and civil liberties. ENo error

(A) Think about the function of the word “as” in this sentence.  It is part of an introductory phrase and lets you know the context of the sentence.   You are not concerned with Thurgood Marshall as a private citizen; you are only interested in Thurgood Marshall “as” a Supreme Court justice.  The “as” represents an essential part of the information that you are given in this sentence, and it does not need to be changed in any way.

(B)  You have probably heard from your English teachers that you should avoid the passive voice.  Although “was known for” is in passive voice, it is not an error.  If you changed “was known for” to an active verb, you would change the meaning of the sentence from emphasizing Thurgood Marshall’s reputation to emphasizing his actions.  The “was” is singular and matches “Thurgood Marshall,” while “for” is the idiomatically correct preposition to use after “known,” so there is no error in this portion of the sentence.

(C) When you reach a series of things that are listed, check the parts of the list that are not underlined so that you know how each part of the list must be presented to be parallel.  The first element in this list is “his quest,” and the second element is “his opposition.”  These two things are listed in the same format.  You also know that the correct preposition to follow “opposition” is the word “to.” Expressing that someone is opposed “to” something is idiomatically correct.  There is no error here.

(D) After the “and,” you know that you have the final element in the list.  However, this time you have a problem when you check parallelism.  The first item is “his quest,” the second item is “his opposition,” and the third item is “he supported.”  In order for this list to be parallel, the third item should be “his support of free speech and civil liberties.”

(E) This answer cannot be correct because you found an error involving parallelism.

The correct answer is (D).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Comparisons

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Then evaluate the underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first error that you find to eliminate wrong answer choices.

It is thought that a dog’s sense of smell is generally 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans.

If this sentence did not make you laugh, read it again.  What are the two things that are being compared in this sentence?  A dog’s sense of smell is being compared to humans.  This sentence is telling you that a dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times better than anything about humans or anything a human could do.  It just does not make sense to compare an ability to multiple people.  The underlined portion of the sentence is “humans,” so change that to “a human’s sense of smell” for a parallel comparison to “a dog’s sense of smell,” and then look down at the answer choices.

(A) humans

(B) humans’ are

(C) humans have

(D) a human’s

(E) a human has

(A) can be eliminated because it matches the original sentence.  (B) can be eliminated because it is plural.  You are not going to compare “a dog’s sense of smell” (singular) with “humans’ are” (plural).  (C) can be eliminated because it is plural, ambiguous, and does not match the possessive form of “a dog’s sense of smell.” (D) this answer is more concise than your prediction, but it matches your prediction.  It uses the same “–‘s” to show that the sense of smell belongs to “a human” (singular) and can easily be compared to “a dog’s sense of smell.”  Think of the last part of your prediction “sense of smell” as implied.  This is an elliptical sentence: something has been left out to avoid repetition, but you can tell what it would be from reading the sentence. (E) can be eliminated because two things that are being compared must have the same form.  If you want to talk about the sense of smell that “a human has,” you would have to compare it to the sense of smell that “a dog has.”  Remember that you cannot change any portion of the sentence that is not underlined.

The correct answer is (D).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 69% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Pronouns

Link of the Day

As you look for current events to include as excellent examples on your SAT essay, you will probably come across quite a few controversial subjects.  There are people in situations around the world who need passionate supporters.  However, don’t let your passion for a subject allow you to become sidetracked during the SAT.  Your SAT essay will be read by two people.  Use other forums to make your opinion about current events known.  On the SAT, the current events that you use must support a broader opinion on the prompt, rather than interject a new argument.  Read this article about the plight of refugees from violence in Syria.  Think about the human themes in this story and how it could easily relate to prompts concerned with point of view, change, motivators, adversity, responsibility, knowledge, information, and feelings.  Choose 5 current events that you will be able to relate to a wide variety of themes, and become an expert on those 5 events.  Even if you only use 1 of the events on the SAT, you will be prepared for any question, and you will be a more informed individual.

10/14 Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read through the original sentence, listening for errors.  Then quickly check the underlined portions against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Identify and mark any error you find.  There will only be one error, but be sure to check each part of the sentence to make sure that you are not simply revising a portion that is technically correct.

AAlthough it is not a fast runner, Bwolves can maintain a loping run for many miles, Crunningthroughout the night Dif necessary. ENo error

(A)  When the word “although” is used at the beginning of the sentence, it signals that a dependent clause is coming.  This means that there should be a comma after the first portion of the sentence.  This comma is present, so there is no error.

(B)  Right after an introductory phrase or a clause that only uses a pronoun, you should find the subject of the sentence.  “Wolves” is the subject of the sentence, but it does not match the pronoun used in the first portion of the sentence.  The word “it” is singular, while the word “wolves” is plural.  Mark this error by changing the word “wolves” to “a wolf,” and quickly check the remaining answer choices.

(C)  When you see “-ing” on the end of a verb, check to make sure that it makes sense in context.  In this case, it does make sense to use “running” rather than another form because it emphasizes the continuous action of the wolf throughout the night.

(D)  Think of the words “if necessary” as modifying the phrase “running throughout the night.”  You could leave them out, but they give us extra information by letting us know that wolves don’t normally run all night.  Remember, you are not looking for things that you could change; you are looking for specific errors.

(E) This cannot be the correct answer because you have already indentified an error.

The correct answer is (B).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 57% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Structure

Link of the Day

School may not be your favorite activity, but it does offer you an opportunity to learn and to discover your dreams.  In Pakistan, a 14 year old girl has been shot because she spoke up about her desire to attend school.  The Taliban has proudly claimed responsibility for the attack because it believes that this girl’s ideas are dangerous.  This is not a historical event.  It is a current event.  As you select current events to write about during the SAT essay, think about the powerful themes in this article.  What is courage?  Should people take responsibility for solving national problems?  Can success be disastrous?  Is the world changing for the better?  These are all previous SAT questions.  The SAT does not have to be just another test to get through.  It is an opportunity to think critically about the world you inhabit, and to reexamine your perspective and priorities.  During the test you should focus on getting the best score you can, but as you prepare for this test, you are preparing your own future by practicing skills that can help you become successful and learning information that will help you direct your efforts.

10/11 Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first error to eliminate wrong answer choices quickly.

They are smaller than their counterparts in Africa, so Asiatic lions can be found only in Gir, a forest region in northwest India.

Paraphrase the sentence as you read it.  They are small so these lions are only in a forest in India.  Paraphrasing the sentence should help you see immediately that there is a logic problem in this sentence.   Using the word “so” implies that one thing depends on another: something happened so that something else happened.  However, being small is probably not the not the main reason that these lions are limited to a single forest.  Remove the “so” from the sentence.  You have identified the first error, so you could examine your answer choices for logical conjunctions.  However, in eliminating the logic problem, you created a new problem.  Without the “so,” the original sentence becomes a comma splice.  Look again at the first portion of the sentence.  How could you change this sentence so that there are no longer two independent clauses joined by a comma?  It would be very easy to remove the first two words of the sentence and create a dependent clause.  The first time that you read “They are” you do not know what the pronoun “they” refers to anyway.  The sentence will be clearer once you eliminate that extra pronoun and verb.  Look down at your answer choices:

(A) They are smaller than their counterparts in Africa, so Asiatic lions

(B) Its counterparts in Africa are bigger, but the Asiatic lion

(C) The Asiatic lion is smaller than their counterparts in Africa, they

(D) The counterparts of African lions in Asia are smaller, although they

(E) Smaller than their counterparts in Africa, Asiatic lions

(A) is your original sentence.  Remember that it was illogical.  (B) replaces the “so” with a “but” that is also illogical.  There is no relationship between the size and location of the lions.  Those are two separate facts.  (C) has a comma splice.  (D) includes the word “although” which is also illogical.  Again, there is no relationship between the size and location of the lions.  (E) is concise and logical, and it matches your prediction. 

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 66% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Comparisons

Identifying Sentence Errors

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the entire sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Quickly check the underlined portions against the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Identify and mark any error, then quickly check the remaining underlined portions.

AA meteorite shows an enormous variation Bin size, from micron-sized dust particles filtering Cslowly through the atmosphere to giants Dweighing many tons. ENo error

This sentence demonstrates just how important it is to read the entire sentence carefully before looking at the underlined portions.  If you only look at the underlined portions, you will not find an error.

(A)  includes a subject and verb, and they agree in number.  (B) includes the correct prepositional idiom for “variation in size” and also includes the “from” that precedes the “to” in the idiom “from x to y.”  (C) includes the modifier for filtering, “slowly,” placed as close to the modified word as possible.  (D) includes a parallel verb ending in “ing” that matches the earlier use of “filtering,” and it also correctly includes the count word “many” to describe tons, which can be counted, rather than the non-count word “much.”   If you have not read the whole sentence carefully, (E) looks like the correct answer choice.

However, if you read the whole sentence, you will notice that there is a comparison involving different sizes of meteorites, from tiny ones to enormous ones.  You have multiple tiny “particles” and multiple “giants,” so you must also have multiple meteorites.  Look back at answer choice (A).  Instead of “A meteorite shows,” you need “Meteorites show.”

The correct answer is (A).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 40% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!