490 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample Essays: Practice Essay 4 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. Communicating technology was supposed to turn the world into a “global village,” enhancing our relationships with others and our understanding of other cultures. Yet I fear it has rendered us more polarized and less articulate. Instant communication allows us to proclaim what is on our minds before we’ve analyzed it, substantiated it, or rendered it coherent, let alone eloquent. Assignment: Do modern means of communication make our society better or worse? Write an essay in which you answer this question and explain your point of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from your reading, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 6 points out of 6 Communication technology has made the world a “global village,” enhancing our understanding of other cul- tures as never before. Technology has made this possible by granting instant access to a variety of international popular cultures. The internet has allowed people worldwide to sample music, read literature and peruse news items from other cultures, exposing them to artistic ideas and perspectives previously too obscure to find by chance. Before such advances in technology, cross-cultural understanding was more difficult to achieve. As recently as the early 1990s, a college student might need to spend days in the library, or take an expen- sive trip, to begin to understand another culture. Not everyone had access to these resources and, as such, the gap was often too vast to bridge. Although technology has not made multi-national enlightenment universal, it has allowed millions to take a more active role in the world around them. MP3s have played a pivotal part in this transition from ignorance to semi-enlightenment. By exposing listeners to artists such as Ireland’s Damien Rice, the Internet took control out of the hands of record companies, allowing consumers to decide what should be in demand. People were given insight into a world beyond their own. We are a global village in more than just music and pop culture. The internet has greatly enhanced our un- derstanding of people in foreign lands—their concerns, their religious views, their political status—and we have become more aware of how similar we are even though we may be thousands of miles apart. Without commu- nication technology, many people have no access to the world outside of their own towns and, as such, have no opportunity to explore other cultures by themselves. Because of communication technology, the world is now, literally, at our fingertips. With the proper amount of initiative and curiosity, anyone can now delve into the volumes of information available on topics previously locked away in library towers and distant cities. While the internet does not offer the personal feel of a firsthand encounter, it still manages to bring the world together and provide limitless amounts of information. Commu- nication technology has enhanced the average understanding of the world as a whole, creating a less ignorant and provincial lifestyle for millions of people worldwide. Evaluation: This well-reasoned and traditionally organized essay supports the point of view that “communication technology has . . . [enhanced] our understanding of other cultures as never before.” It discusses not only the issue of communication but also those of research, entertainment, social development, and political awareness. It avoids the redundancy so common to such discussions by examining the aspects and implications of its claims. The au- thor uses vocabulary effectively and shows facility with sentence variation. CHAPTER 13 / ESSAY WRITING PRACTICE 491 Sample Essays: Practice Essay 5 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. Being truly human as a member of a society means seeing injustice and working to fix it. The human mind is endowed with not only the ability to perceive the world and act instinctively, but to visualize a better future and endeavor to realize it. Assignment: What is one great injustice in the world, and how should it be addressed? Write an essay in which you answer this question and explain the reasons for your choice. You may draw inspiration and support from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 6 points out of 6 One great injustice that has not been adequately addressed is the perception that depression is a sign of weak- ness. The human mind is a complex puzzle. Psychological theories, diagnoses and treatments are constantly changing and may never be fully understood. Unfortunately, people tend to dismiss theories that don’t provide simple answers. At best, psychologists can create a rough map of tendencies and patterns, connecting them as often as pos- sible to findings in neurology and thus lending them a sense of scientific validity. Diagnosing a complex disease like depression involves examining a wide constellation of symptoms over a long period of time. This doesn’t satisfy skeptics. Someone with the flu will show clear symptoms like fever, nausea, and congestion. A depressed person will have less measurable symptoms like lethargy, emotional polarity or apathy. Skeptics tend to view these as simply a lack of will. They do not understand that depression is an illness just like influenza or cancer. Someone with a tumor can’t just think happy thoughts and pretend it is not there. The same can be said about clinical depression. People suffering from depression are unfairly stigmatized. They resist seeking help and so lead lives filled with unnecessary pain. Those lucky enough to find help are often ashamed to tell their peers. Friends often mis- construe symptoms of depression as personal slights: Why didn’t she call me? Why is he not fun anymore? Bonds are thus broken due to miscommunication. Depression alters one’s life at least as dramatically as more “accepted” illnesses do. People suffering from depression need others to understand the limitations depression imposes. They need to be allowed to heal. Ad- vances in anti-depressants and mood stabilizers can help ease these adjustments, but social pressure makes it nearly impossible for the victims of depression to live in a suitable environment. Emotional disorders are a remarkably sad facet of life. To lose control over one’s emotions is to lose track of hope. A world that denies one’s suffering makes this situation even worse. The key to resolving this problem is education. People of all ages need to understand how prevalent depression is and that it is not a cause for em- barrassment. Hopefully, we will one day live in a world where emotional disorders will be treated with the same tolerance and compassion as “traditional” illnesses. Evaluation: This is a thoughtful and well-articulated essay supporting the thesis that “the perception that depres- sion is a sign of weakness” is a great injustice. It effectively analyzes the social perception of clinical depression, clearly articulates opposing views on the matter, and explains the reasoning supporting the author’s viewpoint. The author does a very good job of engaging the reader and remains focused on portraying this misperception as a great injustice, yet concludes on a hopeful note. 492 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample Essays: Practice Essay 6 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. Acquiring knowledge is like scaling a mountain. The proper attitude in reaching a summit, however, is to marvel not so much at one’s achievement as at the glorious view of the unknown beyond. A well-educated person is known not so much for the ques- tions he or she can answer as for the questions he or she can ask. Assignment: What is one great question that every educated person should ask? Write an essay in which you indicate what this question should be and explain the reasons for your choice. You may draw inspiration and support from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 6 points out of 6 A well-educated person is known more for the questions he or she asks than for the questions he or she can an- swer. One great question that I think every educated person should ask is whether the news they read and hear is based on objective facts or subjective views. Within moments, any important news story will be studied, filmed, and disseminated for an entire world to see. Televisions broadcast this information for global audiences and, instantaneously, a world opinion is formed. But does this presentation resemble more closely an objective analysis or a “spun” interpretation of an image-conscious presenter? Most people think of “news” as the factual story of what is going on in the world. Few would say that the news is a script produced by businessmen seeking ratings and profits, although this is an uncontroversial fact that’s hard to deny. Most people either accept what they see in the media as facts or cynically dismiss everything they hear as propaganda. Hiding somewhere in between these two extremes is perspective, the ability to inde- pendently judge what is factual and, from that, to create a unique and personal view. We are continually bombarded with flashy images, scandalous revelations, and sound bites devoid of con- text. Journalists interpret and explain the news for us, encouraging us to sit quietly rather than think. An edu- cated person must view this programming with a skeptical eye. Every story is tainted by subjectivity, no matter how distant the producer. The educated viewer, however, must be disciplined enough to recognize how the corporate media “spins” the news. By analyzing the differences among storytellers, the viewer can better under- stand what is real and what is merely opinion. Information can be potent. Truthful information, in particular, has the power to unite or fracture, to en- lighten or confirm previously held beliefs. Unfortunately, truth is slippery, easily lost in the swirling winds of global communication. Educated people must pursue the truth by asking questions and resisting the urge to ac- cept every image flashed before them. Education teaches us to analyze situations from multiple angles when- ever possible. Those who have embraced the moral value of critical thinking will apply that ideal to the world around them, treating every bit of news only as a piece of information open to debate and intense analysis. Evaluation: This essay provides an excellent examination of the issue of motives and professionalism in journal- ism to support the idea that every educated person should ask the question, “Is the news objective?” It examines common perceptions of the journalistic media and argues for “perspective” on the part of an educated observer. It is well organized and persuasive, although it could have been made more effective with a discussion of more spe- cific examples. CHAPTER 13 / ESSAY WRITING PRACTICE 493 Sample Essays: Practice Essay 7 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. Some people spend their lives waiting for the one great challenge that will define them. Every society needs such people, who forge into the unknown and lay new foun- dations. But society also depends very much on those who meet the small challenges, like feeding mouths and minds and hearts. Assignment: Are we defined more by great challenges in our lives or by small, everyday challenges? Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 5 points out of 6 Whether a challenge is “great” or “small” depends on your attitude and position in life. A problem that seems inconsequential to a parent might be a very important transition for the child. Regardless, I think that what defines people is how they deal with things that they themselves don’t actually regard as a big deal. For instance, how a person acknowledges others or solves little everyday problems. Anyone can rise to a big occasion, but it takes a big person to rise to little occasions. When I think of people I want to emulate, I think of a person who is defined by little challenges: my mom. There is no more considerate person in the world. Even though she is often stressed out from her job and from raising two kids, she always finds time to do something nice for someone every day. Sometimes she will bake a cake and send it over to our elderly neighbor, just because she wants an excuse to go over and say hello and because she knows how a good sweet can brighten someone’s day. My mom also writes beautiful thank you notes on nice stationery after every event she attends to thank the host or hostess. She could send a quick e-mail, but she knows that the little extra effort is worth it. When you pay attention to the little things, they can become big things. For instance, when diplomats or heads of state show kindness and respect to their counterparts, they help to solve the bigger problems like war and trade disagreements. Sometimes I am amazed when I hear a president or a prime minister speaking disre- spectfully of another nation’s leader. A wise leader always shows kindness and respect to other leaders, even those he or she disagrees with, because, at least, those leaders represent many other decent people. Wars and conflicts are often the result of fears that arise because leaders don’t perform the common courtesies that they could use to put their opponent’s minds at ease. When I think about little everyday kindnesses, I also think about “Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is boy who thinks that all of the adults and most of the kids around him at his prep school are “phonies,” but in reality Holden is simply too immature to build meaningful relationships with others. He doesn’t yet understand the importance of being kind to others, at least not until he takes his little sister to the zoo. Then he realizes that he really can care for something, and he nearly cries just watching her ride the carousel. Holden learned that the only way to be happy is to care about something or someone, and to respect that thing or person. I wish that more people could learn that lesson, and just show a little bit of kindness to the people they meet every day. Evaluation: This very competent essay argues persuasively that “it takes a big person to rise to little occasions.” The examples of the author’s mother, world leaders, and Holden Caulfield support the author’s thesis that even small ac- tions that show consideration for others can be very important not only in resolving disputes but in maintaining a sense of self-worth. The essay is generally well-organized and coherent, although the conclusion is underdeveloped and the example of Holden Caulfield could be more substantially explained. The author uses language competently, and varies sentence structure effectively. 494 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample Essays: Practice Essay 8 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. Freedom requires the eradication of repression from tyrants and from want, but eliminating these is not enough. We must also eliminate the means by which we oppress ourselves, through our peeves, our addictions, and in our insecurities. This may involve strengthening the restraints within ourselves. Assignment: Does freedom require eliminating restraints on behavior, or does it require creating or strengthening certain restraints? Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and tech- nology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 6 points out of 6 In the United States today, the issue of freedom is being discussed as a matter of both foreign and domestic policy. Should we export our freedoms and our democracy to other countries? Should we give up some of our free- doms to make sure that we are safe from terrorism? What is freedom anyway, and what is it worth? Many people who say they are patriots simply say “freedom isn’t free” and leave it at that. Actually, real freedom isn’t just the right to do whatever we want, and we don’t get it just by conquering other people. Freedom is the ability to con- trol our selfish instincts so that we can stop being controlled by them. Ironically, freedom requires constraints. The reason we are trying to export democracy to Iraq today, some say, is because we will be safer if the Middle East embraces some of our values. But we can’t jam our values down their throats, especially values like freedom of choice and speech. Also, we haven’t shown that we are restrained enough to be worthy of those free- doms ourselves. Some mercenary contractors have shot up Iraqi civilians because they felt a slight threat. Sim- ilarly, our administration does not seem to be able to hold back from any fight because it is filled with people who need to be perceived as tough. But they aren’t free because they are still controlled by their fear, and there- fore they are prisoners. In his book, “Night,” Elie Wiesel talks about being in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany where he was deprived of almost all of his freedoms. He is whipped for just talking to a girl, is forced to do hard labor and sees people all around him being led to the gas chambers. It was in these horrible conditions that Elie discovered that his most important freedom was his freedom of thought that the Nazis couldn’t take away from him. While his body was imprisoned, he found the freedom of his soul. When people hold protests for freedoms, like the Civil Rights marchers in the 60’s or the Women’s Rights suffragettes, they are not simply trying to assert their rights. They are also trying to show that they are constrained enough to be worthy of their rights. Civil Rights marchers were well-known for their noble restraint from violence, which helped them to rise above those ignorant citizens who wanted to harm or kill them to pre- vent them from achieving equality. Through intelligent restraint, both the Civil Rights and the Women’s Rights movements have made great strides. We can’t live in freedom if we are controlled by our selfishness and our fears of others who are different from us. Freedom isn’t about conquering others, it is about conquering our own worst qualities. Because if we don’t, then they will conquer us. Evaluation: This excellent essay provides well-reasoned and well-organized support for the thesis that “freedom is about conquering our own worst qualities.” The examples of American policy in the Middle East, the Civil and Women’s Rights movements, and Elie Wiesel’s Night provide substantial support to the idea that freedom has more to do with self-control than with physical freedom or conquering one’s oppressors. The author’s use of language is competent and effective, despite a few slightly awkward sentences. CHAPTER 13 / ESSAY WRITING PRACTICE 495 Sample Essays: Practice Essay 9 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. We employ many devices to maintain or create peace among countries—trade agreements, cultural exchanges, treaties. But nothing unites humanity as well as a common foe. Mutual fear of nature or of foreign ideologies is perhaps the greatest diplomacy we know. Assignment: What is the most significant means of bringing people together in peace? Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 5 points out of 6 Nothing unifies humanity as well as a common foe. This thought can be said to explain the triumph of the Allied forces in WWII, the French and American Revolution, and other great triumphs in western history. However, this uplifting thought has a dark corollary, because the common foe is usually another segment of humanity. The great modern historian, T. Ruiz, at UCLA writes and lectures extensively on the middle ages. He explains western history not as a progression from barbarism to high civilization, but as a continuing series of clashes of man against man, advancing only in the increasing number of victims resulting from more powerful weaponry. In all these clashes the victors (who after all write the history of the event) see and explain their suc- cess as due to unified humanity against the common foe. To take a sweeping view of western history after the fall of the Roman Empire, we see a European Society for hundreds of years without borders, without governments, without kings, without commerce, without land ownership, somewhat of an empty slate by modern political and economic terms. As the world changed from a medieval world to a modern world, we can observe some changes which came about by the unification against a common foe. The rise of the nation state was made possible by the emergence of the “king” who united his subjects by invention of a common foe (e.g. “France”). Witchcraft, antisemitism and other concepts of “other- ness,” can be argued to be offshoots of the movement toward nation states. And these evils are caused by the in- vention of a common foe. The nation state, antisemitism, witchcraft all came about as inventions of the modern era. The Crusades, to expel the Arabs from Europe, the fallout from which we are still experiencing, is perhaps nothing but a politi- cal example of the successful search for a common enemy. Political, of course, because they occurred in the era when the king realized that religion was too important to be left to the Pope. As history marches on, we have the modern success of genocide as the ultimate success possible from the unification against the common enemy. The lesson perhaps is that when humanity unifies against a common enemy, make sure you’re not the enemy. Evaluation: This essay effectively argues for the perspective that “nothing unifies humanity as well as a common foe.” The author demonstrates a solid understanding of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire and gives many examples of “common foes.” The author shows a strong facility with language and uses appropriate historical vo- cabulary. The essay does not receive the highest possible score, however, because it focuses too much on conflict rather than peace, as the question suggests. 496 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample Essays: Practice Essay 10 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the question posed in the assignment. We love best not what gives the greatest pleasure, but what comes through the greatest effort, because this effort provides meaning. A plastic medallion received after completing a marathon is not just a $2.00 trinket, but the representation of months of effort and sacrifice. The best things in life are not free, but come at the expense of hard work. Assignment: Do we love things most that come at a great cost, or are the best things in life truly free? Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature, the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation. Sample: 4 points out of 6 We love best not that which gives great pleasure, but what comes through great effort. What do we mean by “love”? For one may love one’s mother, chocolate and fine art, all in different ways and all of which usually come with little effort. But perhaps love means “value,” as in one loves freedom and one loves life. It is often observed that those who have had to fight for freedom love it more, and those who have recovered from near death acci- dents or disease have a greater love of freedom and life. It is an American phenomenon that freedoms are valued so highly because so many Americans have suffered religious or political persecution and suffered great hardship to escape to this country. However, there are many things one loves which are not achieved through great effort, and there are many things achieved through great effort that one comes to hate. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam expresses a way to achieve love, contentment and happiness without effort. It suggests the less effort the better. John Ruskin said, “Life without work is guilt, life without art is brutality,” suggesting that effort and love are two separate things. The Calvinists, and the Protestant ethic, suggest that the only thing worth achieving is achieved through hard work. Or perhaps, they suggest that hard work in itself gives satisfaction. Although something achieved through effort is valued (loved) more highly than the same thing received as a gift, many things are loved intensely with- out regard to the effort expended. Although some have discarded the Cartesian duality of mind and body, perhaps it is a real separation. Great effort satisfies the body primarily. The body loves to work. Love, on the other hand, satisfies the mind or the soul. As Ruskin suggests, if I work hard to achieve a pot of gold, I may find love of riches does not satisfy, but if I work hard to create a work of art, and craft a beautiful shaped and molded chair, I may find that I love this chair more than any other in the world. Evaluation: This essay presents a thoughtful point of view but fails to take a clear stance on whether what we love most are things that are free or that come at a great cost. It goes back and forth so often that the reader feels as if she is watching a tennis match. Still, there are things that the author does well, such as discussing intriguing examples of Calvinism and freedom and citing interesting authorities such as Omar Khayam and John Ruskin. The author demonstrates a good facility with language but does not adequately focus the essay to achieve one of the highest scores. 497 HOW TO ATTACK SAT WRITING QUESTIONS 1. Mapping: What Do the Writing Questions Want from You? 2. Attacking “Improving Sentences” Questions 3. Attacking “Error ID” Questions 4. Attacking “Improving Paragraphs” Questions CHAPTER 14 ✓ Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. 498 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT The Writing portion of the SAT consists of the 25-minute essay and two multiple-choice grammar sections. The grammar questions ask you to spot and correct basic grammar and usage errors such as subject-verb disagreement (as in There is (are) more than thirty students in the class), pronoun-antecedent disagreement (as in The club requires their (its) mem- bers to pay dues), weak parallelism (as in She likes to hike, fish, and enjoys cooking (cook)), tense problems (as in The store changed (has changed) ownership sev- eral times over the last decade), and so on. All these errors are discussed in much more detail in Chapter 15. Don’t worry—here are three pieces of really good news about the SAT Writing: 1. You don’t have to memorize hundreds of grammar rules to ace the SAT Writing, just the 15 basic ideas discussed in Chapter 15. Not so bad, right? 2. You don’t have to name a single grammar rule. You just have to notice mistakes and fix them. Of course, if you keep making mis- takes because your “ear” doesn’t catch them, you should learn the rules in Chapter 15 so that you can spot mistakes more eas- ily. However, the SAT itself won’t require you to label a mistake as, for instance, a “dangling participle.” 3. You don’t have to worry about those “gram- mar rules from nowhere” that your middle- school English teacher might have gotten hung up on, such as the ones listed below. Five So-Called “Rules” NOT to Worry About on the SAT Writing 1. Never start a sentence with because. Although about 95% of all middle school students have been told this by one or another of their English teach- ers, guess what? It’s not a rule! As long as every other part of the sentence is okay, it’s perfectly fine to start a sentence with because, even on the SAT Writing. 2. Use which only for noninclusive modifiers and that only for inclusive modifiers. If you actually know this rule, God bless you. You know more than most English teachers. The simple fact is that the SAT folks don’t give a flying prune whether or not you know your that from your which. The SAT Writing sentences will always use that and which correctly. Don’t waste time worrying about them. 3. Only use whom rather than who when the ob- jective case is required. Again, if you know this rule, props to you. The fact is that the whole issue of who versus whom is a bit tricky even for folks who spend their whole lives talking about gram- mar. It’s not quite as clear cut as the him versus he rule. The SAT Writing sentences will always use who and whom correctly. Don’t waste time worry- ing about them. 4. The disappearing thats. Don’t worry about thats. Some students see a sentence such as “The boys found the soccer ball they had lost” and want to stick a that in it: The boys found the soccer ball that they had lost. Basically, it’s okay either way. Don’t spend any time worrying about missing thats. 5. Don’t split infinitives. The SAT hasn’t included a split infinitive in decades, and it’s unlikely to start now. Infinitives are the basic forms of verbs with to, such as to run and to be. They are split when- ever someone sticks a modifier between the two words. The classic example is the old Star Trek prologue where Captain Kirk says that his mission is “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Split infinitives drive some English teachers crazy, but the SAT is cool about them. Lesson 1: Mapping: What Do the Writing Questions Want from You? CHAPTER 14 / HOW TO ATTACK SAT WRITING QUESTIONS 499 Mapping: What are “Improving Sentences” Questions? Every SAT Writing section begins with “improving sentences” questions, each of which gives you a sen- tence and asks you to figure out whether an under- lined portion has an error in grammar, usage, or awkwardness. If it does, you must choose the best correction from the choices. If the sentence is okay, choose (A), which leaves the sentence as it is. The children couldn’t hardly believe their eyes . (A) couldn’t hardly believe their eyes (B) would not hardly believe their eyes (C) could hardly believe their eyes (D) couldn’t nearly believe their eyes (E) could hardly believe his or her eyes The original sentence contains a double negative, couldn’t hardly. The right answer has to fix this mis- take without breaking any other rules of grammar. Choices (C) and (E) both fix the double negative, but choice (E) introduces a new problem: His or her is a singular phrase, but the noun it refers to, children, is plural. Therefore, the correct answer is (C). “Improving sentences” questions require you to fix grammatical mistakes rather than merely find them. So the best way to attack them is to look actively for errors and correct them before looking at the choices. The College Hill Method for Attacking “Improving Sentences” Questions 1. Read the entire sentence naturally. If you have a good grammar “ear,” let it tell you if anything in the underlined part sounds wrong. Don’t overanalyze the sentence when you first read it. If you have read a lot of well-written prose, you will have developed a good “ear” for grammatical mistakes. Trust it. If you haven’t read much good prose, your ear won’t help as much, so you’ll have to really memorize the rules in Chapter 15 (and start reading good books now). 2. If the underlined part has an obvious error, try to fix it so that you have a good idea of what to look for among the choices. Then eliminate choice (A) as well as any other choices that repeat the same error. Remember—the error must violate one of the grammar rules discussed in Chapter 15. 3. If the underlined portion does NOT contain an error, be inclined to choose (A), but test any choices that are shorter than (A) to see if they con- vey the idea as clearly as the original. If you find a shorter option that is just as clear and logical as the original, choose the shorter one. 4. Reread the sentence with your choice, and make sure that the sentence works as a whole and that it does not contain any other errors. Remember that a sentence may have more than one mistake that needs to be fixed! Check: Only Worry About the “Standard” Errors Listed in Chapter 15 When your ear catches a possible error, take one more step to check it. Make sure that any error is a “standard” error in grammar or usage and not just a matter of personal prefer- ence. Don’t assume that a sentence contains an error just because you might have phrased it differently. Instead, try to identify the error as a violation of one of the “standard” errors dis- cussed in Chapter 15. The captains were given awards despite the team’s loss, for they had sacrifi ced a great deal for the sake of the team. (A) for they had sacrificed a great deal for the sake of the team (B) in the sense of sacrificing a great deal for the sake of the team (C) but had sacrificed a great deal for the sake of the team (D) their sacrifice for the sake of the team being the reason for them (E) nevertheless, they sacrificed a great deal for the sake of the team The original sentence may sound a bit odd, so you may think that it has an error. But after you read the choices, it should be clear that no other choice is clearer or more logical. In fact, the original sentence is best. It sounds odd because it uses the word for in a slightly strange (but acceptable) way. Although for is usually used as a preposition, it is here used as a conjunction similar to because or since. Lesson 2: Attacking “Improving Sentences” Questions . 14 ✓ Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. 498 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT The Writing portion of the SAT consists of the 25-minute essay and two multiple-choice grammar sections historical vo- cabulary. The essay does not receive the highest possible score, however, because it focuses too much on conflict rather than peace, as the question suggests. 496 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample. portraying this misperception as a great injustice, yet concludes on a hopeful note. 492 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT Sample Essays: Practice Essay 6 Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following