Identifying Sentence Errors Each sentence will have four underlined words or phrases. You need to determine which underlined por- tion, if any, contains an error in grammar or usage. If none of the four underlined portions contain an error, you will need to select choice e, which is “No error.” Approximately 18 of the 49 multiple-choice questions in the Writing section will be this type. Improving Sentences With these question types, you will need to determine which of five versions of a sentence is the most clear and correct. Approximately 25 of the 49 questions in this section will be this type. Improving Paragraphs With these question types, you will be asked about ways in which a draft version of a short essay can be improved. These questions can cover everything from grammar issues to matters of organization and devel- opment of ideas. Approximately 6 of the 49 questions will be this type. Essay For the essay portion of the Writing section, you will have 25 minutes to respond to a prompt. This prompt will be one of two types: ■ Responding to Quotes. You will be given one or two quotes and asked to evaluate or compare them by writing an essay. ■ Completing a Statement or Idea. You will be given an incomplete statement and asked to fill in the blank; then you will use the completed state- ment as the basis for an essay. For both types of prompts, you will be asked to develop a point of view and to back up your opinion with examples from your own experience or from sub- jects you have studied. Why Write an Essay? Anyone who has gone to college can tell you that writ- ing is a big part of the experience. Students have to take accurate notes in all classes, write essays and papers for different subjects, and often have to respond to essay questions on exams. Students need to be able to think logically in order to do this, and be able to take a stance on an issue and defend their position in writing. SAT Writing Section at a Glance There are four question types on the Writing section: ■ Identifying Sentence Errors—items require you to read a sentence and identify the error (if any) in gram- mar or usage ■ Improving Sentences—items require you to determine the best way to correct a sentence ■ Improving Paragraphs—items ask you how a draft essay could best be improved ■ Essay—requires you to write a coherent, well-constructed essay in response to a prompt 182 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 182 Scoring As in the Math and Critical Reading sections, for the multiple-choice questions in the Writing section, you will receive one point for each correct answer and lose ᎏ 1 4 ᎏ point for each wrong answer. The essay will be scored by two expert graders who will evaluate your writing based on a 0–6 rubric, which will be described in detail later in this chapter. Your raw score of 20–80 for the multiple-choice questions will be combined with your raw score of 2–12 on the essay and both will be converted to a scaled score of 200–800 for the entire Writing section. –THE SAT WRITING SECTION– 183 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 183 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 184 –LEARNINGEXPRESS ANSWER SHEET– 185 1.abcde 2.abcde 3.abcde 4.abcde 5.abcde 6.abcde 7.abcde 8.abcde 9.abcde 10.abcde Writing Pretest On the pretest that begins on page 187, there are ten multiple-choice questions and one essay question. Give your- self ten minutes to complete the multiple-choice questions and 25 minutes to write the essay. After you have finished, you can check your answers and essay against the correct answers and sample essays (found at the end of the pretest) at each score level from 1–6. Use the answer sheet below to fill in your answer choices for questions 1–10. ANSWER SHEET 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 185 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 186 Essay Using the space provided on this page and the next, write an essay in response to the prompt below. “An influential person is one who leaves a footprint in the sand of our soul. To me, the most influential person I can think of is . . .” Assignment: Complete the sentence above with an appropriate phrase. Then write an essay supporting your completed statement. –THE SAT WRITING SECTION– 187 5658 SAT2006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 187 . on the essay and both will be converted to a scaled score of 200–800 for the entire Writing section. THE SAT WRITING SECTION 183 5658 SAT2 006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 183 5658 SAT2 006[05](fin).qx. to a prompt 182 5658 SAT2 006[05](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:45 PM Page 182 Scoring As in the Math and Critical Reading sections, for the multiple-choice questions in the Writing section, you will receive. able to take a stance on an issue and defend their position in writing. SAT Writing Section at a Glance There are four question types on the Writing section: ■ Identifying Sentence Errors—items