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End-of-sentence and Within-sentence Punctuation

The SAT Writing & Language Test will require you to identify and correct inappropriate use of ending punctuation that deviates from the intent implied by the context. You will also have to identify and correct inappropriate colons, semicolons, and dashes when used to indicate breaks in thought within a sentence.

You can recognize Punctuation questions because the underlined portion of the text will include a punctuation mark. The answer choices will move that punctuation mark around or replace it with another punctuation mark.

Use commas to:

• Separate independent clauses connected by a FANBOYS conjunction (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

  Jess finished her homework earlier than expected, so she started on a project that was due the following week.

• Separate an introductory or modifying phrase from the rest of the sentence

  Knowing that soccer practice would be especially strenuous, Tia filled up three water bottles and spent extra time stretching beforehand.

• Set off three or more items in a series or list

  Jeremiah packed a sleeping bag, a raincoat, and a lantern for his upcoming camping trip.

• Separate nonessential information from the rest of the sentence
  

  Professor Mann, who was the head of the English department, was known for including a wide variety of reading materials in the curriculum. 

• Separate a dependent and an independent clause

  When it started to thunder, the lifeguards quickly ushered swimmers out of the pool.

Expert Tip

When you see an underlined comma, ask yourself, "Can the comma be replaced by a period or a semicolon?" If yes, the comma is grammatically incorrect and needs to be changed.

Use semicolons to:

• Join two independent clauses that are not connected by a FANBOYS conjunction

  Gaby knew that her term paper would take at least four more hours to write; she got started in study hall and then finished it at home.

• Separate items in a series or list if those items already include commas

  The team needed to bring uniforms, helmets, and gloves; oranges, almonds, and water; and hockey sticks, pucks, and skates.

Expert Tip

When you see an underlined semicolon, ask yourself, "Can the semicolon be replaced by a comma?" If yes, the semicolon is grammatically incorrect and needs to be changed. If the semicolon is separating two independent clauses and can be replaced with a period, it is grammatically correct.

Use colons to:

• Introduce and/or emphasize a short phrase, quotation, explanation, example, or list

  Sanjay had two important projects to complete: a science experiment and an expository essay. 

Use dashes to:

• Indicate a hesitation or a break in thought

  Going to a history museum is a good way to begin researching prehistoric creatures—on second thought, heading to the library will likely be much more efficient. 

Expert Tip

When you see an underlined colon or dash, ask yourself, "Has the author included a new idea by introducing or explaining something, or by breaking his or her thought process?" If yes, the punctuation is often grammatically correct.

Let’s look at the following Writing & Language passage and questions. After the passage, there are two columns. The left column contains test-like questions. The column on the right features the strategic thinking a test expert employs when approaching the passage and questions presented.

1. Questions 1-2 are based on the following passage.

2. Sir Edmund Hilary

   In the late spring of 1953, New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to walk on the top of the world. After a grueling expedition that spanned several months. They had finally reached the summit of Mount Everest. This was the mountain the Tibetan people called “Mother of the Universe,” but despite its maternal nomenclature, it had already claimed the lives of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine before Hillary and Norgay finally conquered its icy peak. The mountain’s siren call continues to lure mountaineers to this day. But climbing Mount Everest may be easier than answering the question posed by decades of non-climbers: Why? Perhaps Mallory said it best in 1923 before his ill-fated climb; “Because it is there.”

Questions	Strategic Thinking
NO CHANGE months, and they months; they months, they	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined segment includes a period, but the sentence before the period is a fragment. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate A because, as written, the sentence before the period is a fragment. Eliminate B because it creates a run-on. Eliminate C because it does not correct the original error. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (D) is correct.
NO CHANGE climb: “Because it is there.” climb. “Because it is there.” climb “Because it is there.”	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined segment includes a semicolon that is used incorrectly because it neither joins two independent clauses nor separates items containing commas in a series or list. The underlined segment here is intended to provide emphasis. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate C because it creates two separate sentences that change the author's intended meaning. Eliminate D because it removes punctuation altogether, creating a new error. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (B) is correct.

Possessive Nouns and Pronouns

Possessive nouns and pronouns indicate who or what possesses another noun or pronoun. Each follows different rules, and the SAT will test both. These questions require you to identify both the singular and plural forms.

You can spot errors in possessive noun and pronoun construction by looking for:

• Two nouns in a row
• Context clues
• Pronouns with apostrophes
• Words that sound alike

Possessive Nouns
Singular	sister’s	My oldest sister’s soccer game is on Saturday.
Plural	sisters’	My two older sisters’ soccer games are on Saturday.

Questions about possessive pronouns often require you to watch out for contractions and sound-alike words.

Possessive Pronouns and Words to Watch Out For
its = possessive	it’s = it is/it has
their = possessive	there = location/place
whose = possessive	who’s = who is/who has

Let’s look at the following Writing & Language passage and questions. After the passage, there are two columns. The left column contains test-like questions. The column on the right features the strategic thinking a test expert employs when approaching the passage and questions presented.

1. Questions 3-4 are based on the following passage.

2. Literary Theory

   Sometimes, being overeducated about literary theory and criticism can have detrimental effects on one’s reading. In some cases, before one even opens a book, one might have certain expectations as to it’s literary genre, its cultural and historical significance, its symbolism, its author’s life and times, and other matters. One can therefore lose out on the experience of entering a world for the first time, where every sight, sound, and taste is eternally new, where the book is forever in the process of forming itself. When one brings preconceived notions and generalizations to a book, the book is petrified in time and space.

Questions	Strategic Thinking
NO CHANGE its it is the	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined apostrophe suggests there is a grammatical issue. “It’s” is a contraction meaning “it is,” but the sentence requires a possessive pronoun. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate A, C, and D because they are not possessive pronouns. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (B) is correct.
NO CHANGE sight, sound, taste sight, and sound, and taste sight sound and taste	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined portion contains a series. Commas should be used to set off three or more items in a series or list. These commas should be placed after every item in the series preceding the “and.” A series or list should include the word “and” following the comma before the last item. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate B, C, and D because they do not feature proper series or list construction. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (A) is correct.

Parenthetical/Nonrestrictive Elements and Unnecessary Punctuation

Use commas, dashes, or parentheses to set off parenthetical or nonrestrictive information in a sentence.

Definition

Parenthetical or nonrestrictive information includes words or phrases that aren’t essential to the sentence structure or content. Sometimes, however, this information is explanatory.

The SAT will also ask you to recognize instances of unnecessary punctuation, particularly commas.

Do not use a comma to:

• Separate a subject from its predicate
• Separate a verb from its object or its subject, or a preposition from its object
• Set off restrictive elements
• Separate adjectives that work together to modify a noun

Expert Tip

To determine whether information is nonessential, read the sentence without the information. If the sentence still makes sense without the omitted words, then those words need to be set off with punctuation.

Let’s look at the following Writing & Language passage and questions. After the passage, there are two columns. The left column contains test-like questions. The column on the right features the strategic thinking a test expert employs when approaching the passage and questions presented.

1. Questions 5-6 are based on the following passage.

2. Chimpanzees and Language

   Many linguistic researchers are excited about the possibility of humans using language to communicate with chimpanzees, our close cousins in the animal world. Some scientists believe that chimpanzees, and in particular Bonobo chimpanzees, may have the comprehension skills of two-and-a-half-year-old children. With dedicated training, the scientists claim these chimpanzees are able to understand complicated sentences, and to communicate on an advanced level with human beings. In a recent and rather astonishing episode, for example, a Bonobo chimpanzee pressed symbols on a special keyboard in order to tell her trainers about a fight between two chimpanzees in a separate facility.

Questions	Strategic Thinking
NO CHANGE training, the scientists claim, these training the scientists claim these training the scientists claim, these	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined segment includes a comma that precedes nonessential information that the scientists claim the content of the sentence to be true. The nonessential information (“the scientists claim”) is separated from the rest of the sentence by only one comma before “the” rather than one comma before “the” and one after “claim.” Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate A because the sentence is incorrect as written. Eliminate C because it removes all punctuation. Eliminate D because it makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (B) is correct.
NO CHANGE sentences and to communicate sentences: to communicate sentences and communicating	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The comma used in the underlined portion is incorrect. The phrase “and to communicate” placed after the comma forms a compound with “to understand complicated sentences,” which precedes it. No punctuation is necessary when two phrases are joined by “and,” thus forming a compound. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate A because the sentence is incorrect as written. Eliminate C because it incorrectly replaces the comma with a colon. Eliminate D because it introduces a parallelism error. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (B) is correct.