Fiveable SAT Writing and Language: Deep Dive into Conventions of Usage
10 min read•july 11, 2024
SAT 🎓
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Welcome welcome! If you're getting ready to take the SAT and are focusing on the Writing and Language section, you're in the right place! In this resource piece, we're going to take a deep dive into Conventions of Usage, which is the second piece of Standard English Conventions. This section is all about observing standard usage practices, ensuring clarity and consistency in language. 👀
Get familiar with Sentence Structure, the first piece of this SAT topic, before moving on here. Anyway, let's get started. Grab your notebook and let's get to it! 🙌🏼
👜 SAT Writing and Language: Usage
Remember that compared to the other SAT Language sections, Standard English Conventions is more on the technical side. We'll follow a rough outline provided by College Board and add practice questions and concrete explanations to each mini-topic.
💡 Pronoun Clarity
🌰 What the College Board says: Recognizing and correcting ambiguous or vague pronouns (pronouns with more than one possible antecedent or no clear antecedent at all)
⭐ What It Basically Means: Like the previous convention, keep track of what the sentence's pronouns refer to.
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- An antecedent refers to the noun that a pronoun replaces. Otherwise, sentences would be repetitive.
- Ex. "Jed is a rising college freshman. Jed loves his cookies burnt to a crisp."
- Correct use of antecedent: "Jed is a rising college freshman. He loves his cookies burnt to a crisp.
- This convention is more of an accuracy check. When dealing with questions related to this topic, slow down and take the time to read the sentence and see if there's anything confusing . Remember, we shoot for clarity in grammar, especially with our antecedents.
- Ex. Dolly and Polly went to her cousin's room to gossip about their summer adventures in Cancun. (Who's her, Dolly or Polly?)
- Ex. Michael gave Steven his book. (Who's his, Michael or Steven?)
❗ Sample Question (from Khan Academy): After practicing the violin together for 15 years, Justine told Katie that she was the better violinist.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) Katie was
(C) she were
(D) they were
ANSWER: (B). She, in this case, is a vague antecedent. Who's better: Justine or Katie? It's hard to tell. (C) can be eliminated since she and were are not in agreement (see Subject-Verb Agreement). (D) is incorrect because it does not add any additional clarity and still leaves us wondering who the better violinist is. (B) asserts that Katie is the better violinist, which answers our "who?" question!
🔮 Possessive Determiners
🌰 What the College Board says: Distinguishing between and among possessive determiners (“its,” “your,” “their”), contractions (“it’s,” “you’re,” “they’re”), and adverbs (“there”)
⭐ What It Basically Means: Know the difference between its vs. it's, their vs. they're vs. there, and your vs. you're. With this knowledge, you can finally end longtime grammar debates on Twitter. Woo-hoo! 👌
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- Its: possessive pronoun that means "belonging to it"
- Ex. I felt bad after I saw a dying plant with its flowers wilting.
- Ex. The dog wagged its tail happily while waiting for its master.
- It’s: contraction of "it is," typically followed by a thought
- Ex. It's raining today. (aka "It is raining today.")
- Ex. Don't you think it's frustrating to see people litter? (aka "Don't you think it is frustrating to see people litter?")
- Their: possessive pronoun that means "belonging to them"
- Ex. Jolene and her friends paid for their concert tickets by the concession stand.
- Ex. It's quite weird to think that the students of the high school class of 2021 will be embarking on their college journeys in the next few months.
- They’re: contraction of "they are," typically followed by a thought
- Ex. With COVID-19 cases increasing because of the Delta variant, nurses are becoming overwhelmed, especially when they're frantically conserving the remaining supplies they have.
- Ex. It's challenging to babysit children because they're always running everywhere.
- There: NOT a pronoun or contraction; typically used on contexts related to availability and location
- Ex. There are five red trucks parked outside the fire department building.
- Ex. The museum is over there by the traffic light.
- Your: possessive pronoun that means "belonging to you"
- Ex. I remember your mother baking scrumptious cookies whenever we got out of school.
- Ex. The student council's campaign slogan was "Your mental health comes first!"
- You're: contraction of "you are," typically followed by a thought
- Ex. You're so annoying!
- Ex. Out of all the contenders in this pageant, the judges believe that you're the most radiant.
❗ Sample Question: If we're talking about must-go places, I'd personally go for Fisherman's Wharf because of their vibrance.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) you're
(C) its
(D) there
ANSWER: (C) its. Fisherman's Wharf is a third-person singular noun, and we want a pronoun with it as an antecedent. This eliminates (A) (third-person plural), (B) (second-person non-pronoun), and (D) (non-pronoun).
👍 Agreement
🌰 What the College Board says: Ensuring agreement between subject and verb, between pronoun and antecedent, and between nouns
⭐ What It Basically Means: You want to match the noun (or pronoun) with the right number with the verb (helping or action) corresponding for that said number.
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- In a sentence…
- "He/she/it/(singular noun)/(singular collective noun)" + is/was/(singular verb)
- "You/they/we/(plural noun)/" + are/were/(plural verb)
- "I" + am
- Ex. The dogs were noisy.
- Ex. There are groups of children pushing each other in the playground.
- Ex. The showdown between the fairies and the clowns is starting soon.
- Ex. Calvin Klein and his subordinates were absent in today's press conference, unfortunately.
- Ex. We usually wake up by the third ring of the nun's bell.
- Don't get thrown off by prepositional phrases, comma phrases, and relative clauses. They're there (get the pun?) to distract you from the main subject and throw you off your game!
- Ex. Alvin, accompanied by the other chipmunks, performed at the Times Square Ball Drop.
- We can get rid of the whole phrase in-between the commas: "Alvin performed at the Times Square Ball Drop." Better?
- Ex. "Movies by Quentin Tarantino, including Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, interest moviegoers with jarring plot twists."
- We can get rid of "by Quentin Tarantino" and the whole phrase in-between the commas: "Movies interest moviegoers with jarring plot twists." Sounds easier to answer, right?
- Remember, you always agree with the subject, NOT the object.
- Ex. The drafts I completed a couple of days ago have impressed my film professor again and again. (Have impressed agrees with drafts, not film professor. Remember: what impressed the professor?)
- Ex. The pencils are lying down in the corner of the room, while the laptop charger has been hidden under the bed. (Has agrees with charger, not pencils. Remember: what's under the bed?)
- Ex. Frequent guests of the Ellen show love the opening dancing sequence. (Love agrees with guests, not show. Remember: who loves the opening dancing sequence?)
❗ Sample Question: Harry Houdini's daredevil stunts requires skill and his charisma never fails to impress.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) require; fail
(C) require; fails
(D) requires; fail
ANSWER: (C). Require corresponds with stunts (plural), while fails corresponds with charisma (singular). Getting the hang of it?
💫 Frequently Confused Words
🌰 What the College Board says: Distinguishing between and among words that are commonly mistaken for one another (e.g., “affect” and “effect”)
⭐ What It Basically Means: You should be able to differentiate between two English words that sound the same but have different definitions and usages.
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- Honestly, this is a wildcard. Like how the English dictionary has gajillions of words, there are a LOT of "frequently confused words" out there. Don't worry, though! Always make sure your paying attention to the context of the sentence. Think about the meaning of the word, since it should always fit in with the text surrounding it. Here are a couple words that can potentially pop up on a SAT Writing and Language question or two:
Word 1 | Word 2 |
than - used for making comparisons (ex. "He has more experience than his colleague.") | then - used when describing a sequence of events (ex. "She finished her work and then went for a walk.") |
less - used when referring to uncountable nouns, like a substance or concept that cannot be easily counted (ex. "There is less sugar in this recipe.") | fewer - used when referring to objects that can be individually counted (ex. "There are fewer apples in the basket.") |
much - used when referring to uncountable nouns, like a substance or concept that cannot be easily counted (ex. "She doesn't have much time to spare.") | many - used when referring to objects that can be individually counted (ex. "How many friends do you have?") |
accept - means to agree to take something that is offered, given, or presented. (ex. "I accept your apology.") | except - means not including something or someone (ex. "I like all fruits except bananas.") |
affect - refers to the action of influencing, changing, or having an impact on something. (ex. "The new policy will affect the company's profits.") | effect - refers to the result, consequence, or outcome of an action. (ex. "The new policy had a significant effect on the company's profits.") |
access - the ability to obtain something (ex. "She was granted access to the restricted area.") | excess - indicates something that is more than what i needed (ex. "He ate in excess and felt sick afterward.") |
compliment - a positive statement or expression of admiration (ex. "He complimented her on her cooking skills.") | complement - either completes or enhances another element (ex. "The sweet and salty flavors complement each other in this dish.") |
afflict - to cause pain or suffering often due to uncontrollable circumstances (ex. "Poverty afflicts many communities around the world.") | inflict - to deliberately cause harm (ex. "He inflicted a deep wound on his opponent.") |
alludes - to hint at something or someone (ex. "The speaker alluded to a famous historical event in his speech.") | eludes - to escape or avoid someone or something (ex. "The suspect eluded the police during a high-speed chase.") |
lose - to be unable to find something or to no longer have something (ex. "I don't want to lose my keys.") | loose - something that is not held tightly (ex. "Her shoelaces are loose.") |
Try to come up with as many "frequently confused words" as possible in your own sentences and see if you can identify the differences between the two words.
❗ Sample question: Identify the grammatically correct sentence:
(A) Hurricane Harvey has affected millions of Americans.
(B) During the 19th century, child labor effected almost every household's work dynamic.
(C) Watch your words because if carelessly said, they can effect people negatively.
(D) Today, Negan presented a report on the Industrial Revolution and its long-term affects.
ANSWER: (A). Affect is usually a verb that means "to produce an effect upon," while effect is usually a noun meaning a "change" or "consequence."
🧺 Logical Comparison
🌰 What the College Board says: Recognizing and correcting cases in which unlike terms are compared
⭐ What It Basically Means: Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. You can't compare apples to orange.
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- Similar to how we approach parallel structures, we want to be sure that comparisons are made between things/items/events that are explicitly similar.
- WRONG: Life in the Northern Water Tribe is completely different from the Southern Water Tribe.
- CORRECT: Life in the Northern Water Tribe is completely different from that in the Southern Water Tribe. (You have to make sure that the comparison to life in the different tribes is obvious. Remember, clarity!)
- No, literally. You can even call Logical Comparison the second cousin of Parallel Structure.
- WRONG: When encountering a lion, it is better to hide than running away.
- CORRECT: When encountering a lion, it is better to hide than run away
🎈 Conventional Expression
🌰 What the College Board says: Recognizing and correcting cases in which, for no good rhetorical reason, language fails to follow conventional practice
⭐ What It Basically Means: Sometimes, the English language has exceptions that circumvent typical conventions. You'd want to be aware of these nuances and recognize them in a test setting.
🤔 What You Need to Remember:
- These fellas come in exclusive pairs (can't be paired with other words). These are known as coordinators. As you read a question, if you see the first pair word, make sure that the second is also in the same sentence.
- Neither… nor…
- Either… or…
- From… to…
- As… as…
- Between… and…
- Not only… but also…
- Both...and...
- Propositions (usually in vs. on vs. at) are trickier. If you find yourself in an unfamiliar situation, trust your instinct!
- Ex. Sometimes, I find it hard to focus on what the teacher is doing in class.
- Ex. The USSR stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
- You can also try reading the sentence out loud or in your head and see if it sounds awkward or not. Oftentimes, doing so offers a solid clue on whether an option is correct.
🤓 SAT Usage: Conclusion
How are you feeling? Because you're well on your way to becoming the next grammar genius in town! 🏆
Once you feel comfortable with this content, jump over to Conventions of Punctuation, the last piece of SAT Standard English Conventions. You're almost there, we believe in you. 🪄
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