The SAT Proofreading and Editing Section: Basic Principles

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Relying on your ear to detect writing problems is natural, even tempting, but it's a big mistake. A big, big mistake. Sentences in this section that "sound wrong" are often perfectly okay, while incorrect sentences often "sound okay."

Here's why this natural approach is so faulty. First, our ears are attuned to informal speech patterns, but the SAT writing questions reflect formal standards of what is correct and acceptable.

In everyday speech, hanging out with our friends or family, we get away with sloppy grammar—and sloppy thinking—all the time. You may have heard your English teacher distinguish between "written English" and "spoken English." ( "Hey, it's me" is acceptable in spoken English but unacceptable in written English.) Who can be bothered with the effort required to speak with precision when our friends can figure out what we "really mean" without the effort? What a pain, right?

Isn't it ironic? We've become so attuned to finding informal speech acceptable that sentences that articulate precisely what the speaker means with formal correctness sound stilted or somehow alien. Our ears mislead us both ways: bad grammar sounds normal, and good grammar sounds awkward.

The second reason that relying on your ear is dangerous is that a number of the writing problems you're hunting for in the questions are not grammatical errors. Many are actually logical errors, and these will sound perfectly okay to the unsuspecting ear.

On the multiple-choice proofreading questions, you must be on the lookout for sentences that literally say one thing but were meant to say another.

In short, a word or phrase can't simply sound wrong—you have to know why it's wrong in order to mark it so.

You Think I'm Kidding About Relying on Your Ear?
To demonstrate the dangers of relying on your ear to judge grammatical correctness, I've prepared the following quiz for you. One or more of the following sentences may contain an error. None of these is a "trick question," but do read each one carefully. If you spot an error, jot it down on a piece of scrap paper—bonus points if you know how to correct it—and then check your responses against the answer key.

By the way, the actual format of the SAT proofreading questions differs a bit from these bare sentences, but let's keep things simple for now. These illustrations are super-tough to make a point, so expect a struggle. Good luck!

1. The two pieces of woodwork by the apprentice carpenters were each so finely sanded that it took the trained eye of their teacher to determine that the oak tabletop was more nearly flat than was the pine tabletop.
2. After a thorough examination, the doctor told Melissa that she should exercise more vigorously as well as more regularly.
3. The photo-finish of the 100-meter race was so close that each of the first five finishers thought that they had won.
4. Titus Andronicus, one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works and the inspiration for the popular movie Gladiator, is a play where the noble protagonist suffers a tragic fate.
5. The academic habits and expectations of teenage girls are very different from teenage boys.
6. The causes of the American Civil War were not only social and political, but also economical and technological.
7. All of the former classmates are planning on attending the formal reunion ceremony, and most have said that they will also attend the reception party afterwards.
8. When completely painted with the third and final coat of varnish, Peter set the antique chair outside on the porch to get some sun.
9. "By the time you get back," Tim assured his doubtful mother and father as they were preparing to leave for a parent-teacher conference, "I promise I will complete my history term paper."
10. Were it not for the downturn of the local economy last year, the then-popular mayor would surely have been reelected.