All PSAT Writing Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 :Identifying Sentence Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Liam told his study group that"he needed to take a break from studying,"sothe group's membersall decided to get sandwichesbefore beginning to take notes onthe textbook'snext chapter.No error
the group's members
the textbook's
before beginning to take notes on
"he needed to take a break from studying,"
No error
"he needed to take a break from studying,"
This sentence incorrectly uses quotation marks to set off an indirect quotation from the sentence when no quotation marks are needed. If the sentence said "Liam told his study group, 'I need to take a break from studying,'" then quotation marks would be necessary. However, because the sentence is indirectly telling us what Liam said, and not giving us his exact words, no quotation marks are needed. Removing the quotation marks around "he needed to take a break from studying" would correct the sentence's error.
Example Question #1 :Identifying Quotation Mark Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"Helpmeliftthis", shewhispered, knowing the requestwould beher last if shewereoverheard.No error
me
were
this", she
No error
would be
this", she
Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks in American English.
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