The Great Gatsby

SAT Prep Test Examples

Jestice

March 2017

Vocabulary

Looking these up in the dictionary and using them in sentences will help you understand the right answers.

Grammar and Writing

Writing Practice 1

41.At Princeton University, F. Scott Fitzgerald was place on academic probation; the reason was because his attention to his literary aspirations caused him to neglect his studies.

What is wrong?

Unnecessary Repetition

42.Having left Princeton to join the army in 1917, Fitzgerald found himself stationed in Montgomery, Alabama, where he met and fell in love with his Zelda Sayre, an eighteen-year-old Southern belle several years younger than him.

What is wrong?

Incorrect pronoun

43.Engaged to marry Zelda, Fitzgerald was determined both to be a successful writer as well as to provide a good living for himself and his future wife.

What is wrong?

Unnecessary repetition and wordiness

44.Finally, in 1919, Fitzgerald’s novel was accepted for publication, and when This Side of Paradise appeared in 1920, the author immediately became famous.

What is wrong?

Nothing is wrong.

45.The newlyweds became notorious for their extravagant lifestyle, and Fitzgerald found it necessary to interrupt work on his novels and beginning to write popular, profitable short stories for magazines.

What is wrong?

Parallel Structure/Parallelism

46. Over the next few years, Fitzgerald wrote several more novels, so the vast majority of the couple’s income came from his short stories.

What is wrong?

Incorrect conjunction

47.When The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, the novel was critically praised, but sales had been disappointing.

What is wrong?

Wrong verb tense

48.Irregardless of the Fitzgerald’s fame and their lavish lifestyle, the couple’s domestic life was troubled.

What is wrong?

Diction error

49.Paying off his debts and writing more works of literature was not enough to ensure that Fitzgerald would be financially well off.

What is wrong?

Verb tense

50.Sadly, Fitzgerald died believing himself to be a failure, never suspecting that by the middle of the century he would be known as one of America’s most greatest authors.

What is wrong?

Wrong superlative

Improving Sentences 1

51.The belief that the promise of spiritual and material happiness is known as “ The American Dream”; a concept described by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.

What is wrong?

wrong punctuation

(appositive set off by commas)

52.The failure and the corruption of the American Dream is at the heart of The Great Gatsby.

What is wrong?

Subject/verb agreement

53.Breaking Myrtle’s nose because she insists on saying Daisy’s name, Tom’s contempt for Myrtle and those of her social class is evident.

What is wrong?

Dangling Modifier

54.Gatsby creates a fantasy life with his money, which he hopes Daisy will want to share with him.

What is wrong?

Awkward sentence structure

55.Gatsby has transformed Jay Gatz, the son of poor farm people, into Jay Gatsby, millionaire host of parties given for the sole purpose of impressing Daisy.

What is wrong?

Nothing is wrong.

56.Gatsby’s impossible dream is that he can go back in time, alter the past, and Daisy will agree to be his wife.

What is wrong?

Parallel structure

Improving Paragraphs 1

57. What’s wrong? choppy sentences, wordiness

Correct? need to combine sentences into one

58.What’s wrong? clause relationship

Correct? Rearrange clauses

59.Unwilling to live on a his modest salary, her engagement to Fitzgerald was broken.

What’s wrong? Dangling modifier

Correct? Zelda broke her engagement to Fitzgerald.

60.What’s wrong? Irrelevant; random information about short story sales.

Correct? Omit random information

Writing Practice 2

61. What’s wrong? Faulty Parallelism

Correct? led, endorsed and __________ must match tense.

62.What’s wrong? Word Usage, Fewer vs. Less

Correct? Fewer is used for things that can be counted; less is used for things that cannot be counted.

63.What’s Wrong? Excessive Wordiness

Correct? Omit “and this was”

64.What’s wrong? Pronoun error

Correct? Pronoun object of preposition between, so should be them.

65. What’s wrong? Redundant

Correct? Omit “as well”

66.What’s wrong? Usage comparative/superlative

Correct? 2 items are being compared, so should say— “more profitable”

67.What’s wrong? Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Correct? A member is not “they”

Should be he or she.

68.No error.

69. What’s wrong? “It” ambiguous meaning. Does it refer to Prohibition or corruption?

Correct? Choose the word for clarity.

70.What’s Wrong? Tense shift

Correct? Needs to match was, created, and solved. Should say “led.”

Improving Sentences 2

71.What’s Wrong? Parallel Structure

Correct? “to settle” and “to return”

72. What’s wrong? Wordiness/incorrect idiom

Correct? Use “because”

73.What’s wrong? Incorrect Conjunction Correct? “but” not “so”

74. What’s wrong? Wrong comparison; clothing being compared to women

Correct? Compare clothing to clothing

75.What’s wrong? Who is “they?”

Correct? Omit “they”

76.What’s wrong? Dangling modifier

Correct? The flapper needs to be made the subject.

Having become a modern woman who voted, held a job, and spoke her mind, a flapper would never return to the ways of “the old days.”

Improving Paragraphs 2

77.What’s wrong? Transition for emphasis and Parallel Structure

Correct? “In fact” and “one for music and one for costume design”

78. What’s wrong? Awkward phrasing, due to the fact

Correct? “Believing they would never come home”

Writing Practice 3

81.What’s Wrong? Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Correct? Every character is not “they,” but singular he or she.

82. What’s wrong? Diction error. “On account of” is a slang phrase, which should say “because.”

83.What’s wrong? Wrong part of speech; the verb “treats” is being modified, so needs an adverb.

Correct? Should say “disrespectfully”—an adverb, not “disrespectful”—an adjective

84.No error

85.What’s wrong? Vague pronoun reference, to what does “which” refer?

Correct? “; she is at the root of everything he does.”

86. What’s wrong? Faulty parallelism and Redundancy

“not only . . . but also” go together; correlatives must be parallel. AND Unnecessary Comma

Correct? “not only is Daisy selfish, but also she is shallow.”

OR

“not only is Daisy selfish but also shallow.”

87.What’s Wrong? Wrong conjunction

Correct? Pretends suggests a contrast, so the conjunction should be “but” not “and.”

88.What’s wrong? Wordiness

Correct? Make an appositive, “the person who examined the books in Gatsby’s library,”

89.What’s wrong? Run-on sentence

Correct? Place a comma between “guests, and”

90.What’s wrong? Subject/Verb agreement

Desire-became; money-- bring

Correct? Money, along with position and power, brings happiness.

Improving Sentences

91.What’s Wrong? Dangling Modifier

Correct? Nick’s father must follow the introductory word group or dependent clause

92.What’s wrong? Sentence fragment. There is no verb in the sentence.

Correct?

“Objectivity is considered to be . . .”

93.What’s wrong? Faulty Parallelism “not only is . . . but also”

Correct? Must put the verb in front of the correlatives: “is not only . . . But also”

94. What’s wrong? Faulty Parallelism; “reporting” and “who refuses” are not parallel

Correct? “reports the facts” and “refuses to judge”

95.What’s wrong? Wrong conjunction. The sentence is a contrast: so is the wrong conjunction.

Correct? The conjunction should be “but.” 96.What’s wrong? Wrong use of semi-colon. An

independent clause must be on either side of the semi-colon.

Correct? The first part of the sentence is an introductory word group, or dependent clause and should be separated by a comma after “quickly,”

97.What’s wrong? Wordiness

Correct? Make into two independent clauses and the verb phrase “were charged.”

98. What’s wrong? Missing transition

Correct? “Despite their success” shows a contrast in the third paragraph.

THE END

99. What’s Wrong? Wordiness Correct? Use parallel structure to correct. Which skills are tested the most? Parallel Structure Wordiness Commas and Semi-colons Dangling Modifiers Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement Transitions Conjunctions, especially BUT Pronoun Usage Fragments and Run-ons Parts of Speech Redundancy Comparisons