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Select a score band
Manage phrases and clauses in a sentence
Skills needed to score in this band
SKILL 1: Recognize ways to combine ideas using appropriate, concise syntactic structures
SKILL 2: Recognize syntactical structures that include parallel elements
SKILL 3: Recognize relationships between phrases and clauses in terms of punctuation, subordination/coordination, and semantic relationship
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1
Recognize ways to combine ideas using appropriate, concise syntactic structures
ExampleThe following sentence tests correctness and effectiveness of expression. Part of the sentence or the entire sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Choice A repeats the original phrasing; the other four choices are different. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A; if not, select one of the other choices.
In making your selection, follow the requirements of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, sentence construction, and punctuation. Your selection should result in the most effective sentence-clear and precise, without awkwardness or ambiguity.
The new medical school is accepting applications from around the world, there will be 200 places in the entering class.
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2
Recognize syntactical structures that include parallel elements
ExampleThe following sentence tests your ability to recognize grammar and usage errors. The sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence will not contain more than one error. The error, if there is one, is underlined and lettered. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice E. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.
In the late twentieth century, the demand for adhesives that were resistant to both fatigue and severe environmental conditions led to the development of high-performance materials that are now used in many industrial and domestic applications. No error
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3
Recognize relationships between phrases and clauses in terms of punctuation, subordination/coordination, and semantic relationship
ExampleThe following sentence tests correctness and effectiveness of expression. Part of the sentence or the entire sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Choice A repeats the original phrasing; the other four choices are different. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A; if not, select one of the other choices.
In making your selection, follow the requirements of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, sentence construction, and punctuation. Your selection should result in the most effective sentence-clear and precise, without awkwardness or ambiguity.
Though three-fourths of Kenya is a barren plain, the highland area, where most people live, is farmed extensively.
Skills needed to score in the next band
In your reading, examine texts that contain sophisticated and difficult sentence structures. In your own writing, develop sophisticated techniques for developing your ideas in multiple ways.
In your reading, learn to recognize that subject-verb agreement is not confined to the main clause of a sentence but may occur in embedded subordinate clauses at any point in the sentence. In your own writing, learn to use complex sentences that may embed important ideas in embedded subordinate clauses.
