General Verbal Cards

Question 1

How should you approach sentence correction questions?

Answer 1

1. Read the entire sentence carefully.
   
   1. Try to understand the specific idea or relationship the sentence intended to express.
2. Evaluate the underlined part of the sentence.
   
   1. Because the part of the sentence that may be incorrect is underlined, concentrate on evaluating that part for errors and possible corrections before you read the answer choices.
3. Read each answer choice carefully.
   
   1. The first choice always repeats the underlined part of the original sentence. Choose it if you think the sentence is best as it stands — but only after you’ve examined all the other choices.
4. Determine how well each choice corrects the original sentence.
   
   1. See how well each choice fixes what you consider to be wrong with the original sentence.
5. Consider all aspects of sentence correctness and effectiveness.
   
   1. Evaluate the sentence and the choices in terms of general clarity, grammatical and idiomatic usage, language economy and precision, and appropriate diction.
6. Substitute your answer choice back into the sentence.
   
   1. Read the whole sentence, substituting your choice for the underlined part. A choice may be wrong if it doesn’t fit, grammatically or structurally, with the rest of the sentence. Remember that some sentences will require no corrections; in these cases, select the first answer choice.