Sentence Structure

Error: This is a sentence fragment — it has no main subject and verb.

"Running through the park on a sunny afternoon" is a participial phrase. It describes an action but doesn't tell us WHO is doing it and doesn't have a complete predicate.

Fix options:

1. Add a subject and verb: "She was running through the park on a sunny afternoon." ✅
2. Attach to a complete sentence: "Running through the park on a sunny afternoon, she felt free." ✅

What makes a complete sentence:

1. A subject (who/what)
2. A verb (action/state)
3. A complete thought

Answer: Fragment — needs a subject and a main verb to be complete.

Option 1 — Subordination: "Because the experiment yielded surprising results, the scientists decided to repeat it to confirm their findings." ✅ (Uses "because" to show cause-effect; "to confirm" combines sentences 2 and 3)

Option 2 — Relative clause: "The experiment, which yielded surprising results, prompted the scientists to repeat it to confirm their findings." ✅

Option 3 — Participial phrase: "Surprised by the results, the scientists decided to repeat the experiment to confirm their findings." ✅

Avoid:

• "The experiment yielded surprising results, and the scientists decided to repeat it, and they wanted to confirm their findings." ❌ (Too many "ands" — choppy)

SAT Principle: The most concise, clear combination is usually the best answer. Avoid unnecessary words and repetition.

Answer: "Because the experiment yielded surprising results, the scientists decided to repeat it to confirm their findings."

This is a run-on sentence — two independent clauses with no punctuation or conjunction between them.

Fix 1 — Period: "The storm knocked out power to the entire neighborhood. Residents had to use candles and flashlights for three days."

Fix 2 — Semicolon: "The storm knocked out power to the entire neighborhood; residents had to use candles and flashlights for three days."

Fix 3 — Comma + conjunction: "The storm knocked out power to the entire neighborhood, so residents had to use candles and flashlights for three days."

Fix 4 — Subordination: "After the storm knocked out power to the entire neighborhood, residents had to use candles and flashlights for three days."

Best for SAT: Fix 4 (subordination) is often the best answer because it shows the relationship between the clauses (cause → effect).

Answer: Any of these fixes would work; subordination shows the clearest logical connection.

Error: The list items are not in parallel form:

• "to identify talented students" (infinitive)
• "providing financial support" (gerund — NOT parallel!)
• "to connect them with mentors" (infinitive)

Fix — Use consistent infinitives: "The scholarship program aims to identify talented students, to provide financial support, and to connect them with mentors." ✅

Or — Use consistent gerunds: "The scholarship program aims at identifying talented students, providing financial support, and connecting them with mentors." ✅

Or — Simplify with one "to": "The scholarship program aims to identify talented students, provide financial support, and connect them with mentors." ✅

Rule: Items in a list must be in the same grammatical form (all infinitives, all gerunds, all nouns, etc.).

Answer: "...to identify talented students, provide financial support, and connect them with mentors."

Evaluate each option:

(A) Chains everything with "and" — repetitive and hard to follow. ❌

(B) Uses varied sentence structure:

• "Born in Poland" — participial phrase (concise)
• "moved to France" — main clause
• "where she conducted..." — relative clause (shows location)
• "ultimately winning" — participial phrase (shows culmination) ✅ This is the best answer — concise, clear, and well-structured.

(C) "a pioneering scientist, she was born" — this creates a grammar error. After the appositive "a pioneering scientist," the sentence shouldn't add "she." ❌

Why (B) is best:

1. Most concise — eliminates "she was" repetition
2. Shows logical flow — birth → move → research → results
3. Uses varied construction — participial phrase, main clause, relative clause
4. The word "ultimately" connects the achievement to the journey

Answer: (B) — it combines the information most effectively with varied syntax and logical progression.