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Syntax Videos 5 videos

SAT Writing & Language: Maintaining Parallel Structure with Verb Tenses
4 Views

Do tenses confuse you? Watch this SAT Writing video to get some practice in

SAT Writing and Language Drill 4.1 Effective Language Use
3 Views

This patriotic SAT writing video covers John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence".

SAT Writing and Language Drill 4.8 Effective Language Use
7 Views

This SAT Writing video goes over how to maintain the parrallel structure of passive verbs. It's definitely an underrated topic.

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SAT Writing and Language Drill 4.1 Effective Language Use 3 Views


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Description:

This patriotic SAT writing video covers John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence".


Transcript

00:01

All right see shmoop er's another elusive eleven for you

00:05

This is going to be really exciting John troubles declaration

00:11

of independence that's what we're reading here and before you

00:14

start in the first question of the siri's we're going

00:16

to just kind of skim it pick out a few

00:17

key words here painting is a decoration of anything that

00:20

you can take a moment and think about what you're

00:21

gonna say kind of congress painting jefferson with authors like

00:23

john hancock and manage for millions of people really going

00:26

to use that photo was like looking at everything going

00:28

on under article three large okay well let's get down

00:34

to it is the same format as we've had before

00:37

The underlying words is what we're being asked about and

00:40

we're going to figure out if we need to change

00:42

him or not So the first one is shown placing

00:45

the document will not great writing it's passive there is

00:49

shown as opposed to shows but let's just go re

00:52

read this puppy again here don't you think it's time

00:54

to take a moment to give you something for the

00:56

defense will present to the second annual congress and something

00:58

comes from a lot of decoration is showing placing the

00:59

document before john hancock president congress All right well he's

01:02

shown placing the document what's wrong with that sounds pretty

01:05

good to me Well let's think about this to maintain

01:07

the verb tense structure in the surrounding paragraphs The sentence

01:11

needs a regular present tense active verb like places and

01:15

that's which not only makes the sentence more stylistically consistent

01:19

but it also avoids the weak passive voice right like

01:22

he's placing or was placing or places like that well

01:25

with sentence in the passive voice the actions less immediate

01:28

So it ain't that the passive voice also makes the

01:31

sentence stand out from the others that described the action

01:33

of the painting while is placing isn't in the passive

01:37

voice it's still an indirect and unnecessarily worthy way of

01:41

phrasing the sentence and it breaks with a sense pattern

01:43

in paragraph no they probably you did talk like that

01:45

in them thar days it's true that jefferson did the

01:47

placing in the past But when describing the action of

01:50

the painting as in the other senses go ahead and

01:53

stick to the present tense So don't change a thing

01:56

The answer is b

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