CliffsNotes Verbal Review for Standardized Tests

Score higher on any standardized test with the help of CliffsNotes!

For anyone taking any standardized test—such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, Praxis I, GRE, or others—CliffsNotes Verbal Review for Standardized Tests is designed to review, refresh, and reintroduce essential grammar and verbal skills.

Written by test preparation experts, this clear, concise, and easy-to-use guide gives insight into the types of questions you'll face on the exam, and demonstrates how to avoid the common and costly errors that trap the unprepared.

• Grammar and usage review
• English usage and sentence correction
• Timed essay writing
• Verbal ability—antonyms, analogies, and sentence completion
• Reading comprehension
• Strategies for each question type
• Practice exercises with hundreds of questions and complete explanations
• Parts of speech, adjectives and adverbs, linking verbs, and comparatives and superlatives
• Punctuation—using commas, semi-colons, colons, apostrophes, and dashes
• Writing narrative, descriptive, analytical, and expository essays

With guidance from CliffsNotes, test takers will feel at home in any standardized-test environment!

What This Guide Contains 1

How This Book Is Organized 2

How to Use This Guide 2

Types of Questions 4

Range of Difficulty and Scope 4

PART I: GRAMMAR AND USAGE

Chapter 1: Grammar and Usage Question Types  7

General Strategies for Sentence/Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence (Vocabulary Skills) Questions 7

Sentence Correction – Type 1 8

Directions 8

Sentence Correction – Type 2 10

Directions 10

Sentence Correction – Type 3 11

Directions 11

Improving Paragraphs 14

Directions 14

Sentence/Text Completion 18

Directions 18

Examples for SAT Questions 18

Examples for GRE Questions 20

Sentence Equivalence 22

Directions 23

Chapter 2: Grammar and Usage Diagnostic Test 25

Answer Sheet 25

Sentence Correction – Type 1 27

Sentence Correction – Type 2 30

Sentence Correction – Type 3 36

Improving Paragraphs 43

Sentence/Text Completion 49

Sentence Equivalence 54

Answer Key for the Grammar and Usage Diagnostic Test 58

Sentence Correction – Type 1 58

Sentence Correction – Type 2 58

Passage I 59

Passage II 59

Passage III 59

Improving Paragraphs 59

Passage I 59

Passage II 59

Sentence/Text Completion 59

Sentence Equivalence 60

Charting and Analyzing Your Test Results 60

Diagnostic Test Answers and Explanations 61

Sentence Correction – Type 1 61

Sentence Correction – Type 2 62

Sentence Correction – Type 3 63

Passage I 63

Passage II 64

Passage III 64

Improving Paragraphs 65

Passage I 65

Passage II 65

Sentence/Text Completion 66

Sentence Equivalence 68

Chapter 3: Grammar and Usage Review 71

Introduction to Grammar and Usage Review 72

Practice Exercises: Charting and Analyzing Your Results 73

Section 1: Basic Parts of Speech 75

Adjectives and Adverbs 76

Linking Verbs 76

Comparatives and Superlatives 78

Practice Exercise 1: Basic Parts of Speech 78

Answers – Practice Exercise 1: Basic Parts of Speech 79

Section 2: Case 80

Subject and Object Errors 80

Pronouns in Apposition 81

Who and Whom 81

Possessive Errors 84

Practice Exercise 2: Case 85

Part A 85

Part B 85

Answers – Practice Exercise 2: Case 86

Part A 86

Part B 86

Section 3: Agreement 87

Subject and Verb Agreement 87

Pronoun Agreement91

Practice Exercise 3: Agreement 93

Answers – Practice Exercise 3: Agreement 94

Section 4: Verbs 95

Verb Tenses 96

Subjunctives  100

Lie/Lay, Rise/Raise, Sit/Set  101

Practice Exercise 4: Verbs  102

Answers – Practice Exercise 4: Verbs  103

Section 5: Misplaced Parts and Dangling Modifiers  105

Dangling Modifiers  107

Participles  108

Gerunds  108

Infinitives  109

Prepositional Phrases and Elliptical Clauses  109

Practice Exercise 5: Misplaced Parts and Dangling Modifiers  110

Answers – Practice Exercise 5: Misplaced Parts and Dangling Modifiers  111

Section 6: Parallelism  112

Common Parallelism Errors  113

Unnecessary Shifts in Verb Tenses 114

Unnecessary Shifts from an Active to a Passive Verb  114

Unnecessary Shifts in Person  114

Parallelism Errors in a List or Series  115

Parallelism Errors in Correlatives  115

Practice Exercise 6: Parallelism 117

Answers – Practice Exercise 6: Parallelism  119

Section 7: Ambiguous Pronouns  120

Practice Exercise 7: Ambiguous Pronouns  121

Answers – Practice Exercise 7: Ambiguous Pronouns  122

Section 8: Other Errors of Grammar  122

Sentence Fragments  122

Double Negatives  123

Omission of Necessary Words  123

Direct and Indirect Questions  126

Like and As  127

Who, Which, and That—Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses  127

Practice Exercise 8: Other Errors of Grammar  128

Part A  128

Part B  129

8: Other Errors of Grammar  130

Part A  130

Part B  131

Section 9: Errors of Diction, Idiom, and Style  132

Diction  132

Fewer/Less, Many/Much, Number/Amount  132

Between/Among  133

Affect/Effect  133

Idiom  133

Style  135

Practice Exercise 9: Errors of Diction, Idiom, and Style  137

Part A  137

Part B  138

Answers – Practice Exercise 9: Errors of Diction, Idiom, and Style  139

Part A  139

Part B  139

Section 10: Punctuation  140

Commas, Semicolons, and Colons  142

Comma  142

Semicolon  143

Colon  143

Other Marks of Punctuation  144

Dash  144

Apostrophe  144

Practice Exercise 10: Punctuation  145

Answers – Practice Exercise 10: Punctuation  148

Vocabulary Skills Review  149

Prefixes  149

Suffixes  150

Roots  151

Grammar and Usage Review Test  151

Answers and Explanations – Grammar and Usage Review Test  157

Chapter 4: English Grammar and Usage Practice Test 161

Answer Sheets  161

Section 1: Sentence Correction – Type 1  161

Section 2: Sentence Correction – Type 2  162

Section 3: Sentence Correction – Type 3  162

Section 4: Improving Paragraphs 163

Section 5: Sentence/Text Completion  163

Section 6: Sentence Equivalence  164

Section 1: Sentence Correction – Type 1 166

Directions  166

Set 1  166

Set 2  168

Set 3  171

Set 4  173

Section 2: Sentence Correction – Type 2 176

Directions  176

Set 1  176

Set 2  180

Set 3  184

Section 3: Sentence Correction – Type 3 188

Directions  188

Set 1: Passages I and II  188

Set 2: Passages III, IV, and V  194

Set 3: Passages VI and VII  200

Set 4: Passages VIII and IX  204

Section 4: Improving Paragraphs  208

Directions  208

Set 1: Passages I and II  208

Set 2: Passages III and IV  214

Set 3: Passage V  218

Section 5: Sentence/Text Completion  221

Directions  221

Set 1  221

Set 2  225

Set 3  228

Set 4  232

Set 5  236

Section 6: Sentence Equivalence  241

Directions  241

Set 1  241

Set 2  245

Set 3  249

Answer Key  253

Section 1: Sentence Correction – Type 1  253

Set 1  253

Set 2  253

Set 3  253

Set 4  253

Correction – Type 2  254

Set 1  254

Set 2  254

Set 3  254

Section 3: Sentence Correction – Type 3  254

Set 1: Passages I and II  254

Set 2: Passages III, IV, and V  255

Set 3: Passages VI and VII  255

Set 4: Passages VIII and IX  255

Section 4: Improving Paragraphs 256

Set 1: Passages I and II  256

Set 2: Passages III and IV  256

Set 3: Passage V  256

Section 5: Sentence/Text Completion  257

Set 1  257

Set 2  257

Set 3  257

Set 4  257

Set 5  258

Section 6: Sentence Equivalence  258

Set 1  258

Set 2  258

Set 3  258

Charting and Analyzing Your Test Results  259

Answers and Explanations  260

Section 1: Sentence Correction – Type 1  260

Set 1  260

Set 2  261

Set 3  261

Set 4  262

Section 2: Sentence Correction – Type 2  263

Set 1  263

Set 2  264

Set 3  265

Section 3: Sentence Correction – Type 3  267

Set 1: Passages I and II  267

Set 2: Passages III, IV, and V  268

Set 3: Passages VI and VII  269

Set 4: Passages VIII and IX  270

Section 4: Improving Paragraphs 271

Set 1: Passages I and II  271

Set 2: Passages III and IV  273

Set 3: Passage V  274

Section 5: Sentence/Text Completion  274

Set 1  274

Set 2  275

Set 3  277

Set 4  278

Set 5  281

Section 6: Sentence Equivalence  283

Set 1  283

Set 2  285

Set 3  287

PART II: READING COMPREHENSION

Chapter 5: Reading Comprehension Review 293

Reading Comprehension Passages  294

Content of Passages  294

Reading Comprehension Questions  294

Specific Types of Questions  297

General Strategies for Success  298

Time Management  298

Directions  299

Section 1 – Brief Passages  299

Suggested Strategies for Brief Passages  300

Question Type: The Writer’s Main Purpose 300

Question Type: Vocabulary in Context  301

Other Specific Types of Questions  302

Question Type: Infer the Writer’s Point of View  302

Question Type: Identify a Summary of Ideas  303

Question Type: Draw Conclusions Based on a Passage’s Contents  303

Question Type: Identify the Main Idea of the Passage  304

Question Type: Envision the Intended Audience for the Passage  305

GRE Question Types  306

Question Type: Select One or More Answers  306

Question Type: Select in Passage  307

GMAT Question Types  308

Question Type: Critical Reasoning  308

Question Type: Plan of Action  309

CBEST Question Types  309

Tables of Contents or Indexes  310

Graphs, Charts, and Tables  311

Passages with Numbered Sentences  312

Question Type: Fact vs Opinion  313

Question Type: Assess the Strengths and Weaknesses of an Argument  314

Question Type: Inserts and Transitions  314

Question Type: Summaries in Outline Form 315

Section 2: Long Passages – Intermediate Difficulty  315

Strategies for Long Passages  316

Question Type: Identify the Writer’s Tone 318

Question Type: Draw Inferences based on the Passage’s Contents  319

Question Type: Envision the Intended Audience  319

Question Type: Draw a Conclusion  320

Question Type: Direct Comprehension  320

Section 3: Paired (Comparative) Reading Passages  321

Description  321

Strategy  321

Section 4: Long Passages – Challenging  324

Question Type: Identify the Writer’s Primary Purpose  326

Question Type: Direct Comprehension  326

Question Type: Understand the Meaning of Words  327

Question Type: Draw a Conclusion  327

Question Type: Make an Inference  328

Question Type: Direct Comprehension  328

How to Mark Passages  329

Answer Sheet for Reading Comprehension Practice Test  331

Section 1: Brief Passages 331

Section 2: Long Passages – Intermediate Difficulty  331

Section 3: Long Passages – Challenging Difficulty 332

Reading Comprehension Practice Test  333

Directions  333

Section 1: Brief Passages 333

Practice Set 1: Brief Passages I, II, III, IV  333

Practice Set 2: Brief Passages V, VI, VII, and VIII  337

Practice Set 3: Passages IX, X, XI, XII, and XIII  340

Section 2: Long Passages – Intermediate Difficulty  344

Practice Set 1: Long Intermediate Passages I and II  344

Practice Set 2: Long Intermediate Passages III and IV  349

Practice Set 3: Long Intermediate Passages V and VI  353

Practice Set 4: Long Intermediate Passages VII and VIII  358

Practice Set 5: Paired Passages IX and X  362

Section 3: Longer Passages – Challenging  367

Practice Set 1: Passages I, II, and III  367

Practice Set 2: Passages IV and V  376

Answer Key for Reading Comprehension Practice Test  383

Section 1: Brief Passages 383

Practice Set 1  383

Practice Set 2  383

Practice Set 3  383

Section 2: Long Passages – Intermediate Difficulty  383

Practice Set 1  383

Practice Set 2  383

Practice Set 3  383

Practice Set 4  383

Practice Set 5  383

Section 3: Long Passages – Challenging  384

Practice Set 1  384

Practice Set 2  384

Answers and Explanations for Reading Comprehension Practice Test  385

Section 1: Brief Passages 385

Practice Set I, Passages I, II, III, and IV  385

Practice Set 2, Passages V, VI, VII, and VIII 385

Practice Set 3, Passages IX, X, XI, XII, and XIII  386

Section 2: Longer Passages – Intermediate Difficulty  387

Practice Set 1: Passages I and II  387

Practice Set 2: Passages III and IV  388

Practice Set 3: Passages V and VI  389

Practice Set 4: Passages VII and VIII  390

Practice Set 5: Passages IX and X  391

Section 3: Long Passages – Challenging  392

Practice Set 1: Passages I, II, and III  392

Practice Set 2: Passages IV and V  393

PART III: WRITING TIMED ESSAYS

Chapter 6: Approaches to Writing Timed Essays 397

Scoring  397

Scoring Guidelines  398

Scoring Criteria  402

General Strategies for Essay Writing  403

Strategies for Specific Types of Essays  404

The Narrative/Descriptive Essay  404

Sample Task 1 – Narrative/Descriptive Essay  405

Overview of Sample Task 1  405

Preparing to Write  406

Writing  408

Proofreading  411

Sample Task 2 – Narrative/Descriptive Essay  412

Overview of Sample Task 2  412

Sample Essay Response – Task 2  413

The Analytical/Expository Essay  414

Sample Task 1 – Analytical/Expository Essay: “Analyze an Issue”  415

Overview of Sample Task 1  415

Sample Essay Response – Task 1  416

Sample Task 2 – Analytical/Expository Essay: “Analyze an Issue”  417

Overview of Sample Task 2  417

Five-Paragraph Essay  418

Analyze an Argument Essay  419

Sample Task 3 – Analytical/Expository Essay: “Analyze an Argument”  419

The Argumentative or Decision Prompt Essay  422

Sample Task 4 – Decision Prompt Essay, “LSAT”  422

Overview of Sample Task 4  423

Sample Task 5 – Argumentative Essay, “ACT”  425

Overview of Sample Task 5  425

Sample Task 6 – Argumentative Essay, “PPST”  427

Overview of Sample Task 6  427

Additional Question Types and Techniques  428

Compare and Contrast Essays  428

Steps to Writing a Successful Essay  429

Essay Writing Practice  429

GRE  430

Sample Topics  430

GMAT  435

Sample Topics  435

LSAT  437

Sample Topics  437

SAT  440

Sample Topics  441

ACT  442

Sample Topics  442

PPST  444

Sample Topics  444

CBEST  445

Sample Topics  445

Essay Response Checklist  447

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  449

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  451

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  453

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  455

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  457

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  459

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  461

How Effectively Does Your Essay…  463