SESSION 18Hard · SEC & EIHandout

Hard Grammar & Expression

The hardest writing questions rarely test a rule you don't know — they hide a rule you do know behind a long, distracting sentence. This session drills the four that trip strong students: misplaced modifiers, broken parallelism, buried subject–verb agreement, and five-bullet synthesis.

Objectives

By the end of this session

  • Fix dangling and misplaced modifiers by naming what the modifier must describe.
  • Restore parallel structure across lists, pairs, and comparisons.
  • Find the true subject through relative clauses and long interrupters.
  • Combine five notes toward a stated goal without dropping required information.
Modifiers

The opener must describe the subject

An introductory phrase modifies whatever noun starts the main clause. If that noun can't logically do the phrase, it dangles. The fix is almost always to change the subject, not the phrase.

DanglingRebuilt after the fire, the architect unveiled the hall. — the architect wasn't rebuilt.
FixedRebuilt after the fire, the hall was unveiled by the architect.
Hard versionThe test buries the opener under a long phrase so the mismatch is easy to miss. Always ask: who or what is doing the opening action? That noun must come right after the comma.
Parallelism

Items in a series share a form

Lists, paired phrases (both… and, not only… but also), and comparisons must keep matching grammatical forms.

  • List of verbs → all the same form: reading, writing, and editing (not …and to edit).
  • Paired correlatives → what follows each half must match: not only quick but also cheap.
  • Comparisons → compare like with like: her style, like that of her teacher (not like her teacher, which compares a style to a person).
Buried agreement

The verb agrees with the subject — not the nearest noun

Strike the relative clause

The set of rules that governs the games is… — "that governs the games" describes set; the subject is still singular set.

Strike the prepositional pile-up

The reliability of the sensors in the older units was… — subject is reliability, not sensors or units.

Re-check inverted and "there" sentences

There remain several questions — the subject questions follows the verb.

Five-bullet synthesis

Use what the goal needs — all of it

Underline the goal's verb

Compare, emphasize, explain a cause, introduce. The verb tells you which bullets are required and which are noise.

Demand every required bullet

A "compare" goal needs facts about both things; the right answer rarely drops one to read smoothly. Smoothness is a trap when it costs required information.

Reject true-but-off-goal choices

With five bullets, three of the four answers are accurate sentences that simply don't accomplish the stated goal. Keep the one that does the job.

ReminderSynthesis answers are almost never wrong on facts. They're wrong on purpose. Judge each choice against the goal, not against the world.
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