Problem
Each member of a research group visited either the Virgin Islands or Hawaii...
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So What?
Math questions involving two equations and two unknowns can usually be combined into one equation with one unknown.
Petersons.com
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Error Identification Strategies
Error Identification questions present you with a sentence that includes four underlined portions. The sentence may or may not have an error in grammar or word usage. If there is an error, it will be in one of the underlined portions. Choose that letter as your answer. If there is no error, choose E.
Peterson's Technique for Error Identification Questions
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Read the whole sentence.
- Go through the sentence again, concentrating on each underlined portion. Is any underlined portion incorrect? Look for commonly tested errors.
- If you're convinced that there is no error in the sentence, pick choice (E).
Commonly tested errors:
- Subject verb agreement - When you see an underlined verb, always find the subject that goes with it. Then check to see if they match.
- Parallel construction - Parallelism means that matching parts of the sentence look alike. Look for parallel construction when you see a list of two or more verbs, different pronouns that refer to the same person or people, or comparisons.
Example: The campers enjoyed many activities, including swimming, hiking, and to play baseball.
Corrected: The campers enjoyed many activities, including swimming, hiking, and playing baseball.
- Verb tense - When you see an underlined verb, check that the tense matches the rest of the sentence. Remember, you might not catch a verb tense error just by glancing at the underlined piece. You'll need to consider it in the context of the sentence as a whole.
- Pronouns - When you see an underlined pronoun, look carefully not just at the pronoun itself, but also at the noun it replaces. A common pronoun mistake on the test is the use of a pronoun that doesn't match the word that it replaces.
- Adjectives and Adverbs - When you see an underlined adjective or adverb, quickly check to see what word it describes. Remember, adjectives describe nouns, and adverbs (which usually end in -ly ) describe verbs.
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