I went from an 1180 on the PSAT to a 1590 on the SAT and over the past 3 years I've released hundreds of videos

to help students Ace the SAT this video is a completely free digital SAT prep course designed to help you improve as

much as possible in only about 18 hours of prep if you only have 8 hours or less to prep for the digital sat then I

recommend you check out my free 7-hour digital SAT prep course which you can find right here the first 7 and 1/2

hours of this course are actually the same as the free 7-hour course but the rest of this course adds on additional

training and practice for those with more time to prepare as a result I highly recommend this course to anyone

with the time to complete it before their sat while there are time stamps for each section I highly recommend that

you watch the entire course in the order it is presented I also want to note that while reading and writing is a combined

section on the digital sat there are still questions that primarily test your reading abilities and questions that

primarily test your writing abilities therefore at certain points in the course you will notice that I will speak

exclusively about either reading or writing questions put a lot of time effort and planning into this course and

I would greatly appreciate it if you would subscribe and like the video with that being said please enjoy the course

and let's get started with a guide on what you need to know for the writing questions on the digital sat so we have

subject verb agreement as a basic rule the subject and the verb of a sentence must agree in number singular or plural

here's an example the dog barks loudly the subject dog is singular and the verb barks is singular here's a second

example the dogs bark loudly the subject dogs is plural and the verb bark is plural now at this point you may be

wondering how do I know if a verb is singular or plural one trick that can help you is to use what I call the he

they test so as an example we would say he barks so as you can see he is singular and Barks then would be

singular if we were to say um he bark obviously that would not work because he is singular and bark is plural now we

would say they bark okay so as you can see by using he and they you can kind of figure out if a verb is singular or

plural with that being said let's take a look at question number 19 to how we can apply this so we have when writing the

other black girl 2021 novelist zakiah deila Harris Drew on her own experiences working at a publishing office the

award-winning book is Harris's first novel but her writing blank honored before okay in this case we have her

subject or our subject which is writing okay so writing is our subject writing is singular okay so since writing is

singular we need to have a singular verb that matches that so option A were well we would say they were we would not say

he were okay we would say he was and we would say they were so were is plural so we can get rid of a since it's plural

I'll mark that with a p then we have have been well we would say they have been and we would say he has been so as

you can see have been would have to also be plural so we can mark that with a p and then we have has been okay we would

say he has been so as you can see that would be singular we would say they have been okay so we can mark C as a singular

verb if we look at option D we have are we would say they are and we would say he is okay so d would be plural as well

okay so we can go and get rid of that we see our only answer Choice here that is singular is option C and we have to

match the number of our verb to the number of our subject writing is singular so our answer here has to be C

all right let's keep moving we've got indefinite pronouns okay indefinite pronouns such as everyone someone and no

one take singular verbs here's an example everyone has their own opinion the indefinite pronoun here is everyone

and it's singular the verb has is also going to have to be singular example number two no one knows the answer the

indefinite pronoun no one is singular and the verb knows is singular okay now let's talk about

compound subjects when two subjects are joined by and they usually will take a plural verb example of this would be JN

and Sarah are going to the party subjects JN and Sarah are plural so so the verb are must also be plural we

would not say John and Sarah is going to the party because is is singular we would have to use R which is plural

let's take a look at a second example apples and oranges are fruits subjects apples and oranges are plural so the

verb R must be used and keep in mind R is plural is is singular now let's talk about collective nouns collective nouns

represent a group of individuals can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the context however most

commonly collective nouns take a singular verb and I really want you to pay close attention to the fact that

most commonly collective nouns do take a singular verb now collective nouns utilize a singular verb when they act

when the entity acts as a whole in a plural verb when the individual members of The Entity act independently so let's

look at an example of this the team is practicing for the game the team collectively is practicing so the verb

is is singular now in example two the team are in disagreement on the course of action in this case the people on the

team disagree with each other so they are acting independently so the verb is plural okay if we scroll up we can see

that collective nouns will utilize a singular verb when the entity acts as a whole as in example one the team as a

whole is practicing for the game but in example two it's the individual members of The Entity that are acting

independently in order to be in disagreement okay so we would state that the team are in disagreement on the

course of faction now once again I want to stress that most commonly as an example three you will see that

collective nouns will have a singular verb so here's another one Congress is discussing the bill the collective noun

Congress is singular since they are collectively discussing the bill so the verb is must also be uh singular we

would say congress is discussing the bill not Congress are discussing the bill all right now let's talk about

intervening phrases these are words or phrases that come between the subject and the verb do not affect the agreement

okay so an example would be the cat along with its kittens sits by the window the subject here is cat it is not

kittens okay and cat is singular so the verb sits must also be used okay and sits is singular okay we would say he

sits we would say they sit okay so once again you can use that he they test as well if you're not sure if a verb is

singular or plural all right let's take a look at example two the boys as well as their friends are playing soccer

subject is boys which is plural and the verb are is also going to be used since our subject is plural we need to also

have that plural verb all right let's take look at a example question here so we got number

26 the classic children's board game Shoots and Ladders is a version of an ancient nepes game Pera SOA in both

games players encounter good or bad spaces while traveling along a path landing on one of the good spaces then

we have a verb a player to skip ahead and arrive closer to the end goal let's identify the number of our subject so we

have landing on one of the good spaces well on one of the good spaces is a prepositional phrase okay we would

ignore the prepositional phrase when identifying our subject so our subject here is landing okay Landing is going to

be singular so I'm going to mark that with an S for singular now let's identify a through D which ones are

plural and which ones are singular so we have allows well we would say he allows and we would say they allow okay so

allows is singular since we would use it with he but not they if we take a look at B we have are allowing we would state

that they are allowing and he is allowing okay so are right there we have plural next we have have allowed we

would State they have allowed we would State he has allowed so once again C would be plural as well if you look at

option D we would State he allows and we would state that they allow okay so that would be plural there okay we would say

landing on one of the good spaces allows a player to skip ahead and arrive closer to the end goal so as you can see only

option here that's singular for our verb is option A and once again we need to maintain that singularity in both our

subject and our verb they need to match okay so our answer there would have be a all right now let's talk about pronoun

usage okay we have pronoun antecedent agreement a pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent an

example of this would be Sarah lost her keys the feminine pronoun her agrees with the female antecedent Sarah let's

look at example number two the boys finished their homework the plural pronoun their agrees with the plural

antecedent boys okay so pronoun usage there should be fairly simple let's take a look at a question to practice we have

question 19 public awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single-use Plastics can be successful says

researcher Kim Borg of monach University in Australia when these campaigns give C consumers a choice for example Japan

achieved a 40% reduction in plastic bag use after cashiers were instructed to ask customers whether blank wanted a bag

well let's identify our subject okay our subject here would be customers we know customers is plural okay so we scroll

down here so we've got customers which is plural if we look at our options we've got four different pronouns okay

one is singular you is singular and it is singular they is plural we have to maintain um we have to match our number

okay so we can get rid of options B C and D since they would not match in number with our subject okay our subject

is plural that or I'm sorry our noun is plural okay the noun that we're referring to with our pronoun that noun

is plural since our noun is PL plural our pronoun will also need to be plural so our answer there would have to be

answer Choice a all right let's talk about ambiguous pronouns pronouns should have clear antecedence to avoid

confusion here is an incorrect example and as we go through these examples try to pay attention to where I'm giving an

incorrect example versus where I am giving a correct example because otherwise you may end up getting

confused I will try to make it as clear as I can as I go through this so here would be an incorrect example Sarah and

Lisa went shopping and she bought a dress the pronoun she is ambiguous it's not clear whether it refers to Sarah or

Lisa okay so make sure that it's clear who you are referring back to if you are going to use a pronoun now here is a

correct example Tom saw joh and congratulated him okay this one is admittedly not the greatest example but

it still works and here's why when we say that Tom saw John okay Tom is still our subject okay he saw John okay John

is the object of the verb saw okay so Tom saw John and congratulated him okay this is clear that Tom saw John and Tom

is the one congratulating John okay the pronoun him is referring to the antecedent John okay let's look at

another example and this one's a bit more clear I gave Mary the book that she wanted okay the pronoun she refers the

antecedent Mary all right let's go ahead and move on to pronoun case pronouns have

different forms depending on their function in the sentence subjective objective and possessive so here's an

example I went to the store the subjective pronoun I acts as the subject of the sentence so got example two she

gave him the gift the objective pronoun him acts as the object of the verb

gave now let's talk about pronoun reference pronouns should refer clearly and unambiguously to their intended

antecedence here's an example the man who won the race was happy the pronoun who refers to the man who won the race

here's another example the dog that barked is mine the pronoun that refers to the dog that

barked now let's talk about modifier or placement and comparison Mis

modifiers modifiers should be placed near the words they modify to avoid ambiguity or confusion now here's an

incorrect example followed by the correct example I saw a draft with binoculars the modifier with binoculars

should be placed near I okay in this example it should be obvious that there's a mistake because you wouldn't

have a draft that is using binoculars it's the individual I the subject who is actually the one using the binoculars so

we need to move with binoculars in front of I okay so here's how we would correct that with binoculars I saw a draft let's

take a look at example number two okay so once again we'll start with the incorrect example Jon caught the ball

running quickly the modifier running quickly should be placed near Jon it's not the ball that is running quickly

because a ball cannot run it is Jon who is running quickly okay so we need running quickly to refer uh to be placed

next to John so here's how we would correct that we'd State running quickly as an introductory modifier John caught

the ball okay running quickly is being applied to John now let's talk about dangling modifiers modifiers should

clearly modify the intended subject or noun here's an incorrect example after finishing the project the snack was

devoured by John well the snack is not what has finished the project okay a snack cannot finish a project okay JN is

the one who finishes the project so the modifier after finishing the project should modify whoever finished the

project which is John not snack so here's how we could correct that after finishing the project J ate a snack in

this case we clearly have J being uh what comes after this introductory modifier of after finishing the

project all right let's go over another example riding the bike the tree came into view and once again this is an

incorrect example the modifier riding the bike should modify whoever was riding the bike not the tree since a

tree obviously cannot ride a bike so here's how we could correct that riding the bike John noticed the tree came into

view so as we can see we have our modifier modifying um who is actually riding the bike all right let's take a

look at this with a question all right so in 1453 English King Henry V 6 became unfit to rule after falling Gravely ill

as a result Parliament appointed Richard third Duke of York who had a strong claim to the English Throne to rule as

Lord protector upon recovering 2 years later okay so here we have an introductory modifier upon recovering 2

years later well we know the person who fell ill is King Henry okay so we need to have King Henry after this so if you

look at our options we have Henry as what's being modified the reign of Henry it can't be the reign of Henry because

Henry is the one who fell ill so Henry is the one who will recover two years later we have Henry's Reign okay it's

not his Reign that is being modified and it's not it was Henry who resumed his Reign okay it's not it we need to modify

Henry okay Henry needs to be what is immediately after that comma okay so our answer there would have to be a now this

is a pretty common type of question on the digital sat so make sure you understand how to work with these

introductory modifiers all right let's talk about comparative and superlative adjectives adjectives should be used

correctly when comparing two or more items so here's an example this book is taller than that one we're comparing the

height of two books now really what I'm trying to teach right here is pretty simple right if we're comparing two

things we would state that one is taller than the other now let's take a look at example two if we're stating that we're

comparing you know one to many doing a one to many comparison it's not a one to one comparison so in this case an

example two we have she is the smartest student in the class we're comparing the intelligence of students in the class so

this is a one to many comparison we're comparing the one which is she to all of the students in the class so we would

State she is the smartest student in the class all right parallel comparisons comparisons should be parallel in

structure here's an example she likes to run swim and Hike Okay so this one isn't really a comparison this one's just a

list of activities so we want to maintain parallelism we would not say she likes to run swimming and hiked

right we would want to maintain parallelisms to this so she likes to run swim and Hike example two the company is

efficient reliable and customer oriented this is a parallel list of qualities of the company now let's talk about double

comparisons avoid using two comparative forms in the same sentence so this kind of goes back to the school example so an

incorrect example would be she is more talented than any other student in the school okay now a much better way to say

this would be she is the most talented student in the school as you can see it cuts down on the wordiness and also

since we're doing a on to many comparison okay we would want to state that she is the most talented student in

the school not that she is more talented than any other student in the school okay because that just adds on wordiness

we want to be as concise as we can so our answer there would have to be she is the most talented student in the school

all right now let's talk about parallel ISM parallel structure in list items in a list should be presented in parallel a

form we've kind of talked about this already but I want to go a little bit further with it so we have as an example

he likes to read write and listen to music okay so parallel list of activities read write and listen the

chef prepared a delicious appetizer main course in dessert this is a parallel list of dishes now let's talk about

parallel structure in comparison so this is where we get into that comparisons that we didn't really touch on as much

earlier when making comparisons the elements being compared should have parallel structures here's an example

the company is as successful as it is innovative we're comparing success and Innovation which are two um two

qualities that can describe uh the company all right example two she is not only a talented singer but also a

skilled dancer okay we're comparing talent in singing and dancing now you want to pay attention to that structure

you want to maintain parallel structure so let's talk about parallel structure and clauses Clauses should maintain par

structure to enhance Clarity and coherence example once again we have parallel list of activities she likes to

swim to run and to play tennis so now we have to swim to run and to play okay now I know I'm stressing parallelism a lot

that's because it's pretty important on the digital SAT writing section I will um I will say that compared to the paper

sat it seems like parallelism has been um showing up a little bit less often on the digital SAT practice test than it

did on the paper sat um but that's just something that I've noticed um anyway let's talk about example number two he

wants to travel to explore and to experience new cultures we have a parallel list of desires all right now

let's talk about verb tenses proper use of verb tenses verb tenses indicate the time at which an action takes place it

is important to use the appropriate verb tense to convey the correct time frame all right so let's talk about the future

simple tense I will go to the party tomorrow this is future simple tense indicates a future action let's talk

about example number two they have already finished their homework this is present perfect tense it indicates an

action completed in the past with a present result now let's talk about sequencing events verb tenses help to

indicate the chronological order of events choose the appropriate verb tense to accurately represent the sequence of

actions here's an example she finished her meal and then paid the bill this is past simple tense it indicates actions

completed in the past another example he had left before I arrived this is past perfect tense it indicates an action

completed before another past action okay so the first past action that's completed is he had left okay and then

the next past action would be before I arrived okay so I arrived now let's talk about consistency in verb tenses

maintaining consistency in verb tenses throughout a sentence or paragraph helps to ensure Clarity and coherence and this

is something that is commonly tested on the SAT writing section so you do really want to pay attention to this part right

here so let's talk about an example she walks to work every day and always arrives on time this is present simple

tense it indicates a habitual action the way you might see this tested on the digital SAT writing section would be

that arrives would be an answer option and it would be left blank on the digital writing section so you would

have she walks to work every day and always blank on time and you would have to recognize that you have walks as your

verb tense in the sentence and you have to match the verb tense then of your answer Choice which would be arrives

here so that's one of the ways that you could see this tested let's give another example the team played well but they

lost the game this is past simple tense and indicates a past event so once again the way you would likely see this tested

is lost or played might be left out as a blank and then you'd have to recognize your verb that is left so in this case

let's say that loss was left out as a blank you would recognize you have played which is the past simple tense

and then you would need to select your answer choice that represents the past uh simple tense as well all right let's

talk about more complex verb tenses so we have future perfect the future perfect tense is used to express an

action that will be completed before a specific point in the future an example would be by this time next year I will

have graduated from college future perfect tense is indicating an action completed in the future before another

future event all right let's talk about the conditional tense the conditional tense

is used to express actions that are dependent on a condition or hypothetical situations an example is if it rained we

would have stayed indoors so once again this is conditional tense expresses a hypothetical situation okay in this case

the hypothetical situation is if it rained past perfect tense the past perfect tense is used to express an

action completed before another past action or a specific point in the past an example is she had already finished

the book before the movie was released once again this is past perfect tense indicates an action completed before

another past event let's talk about the conditional perfect okay conditional perfect tense is used to express

hypothetical actions that would have been completed under certain conditions an example is if they had studied harder

so that is the hypothetical um action they would have passed the exam so conditional perfect tense expresses a

hypothetical situation in the past so the condition here is if they had studied

harder then what would have happened is they would have passed the exam so once again the condition if they had studied

harder what would have happened is they would have passed the exam so there's the conditional perfect now we have the

present perfect continuous present perfect continuous tense is used to express ongoing actions that started in

the past and continue into the present an example is they have been playing tennis all morning so once again this is

present perfect continuous continuous tense indicates an ongoing action starting in the past and continuing into

the present okay so they began okay this action start started in the past they began playing tennis in the past and

it's continuing into the present they have been playing tennis all morning past perfect continuous the past perfect

continuous tense is used to express ongoing actions that started and continued in the past before another

past event an example is he had been working at the company for five years before he was promoted okay so once

again we are expressing ongoing actions that started and continued in the past before another past event okay so he had

started working at the company before this past event okay so he started and continued working at the company four or

five years before he was promoted which is the past event all right by understanding the nuances of different

verb tenses you can accurately convey the time frame sequence and continuity of events in your writing all right

let's talk about sentence structure so let's start with runon sentences and runon sentences are very commonly tested

on the digital SAT writing section so you do need to pay close attention here you want to avoid runon sentences by

properly separating independent clauses and we'll talk about how to do that later on okay so let's take a look at a

couple examples first so we have I walked to the store comma and I bought some groceries I walked to the store is

an independent clause I bought some groceries is another independent clause we can connect two independent clauses

with a comma and one of the Fanboys which are for and nor but or yet and so all right let's talk about uh or next

example she studied hard for the test but she still failed okay so she studied hard for the test it's an independent

clause and then we have a comma and one of the Fanboys in this case but and then we have she still failed which is also

an independent clause okay let's go ahead and move on to commas spes okay do not use a comma to join two

independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction or appropriate punctuation

here's an incorrect example I studied all night I passed the exam here we have a comma splice because we are trying to

connect two independent clauses with only comma and without one of the Fanboys okay so that's an incorrect

here's how we can correct that we would State I studied all night comma and I pass the exam now a second incorrect

example would be he ran fast he lost the race he ran fast as an independent clause he lost the race as an

independent clause here's how we could correct this he ran fast comma but he lost the race so let me quickly touch on

how you can kind of know when to use which coordinating conjunctions and if you hear coordinating conjunctions just

think the Fanboys okay the Fanboys are the most common examples of coordinating conjunctions okay so how would we know

to use but here instead of something like so or yet well he ran fast if he ran fast we would expect him to win the

race but he lost the race so this is a contrast what would be expected so we could use but in this case let's take a

look at fragments so you want to ensure that sentences have a subject and a verb and are not incomplete once again you

want your sentences to be complete so let's look at an incorrect example after finishing the race okay this would be a

sentence fragment it is not a complete idea it is not a complete sentence if we look at the correct version of that it

would be after finishing the race I felt tired I felt tired is an independent clause okay after finishing the race is

referring to I okay so that's a complete sense let's look at incorrect example number two running towards the Finish

Line okay we don't know who is running towards the Finish Line this isn't a complete thought if we look at how we'

correct that we would have running towards the Finish Line I felt exhilarated okay in this case we are

referring to I we are modifying I all right looking at D dependent clauses dependent clauses can't stand alone as

complete sentences and must be attached to an independent clause okay let me zoom in okay so dependent clauses can't

stand alone as complete sentences must be attached to an independent clause an example of this although it was raining

hard or although it was raining they went for a walk okay although it was raining is a dependent clause okay it

cannot stand alone as a complete sentence all right example number two when the bell rings class ends when the

bell rings is the dependent clause there okay it cannot stand on its own as a sentence now let's talk about

independent clauses independent clauses can stand alone as complete sentences an example would be I went to the store

that is a complete thought it's complete idea has a subject and a finite verb if we look at example number two the Sun

was shining brightly okay that is also a complete sentence now let's talk about sentence

logic and Clarity eliminating redundancy this is something that was very very commonly

tested on the paper writing section uh now that the SAT has moved digital I haven't been seeing it tested quite as

much but it is still something that's important to know okay you have eliminating redundancy remove

unnecessary repetition in sentences to improve Clarity and conciseness so here is an incorrect

example and there's a few of these that I'll go over so starting with I saw him with my own eyes with my own eyes is

redundant if I say I saw him the only way I can do that is with my own eyes so You' correct that by just stating I saw

him okay now here's two other examples that I think are a little bit more similar to what you could see on the SAT

writing section so one option would be I ran home to Megan Megan is my sister eliminate the redundancy of saying Megan

back to back okay so here's how we could do that we would State I ran home to Megan comma my sister okay my sister is

describing who Megan is and by doing this we're able to repeat stating Megan back to back so we can get rid of that

we can also eliminate having to use is by just using that comma here's another incorrect example the teacher explained

the concept briefly in a short manner okay briefly and in a short manner mean the same thing so we would only want to

use one of those and the most concise way to do that would be to get rid of in a short Manner and just say briefly so

as you can see in the correcting example we could State the teacher explained the concept

briefly let's talk about Clarity of pronoun reference you want to ensure that pronouns have clear and unambiguous

antecedence so we've kind of already touched on this let's just go over it again okay an incorrect example would be

after Sarah told Rachel the bad news she was very upset it's unclear if she refers to Sarah or Rachel the corrected

example would be after Sarah told Rachel the bad news Rachel was very upset okay here's two more correct examples John

gave the book to Mary and she read it the pronoun it refers to the book the pronoun she will refer back to

Mary all right another example would be the dog followed its owner wagging its tail happily obviously the dog would be

what's referring to by its logical comparison you want to make logical and meaning comparisons in sentences and

what this is really talking about is you want to make sure you're comparing like to like so as an example apples are

healthier than Donuts we're comparing food to food an example two the flight was longer than the duration of the

sunset okay in this case it's presumed that we're talking about the flight's duration we're comparing that to the

duration of the sunset okay if we look at option C or example C Sweden's obesity rate is less than that of the

United States and example three is one that I think is really important to highlight okay when we say Sweden's

obesity rate is less than that of the United States the key part I want you to pay attention to here is that we

included that of if we were to say Sweden's obesity rate is less than the United States that's not as good as if

we State Sweden's obesity rate is less than that of the United States because by adding that of okay we know that

we're referring to the obesity rate of the United States which is more clear than if we just say Sweden's obesity

rate is less than the United States all right let's talk about appropriate word choice you want to use words that

accurately convey the intended meaning in a sentence an example is the book he purchased was truly captivating the word

captivating accurately describes the engaging nature of the book now on the digital sat you'll more commonly see

word choice questions like this show up actually towards the um on the on the digital SAT practice test it's been

towards the beginning of the sections and it's also in my opinion um categorized more so in actually the

reading section because it's more so about the word in context but I did still want to touch on it here because

you do still need to understand words in context in order to be able to answer questions on the writing section now

some of you guys may be wondering at this point you know what's the difference sort of between reading and

wri writing on the digital sat since they're all sort of combined into the same section and it's really just about

the classification of the different questions so some questions can be classified more as reading questions

even though it's within the reading and writing section which is now combined section and some questions can be more

confined um to testing your writing abilities so when I'm talking about writing questions I'm talking about

questions that are specifically designed to test your writing ability when I talk about reading questions I'm talking

about reading questions that are specifically designed to test your reading comprehension your understanding

of words and context and things like that um so even though they are combined into the same sections they do there are

still questions that are more so testing writing and some that are more so testing reading but anyways here's

example number two it was an incredibly grueling Marathon the word grueling conveys the extreme difficulty and

exhaustion associated with the marathon next we have idioms indiction prepositions so let's talk about the

appropriate use of idioms you want to use idiomatic expressions correctly to convey the intended meaning an example

would be she passed away it's an idiomatic expression for she died they got along well that's an idiomatic

expression for they had a good relationship I'll talk about correct preposition choice and this is what um

you might see more commonly on the digital SAT writing section so using the correct preposition in phrases and

expressions an example would be she is afraid of spiders okay the preposition here would be afraid of so you could

have options that are um afraid in um afraid with but obviously you would state that she is afraid of spider so

when we're talking about preposition choice this is the way that um it could show up so example two is I am

interested in playing the piano okay so in this case we are looking at in okay interested in playing the piano okay so

the proposition there would be in um and then let's talk about uh proper use of prepositional phrases so something that

is just generally very useful to recognize on the digital SAT writing section is prepositional phrases I've

already kind of talked about how you need to get get rid of them when you're determining your subject um which is

helpful for matching the number of the subject to the number of your verb uh using prepositional phrases accurately

to provide additional information about the subject or object of a sentence an example this would be the cat is sitting

on the chair so on the chair is the prepositional phrase she walked through the forest through the forest would be

the prepositional phrase there now I can talk about punctuation apostrophes you want to use apostrophes to indicate

possession or contraction an example would be John's car is old we have an apostrophe for possession since the car

belongs to John next we have it's raining outside this is an apostrophe used for contraction because it's in

this case is it is we would say it is raining outside example three the children's toys were scattered all over

the room this is an apostrophe being used for plural possession children is already plural so we would add on the

apostrophe s to indicate that it's possessive of the toys example four these are the cats bows okay cats with

an S is the plural version of cat then we need to add an apostrophe onto the end of that to indicate that it is the

cats bows okay there is a possessive relationship there if you look at example number five we're going to the

park this is an apostrophe for contraction the contraction would be we are to were if you look at example six

they're my best friends this is an apostrophe for contraction they being the contraction of they are now let's

talk about semicolons and periods this is something that's obviously very important to understand uh so we have

use semicolons to separate independent clauses or or or to separate items in a series that already contain commas okay

and you are going to see kind of both of these uses on the digital SAT writing section you want to use periods at the

end of a complete sense so an example would be I went to the store with a semicolon I bought some milk and bread

okay so we have two independent clauses that we're connecting with a semicolon so semicolon separates independent

clauses example number two my best friends are John who is a lawyer Mary who is a nurse and Tom who is a teacher

in this case we have a semicolon separating items in a series that already contain commas so as you can see

we state name comma and then occupation who is a lawyer Mary comma who is a nurse Tom comma who is a teacher so in

this case within the list itself we have commas so we' actually use semicolons to separate each item in that list example

three I haven't been feeling well I think I might have the flu so we would use a semicolon to separate these two

independent clauses look at example four the museum exhibit includes paintings from go the Dutch artist Monae the

French impressionist and climp the Australian symbolist okay in this case semicolon separates items in a series

that already contain commas okay so if we scroll up example four is similar to example two example number five she

couldn't make it to the party she was caught up with work so in this case we're splitting up two independent

clauses with a period if you look at example six the weather was perfect for a walk it was mildly Sunny with a cool

breeze we're using a period to separate two independent clauses there as well all right let's give an example here

with question number 23 John Henson director of language revitalization program of the Chickasaw Nation in

Oklahoma help produce the world's first indigenous language instructional app Chickasaw blank and then we have

Chickasaw TV in 2010 and a Rosetta Stone language course in 2015 so what you'll see here is we have this list and we are

using a comma before we State the date okay so we have comma before we State the date so if we scroll down to our

answer choices we need to look for one that has a comma before we State the date so we can get rid of A and B since

they use semicolons here and here then if we look at the differences between C and D we see that the differences are

right here whether or not we use a semicolon or comma after the year now if we scroll up we see that after the year

we are using a semicolon okay we're using a semicolon to split up this list of items where comma is used with each

item okay so after 2019 we need to have that semicolon okay so our answer there would have to be

C all right let's talk about common you want to use commas to separate items in a series after introductory phrases to

set off non-essential Clauses or phrases and to separate coordinate adjectives an example is I bought apples oranges and

bananas at the store a comma separates the items in a series example two however comma they still manage to win

the game a comma after an introductory phrase is what we're using there all right colons you want to use

colons to introduce a list to separate Clauses when the second Clause explains or amplifies the first or to introduce a

quote or example so here's an example the ingredients for the recipe are flour sugar eggs and milk in this case we have

a colon introducing a list example two he had one thought in mind to succeed in this case we have a colon separating

Clauses example number three we have her dream was simple yet profound to travel the world and discover herself in the

process in this case the colon introduces a clause that elaborates and explains the dream mentioned in the

preceding clause in example three and example one are really the two best examples of what you could see for the

use of a colon on the digital SAT writing section in particular example three okay but both of them are really

the way that you would kind of see this show up on the on the digital SAT writing section so uh example three is

one that I want to talk a little bit more about so let's just go and discuss it her dream was simple yet profound to

travel the world and discover herself in the process if your second Clause is illustrating explaining or describing

what came before it that's a very common case where you're going to want to use a colon okay so I want to I want to really

focus in on that that when your second Clause explains or amplifies the first that's a situation where you're going to

want to use a colon all right let's talk about dashes so you'll use dashes to set off parenthetical elements or to

emphasize certain words or phrases example would be the car dash a bright red sports car-h caught everyone's

attention Okay in this case a bright red sports car is non- essential you could State the car caught everyone's

attention and it doesn't change the meaning of the sentence if we look at example two she was determined Against

All Odds to finish the race okay in this case we are emphasizing Against All Odds all right if we take a look at

adjectives and adverbs we want to know proper use of adjectives so you use adjectives to describe or modify nouns

an example would be she wore a beautiful dress to the party in this case the adjective beautiful is describing the

noun dress another example would be the tall building can be seen from miles away the adjective tall is describing

the noun building let's talk about proper use of adverbs so you'll use adverbs to modify verbs adjectives or

other adverbs an example would be he ran quickly to catch the bus the adverb quickly is modifying the verb ran

another example would be she spoke softly to avoid waking the baby the adverb softly is modifying the verb

spoke let's talk about word pairs so we need to know commonly confused words so use appropriate words and avoid common

mistakes in word usage so let's talk about a few examples and then I have a list that I'll kind of run through of

some commonly confused words so we have example one their dog is friendly this is the correct possessive pronoun okay

so it's t h i r when you want a possessive pronoun now in contrast if we look at example number two we have

they apostrophe re e going to the party okay they're going to the party this is a contraction of they are so you need to

understand the difference between t h e i and t e y apostrophe re e this is a contraction for they are let's look at

example one again we have accept the invitation to agree to something okay so the version of accept with an a at the

start if we look at example two we have except for him except with an E here everyone attended the meaning now except

ex CT is excluding someone let's look at our next example your advice is helpful well in this case we have the noun

advice if you look at example number two I advise with an S not a c you to listen to his instruction okay this is a verb

all right so now we have a list of word pairs that you should know which I'll quickly go over we have accept versus

except which I discussed above effect which is to influence versus effect which is a result compliment which is

something that completes versus complement which is praise for example I give a compliment to someone when I say

I like their shoes next we have elicit which is to draw out versus illicit which is forbidden by law its which is a

possessive form of it versus it apostrophe s it's which is a contraction of it is we have principal which is main

versus the principle or versus principle which is a fundamental belief or rule so example would be life principles right

fundamental beliefs about life stationary not moving stationary writing materials then used in comparisons then

at a time or at that time their T he i r possessive form of they uh there t h e re e is in that place and there th h e y

apostrophe re e which is a contraction of they are two is a preposition two which is also or excessively and then

two which is the number your which is a possessive form of you and your with an apostrophe r e which is a contraction of

you are let's talk about who which and whom we have the proper use of who versus whom you use who to refer to the

subject of a sentence and whom to refer to the object of a verb or preposition so an example is who is the man who

fixed my car well the subject of the verb fixed example two to whom should I address the letter the object of the

preposition to all right so let's talk about the he him trick this is really what I want to use to highlight the who

versus whom because it makes things a bit simpler it can help you determine

whether to use who or whom in a sentence so let's use example number one okay so if the answer to this question could be

he then we'll use who if the answer to the question could be him then we'll use whom okay so who is the man who fixed my

car well we could State he is the man who fixed my car okay so we would State who instead of whom okay so ask a

question who fixed my car the answer is he fixed my car so we would use who example number two to whom should I

address the letter well we can ask the question should I address the letter to him we wouldn't State should I address

the letter to to he we would say should I address the letter to him so because of that we would want to use whom there

okay so that's the that is the the he him test that you can use okay so once again that's the the he him test all

right using the he him trick makes it easier to decide whether to use who or whom based on the role the word plays in

the sentence proper use of which you use which to introduce nonrestrictive Clauses and that to

introduce restrictive Clauses so when you think non-restrictive versus restrictive another way to think about

that is essential versus non-essential so if we take a look at example one the car which is red belongs to John if we

were to remove which is red we would have the car belongs to John that doesn't substantially change the meaning

of the sentence okay so that's fine if you look at option two or example two the car that is red belongs to John well

this is restricted because we are restricting the car to the one that is red okay we're not just stating the car

belongs John we are stating the card that is red so presumably this is in a series of multiple cars of different

colors and we are stating it is the one that is red so this is restrictive to just the car that is red okay so that's

the difference between non-restrictive and restrictive all right let's talk about

distinguishing between these two understand the difference between Clauses that are necessary for

understanding the sentence and those that provide additional information example one the book that she borrowed

is on the Shelf okay that she borrowed is restrictive it's restricting which book it is it is the book that she

borrowed you look at example two her car which is blue is parked outside this is non-restrictive we are just adding in

more information but we're not restricting which car it is if we were to State her car that is blue as parked

outside then we would be restricting car but we're not in this case we're just providing additional information so it's

non-essential all right let's talk about transitions using transition words and phrases effectively use transitional

words and phrases to create coherence and a smooth flow between ideas and paragraphs example one first we went to

the store then we went to the park okay so first would be a transition here and then we have then so we're indicating a

sequential progression example two however some people disagree with this Viewpoint in this case we are providing

a contrast with however we want to coherently connect ideas and paragraphs ensure that ideas and paragraphs are

logically connected to maintain coherence in writing example number one the first reason for this decision is

financial okay so we're stating the first reason and then we have additionally it aligns with our

long-term goals so we are providing a second reason therefore we would use additionally because we're adding on

look at example exle two in conclusion there are several factors consider when making this decision so in conclusion

would be our transition there we want to maintain a smooth flow logical progression and writing okay and I'll go

over a bunch of transitions I want you to know uh in a bit here but for now let's keep talking organize ideas and

sentences to ensure a logical progression smooth flow of information so to begin with we analyze the data

next we identifi the trends finally we drew conclusions so in this case since we would start with to begin with and we

have next an example Le question that you could see is you would have to answer what transition should be here

you would notice that we are going in a sequence so you would want to use finally if we are at the last part of

that sequence okay we drew conclusions example two moreover it is important to consider the potential

consequences before taking action so in that case that' be something that we are adding on to all right so here's some

common SAT writing transitions along with example sentences so first off let's start by talking about

introductory so examples would be to begin with first and foremost in the first place initially so an example

would be initially we conducted a thorough analysis of the data next let's talk about addition and continuation

this is very common additionally furthermore moreover in addition two also moreover so an example would be

furthermore the results of the study support our hypothesis let's talk about contrast

another very common one we have however on the other hand conversely nevertheless nonetheless yet instead and

in contrast okay in contrast is a very common one same with however so in this case for our example we have however

some people may hold a different viewpoint on this issue so a different Viewpoint than what was discussed

previously so that would indicate to us that we would be looking for a contrast there next let's talk about cause and

effect so we would state in our previous sentence that we had some sort of cause and then in the sentence that we were

transitioning to we have our effect so as a result stating as a result of what came before consequently as a

consequence of what came before therefore thus for this reason hence so consequently so as a consequence of

what came before thus what came after consequently the company experienced a significant growth so

before this we would probably expect to have something like the company changed um its leadership to focus on growth or

something like that and then as a result of them changing the leadership the company experienced significant growth

all right sequence and time uh this one's also fairly common so you would use this if you are going in sort of a

progression so we have next then sub quently or in other words what came after or you know the next thing uh

afterward meanwhile simultaneously simultaneously be at the same time finally eventually ultimately an example

would be afterward we proceeded to analyze the gathered data all right now let's talk about how you would

transition if you are giving an example so you would use for instance to illustrate specifically a case in point

as an example to demonstrate an example of this would be four instance so you you will often see for instance or for

example those are probably the two most common versions of this so for instance many successful companies started as

small startups okay so before this we could have some sort of claim that um successful companies don't just arise

from spin-offs of large corporations and then we say for instance many successful companies started as small startups

obviously small startups is different from a spin-off from a major corporation okay so we'd be providing an example to

that claim all right question number or number seven comparing and contrasting so we've already kind of talked about

contrasting in this case we'll talk about comparing there are some in here that are kind of repeats from

contrasting but um this is kind of two very similar things so I did categorize them together so we have similarly okay

so something similar to what came before likewise pretty much the same similar layer if something's like what came

before it in the same way very similar to the first two on the contrary so this would be contrast however which is a

contrast conversely which is a contrast in contrast which is obviously a contrast and then on the other hand

which is also a contrast okay in this case likewise we are doing something that's similar okay so likewise the

second study also found users preferred option A to option b so presumably the sentence that came before it would be

something stating that we had study a or the first study found users preferred option A to option b okay and then we're

stating likewise the second study also found users preferred option A to option b all right summary and

conclusion so in conclusion to sum up overall in summary okay so an example would be in conclusion the findings

strongly support our hypothesis so you would use the if you are coming to a conclusion or you are stating a summary

of what came before all right emphasis okay some examples of emphasis would be indeed okay indeed is probably the most

common example of emphasis you have notably specifically in fact and particularly an example would be indeed

the data supports the hypothesis that was initially proposed finally we have a comparison of

options some examples would be whereas okay so we State something that came before it and then we have another

option we would State whereas option for an example would be we would say option one is a mediocre option whereas option

two is a superior option next we have in contrast to so once again that can also be used as a comparison of two different

things on the other hand once again that can also be used as a comparison and as a as a

contrast alternatively okay You' provide some sort of alternative something that came before it and then conversely which

once again can be used as a contrast as well okay an example would be alternatively we can consider a

different approach to solve this problem remember transitions are not just words or phrases to be inserted randomly in

your writing okay they need to actually serve a purpose okay they serve a signpost to guide your Reader through

your ideas helping to create a logical and coherent flow all right lastly let's talk about subjunctives subjunctives are

used to express hypothetical or unreal situations wishes recommendations and emotions here's a more detailed

explanation of when and how to use subjunctives all right number one use of were and hypothetical statements in

hypothetical or contrary to fact situations use were instead of was after the pronouns I he she and it okay

example one if I were a bird I would fly freely in the sky we wouldn't state if I was a bird we would state if I were a

bird I would fly freely in the sky okay keep in mind this is a hypothetical obviously I am not a bird if you look at

example two she speaks as if she were the queen okay once again this is hypothetical as if okay she's not

actually the queen so we State she speaks as if she were the queen okay keep in mind that this is different from

what You' expect respect when you're just straight up matching the number of your verb to the number of your subject

because obviously if we were just doing that we would State she was but we have to take account for the fact that this

is a subjunctive we are in a hypothetical okay as if she were the queen she's not actually the queen this

is hypothetical so we have to keep in mind that we need to use were instead of was after the pronouns I he she and it

all right number two use use of the base form of the verb after certain verbs after certain verbs of recommendation

request suggestion or necessity use the base form of the verb infinitive without to to express the subjunctive mood an

example would be it is important that he arrive on time once again this is a this is a difference from when you are just

strictly matching the number of your subject to the number of your verb if we would State he arrives and we would

State they arrive but because we are in the subjunctive we would state it is important that he arrive on time so once

again you need to pay close attention to if you're in the subjunctive or if you are not example number two the teacher

insisted that we study for the exam okay now let's talk about the use of past subjunctive form for wishes or

desires so when expressing wishes or desires about unreal or unlikely situations in the past or in the present

or past use the subjunctive form of the verb I wish I were taller it would be an example of that example two she wish she

wishes she had studied harder for the test all right number four use of War to for unlikely or hypothetical future

events to indicate unlikely or hypothetical future events used the phrase War to followed by the base form

of the verb now if you are someone who grew up in the US um and who you know spoke English you know throughout their

childhood this should come pretty naturally okay an example would be if it were to rain tomorrow we would have we

would have to cancel the picnic okay so once again we are in that hypothetical okay and in this case we're in the

hypothetical future event okay if it were to rain tomorrow future we would have to cancel the picnic suppose I were

to win the lottery what would you do once again this would be a hypothetical future event okay if I were suppose I

were to win the lottery that's future and hypothetical we say I were to okay it's important to use subjunctives

carefully and appropriately in formal writing subjunctives are often used in more formal or literary text and can add

depth and Nuance to your writing by understanding when and how to use subjunctives you can effectively convey

hypothetical situations wishes recommendations and emotions in your writing all right this SAT writing guide

covers the various aspects of grammar sentence structure word use punctuation and coherence in writing it's important

to study and understand these rules in order to improve writing skills and achieve a higher score on the SAT

writing section and I will add on to that that it's important to practice and get practice and Reps under your belt

seeing these questions and applying what was covered here now let's talk about how to approach different types of SAT

writing questions by knowing which approach you want to use for certain questions you'll be able to be more

efficient and comfortable when taking the test here's how I recommend that you approach questions on the digital SAT

writing section that ask you to complete the text so it conforms to the conventions of Standard English

what I want you to do is take a look at your answer choices first and identify what you ultimately need to discover or

identify as you do your initial read through in order to answer the question so in this case when we glance at our

answer choices we see that they are all pronouns they one you and it are all pronouns so now what I'm going to do is

as I do by read through I'm going to be looking for what the noun is that I'd be replacing with this pronoun so let's go

ahead and read through we have public awareness campaigns about the need to reduce single euse Plastics can be

successful says researcher Kim Borg of monach University in Australia when these campaigns give consumers a choice

for example Japan achieved a 40% reduction in plastic bag use after cashiers were instructed to ask

customers whether and now we have a pronoun here blank wanted a bag Well we'd be asking the customers whether

they want a bag okay and as you can see customers is plural and since customers is plural the pronoun that replaces it

cannot be singular so our answer would have to be a since that is the only pronoun out of a c and d which is plural

so as you can see by recognizing what we need to identify during our read through we're able to be more efficient on the

writing section here's a second example of how I recommend approaching questions that ask you to complete the text so it

conforms the conventions of Standard English so same approach you're going to start by looking at your answer choices

identify what the difference is between all of them in this case we see its punctuation so now what we're going to

be looking for as we go through the text and read it is do we have an independent clause before this punctuation do we

have an independent clause after it what kind of phrase or Clause do we have after it what kind of phrase or Clause

do we have before it so you have in ancient Greece an epicurian was a follower of epicurus a philosopher whose

beliefs revolved around the pursuit of pleasure epicurus defined pleasure as the absence of pain in the body and of

trouble in the soul okay so that's an independent clause next we have positing that all of life that all life's virtues

derived from this absence that is not an independent clause okay that's a participle phrase now one thing you can

note is that if you have something that or a phrase that ends in or if you have a word that ends in ing or Ed that

starts off a phrase okay there's a decent chance you might be looking at a participle phrase so understand that so

in this case we have this ing okay so that's indicative that you should be looking for a participle phrase and in

this case we do have one now a par participle phrase is not an independent clause since it's not an independent

clause we can get rid of D next between B and C we see that one uses a colon one uses a semicolon however when you're

connecting a participial phrase to a main Clause you would either use a comma an M Dash or no punctuation if it's inte

if it's already integrated okay so you would not be using a colon or a semicolon in this case we use a comma

which is perfect okay so our answer would have to be a so once again key thing to recognize with a question like

this which is just the question type of complete the text or conforms the conventions of Standard English Begin by

taking a look at your answer choices identify the differences identify what you need to look for before you do your