PSAT Sample Questions

Writing Skills Section : PSAT Sample Improving Paragraph Questions

Passage 8:

(1) Recently a group of workers from a clothing factory in my hometown picketed peacefully in front of a department store. (2) They carried signs, and passing shoppers were urged by them to buy products that were made in the United States. (3) A newspaper article suggested that they were wrong. (4) It pointed out that nearly all stores now sell goods that are not made in this country. (5) However, I would argue that the demonstrators are right, consumers should think about the effect they can have on industries here in the United States.

Question: In context, which is the best way to revise and combine the underlined portions of sentences 3 and 4 (reproduced below)?

A newspaper article suggested that they were wrong. It pointed out that nearly all stores now sell goods that are not made in this country.

1. A newspaper article suggested that the demonstrators were wrong, pointing out
2. They were wrong, a newspaper article suggested, it pointed out that
3. Suggesting that they are wrong, in a newspaper article it says
4. The newspaper article suggests that the shoppers were wrong,
5. In the newspaper article was the suggestion that they were wrong and

Answer :A

Explanation:
This question asks you to connect two related ideas. Choice (A) is the correct answer. Choice (B) incorrectly and awkwardly connects several independent clauses with a comma. In choices (C) and (E), the pronoun "they" is ambiguous and could refer to either "workers" or "shoppers." Choice (C) also has a structural problem. The opening phrase, "Suggesting that they are wrong," should be immediately followed by the phrase "a newspaper article" that it modifies. Choice (D) may be grammatically correct, but the use of the definite article "The" and the present-tense verb "suggests" in choice (D) is inappropriate in the context of the passage.

The correct sentence reads: A newspaper article suggested that the demonstrators were wrong, pointing out that nearly all stores now sell goods that are not made in this country.