SAT · Reading and Writing · Standard English Conventions

Boundaries

Boundaries is part of Standard English Conventions in the SAT Reading and Writing section. The questions below are written in the style of the real test, each with the answer and a worked explanation.

Question types you will see here include comma splice repair, semicolon between independent clauses, colon after a complete clause and commas around a nonessential phrase.

Common traps: comma alone between two independent clauses (comma splice); semicolon followed by a coordinating conjunction; colon after a clause that does not set up an explanation or list.

Sample questions

Question 1
After setting catch limits well above what biologists recommended for decades the Canadian government declared a moratorium on cod fishing in 1992.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  and then
- B.
  ,
- C.
  ; then
- D.
  so
Answer: B. ,
The sentence opens with the introductory prepositional/participial phrase After setting catch limits well above what biologists recommended for decades. An introductory phrase must be followed by a comma before the main clause begins. (B) correctly supplies that comma. And then (A) would create a run-on by adding a coordinating structure rather than properly separating the introductory phrase from the main clause. A semicolon (C) is used between two independent clauses, not after an introductory phrase. So (D) adds a subordinating conjunction that changes the grammatical relationship and leaves the introductory phrase incomplete.
Question 2
The glass tiles in Ravenna's mosaics—each set at a slightly different the light as a viewer walks past.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  angle, catch
- B.
  angle—catch
- C.
  angle; catch
- D.
  angle: catch
Answer: B. angle—catch
The aside opened with a dash after "mosaics", so it must close with a dash: B. A mismatches a dash with a comma, C places a semicolon between the aside and its verb, and D uses a colon in the same spot with no complete clause before it.
Question 3
Early critics dismissed the novel as sentimental and kept it in print for more than a century.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  slow; readers
- B.
  slow; and readers
- C.
  slow readers
- D.
  slow, readers
Answer: A. slow; readers
"Early critics dismissed the novel as sentimental and slow" and "readers kept it in print for more than a century" are both independent clauses. Using a semicolon correctly separates them. A comma alone creates a comma splice, no punctuation creates a run-on (fused) sentence, and a semicolon is not normally followed by the conjunction "and" in this construction.
Question 4
Hip-hop producers who loop fragments of older records build new songs from an archive of build pictures from clippings.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  sound, collage artists
- B.
  sound; and collage artists
- C.
  sound, much as collage artists
- D.
  sound collage artists
Answer: C. sound, much as collage artists
The comma plus "much as" turns the second part into a dependent clause, a legitimate join: (C). (A) is a comma splice. (B) adds a conjunction after a semicolon. (D) fuses two clauses with no punctuation.
Question 5
Designers of Japanese gardens often use a technique called borrowed distant mountain, framed by trees at the garden's edge, seems to belong to the garden itself.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.
  scenery, a
- B.
  scenery. A
- C.
  scenery; and a
- D.
  scenery a
Answer: B. scenery. A
"Designers ... often use a technique called borrowed scenery" is a complete sentence, and so is what follows, so a period is needed (B). A is a comma splice, C pairs a semicolon with "and," and D runs the two sentences together with no punctuation.

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