Written Expression and Language Conventions
What you must understand
This domain checks control of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and clarity. Key concepts: subject–verb agreement, pronoun reference and case, tense consistency, parallel structure, modifier placement, and punctuation - especially commas, semicolons, colons, and apostrophes. You must also recognise run-ons and fragments and choose the most concise, clear phrasing.
Traps to watch
- Interrupting phrases: in "The list of items is long", the verb agrees with list, not items.
- Dangling modifiers: "Walking to school, the rain started" wrongly makes the rain walk.
- Comma splices: two independent clauses joined only by a comma need a semicolon, period, or conjunction.
- Apostrophe confusion: its (possessive) vs it's (it is); their vs they're.
- Wordiness: the shortest grammatically correct option is often best, but never at the cost of clarity.
- Parallelism: lists must match in form - "reading, writing, and to edit" should be "reading, writing, and editing".
Rule of thumb and worked example
Find the subject and verb, strip interrupting phrases, and check agreement. Read options aloud to catch awkwardness.
Example: "Neither the students nor the teacher were ready." With neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject - teacher - so the correct form is was. Similarly, "Each of the players has a locker" (singular each).
When two options are both grammatical, prefer the clearer and more concise one.