TACHS: Written Expression

What the Written Expression subtest asks

TACHS Written Expression tests standard edited English: grammar, usage, punctuation, sentence structure, and the organization and clarity of short paragraphs. Items typically ask you to choose the best version of an underlined portion or to pick the sentence that best improves a paragraph.

Core rules

• Make subject and verb agree across interrupting phrases: "The box of old letters (was/were) on the shelf" takes was.
• Keep pronoun reference unambiguous; a pronoun with two possible antecedents should be replaced by a noun.
• Hold tense steady unless the meaning requires a shift.
• Place modifiers next to what they describe.
• Join two independent clauses with a comma plus a conjunction or with a semicolon-never a bare comma.
• Prefer the shortest version that preserves all the original meaning; test each choice by whether it changes the sense.

Worked example

Original: "Walking to school, the rain soaked Maya's jacket." The opening phrase describes Maya, but the sentence makes "the rain" the walker-a dangling modifier. Revision: "As Maya walked to school, the rain soaked her jacket." Second example: "The team practiced daily, they wanted to win the championship." Two independent clauses joined by only a comma form a comma splice. Best fix: "The team practiced daily because they wanted to win the championship."

Traps that cost marks

• Picking the fanciest wording; correct answers are often plain.
• Fixing one error while creating another, such as repairing a run-on with another comma.
• Deleting a phrase that carries needed meaning just to shorten the sentence.
• Missing transitional logic: a paragraph needs "however" when the next sentence contrasts, not "therefore."