Language Study
Core concepts
Sentence grammar: subjects and predicates, phrases versus clauses, the four sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex), and the punctuation that joins or separates clauses. Usage: subject–verb agreement across interrupting phrases, pronoun–antecedent agreement and case (who/whom, I/me), tense consistency, and modifier placement. Word study: morphology (roots, prefixes, suffixes), context clues, connotation versus denotation, register and formality, and semantic relationships such as synonym, antonym, and homophone.
Traps
The test rewards reading the whole sentence, not the nearest word. Agreement errors hide behind prepositional phrases: "The box of ornaments is heavy." Modifier errors appear at sentence openings - "Walking to the store, the rain began" implies the rain was walking. Punctuation items turn on telling a comma splice from a correct semicolon or colon. Word-choice items usually hinge on connotation: thrifty and stingy share a denotation but not a tone; childlike and childish differ the same way. Register matters too - a formal essay has no place for "a lot of stuff." Never assume a familiar word keeps its familiar meaning in context; a novel idea is new, not a book.
Rule of thumb
When a sentence sounds wrong but you cannot say why, find the verb and ask who or what is performing it. Agreement, dangling modifiers, and fragments collapse once subject and verb are matched.
Worked example: "Each of the students have submitted a draft." The subject is each, not students; each is singular, so the verb is has submitted. The prepositional phrase is a decoy.