SAT Writing: Fragments

A sentence fragment is a piece or part of a sentence. It's an incomplete sentence, one that's missing a subject or a verb. For example:

Floating on the river.

Of course, that one's easy to spot. The SAT will give you sentence fragments so long that by the time you've read to the end of them, you'll have forgotten where you started. You'll commonly see fragments in which the entire sentence is a relative clause (e.g. who, which, that, where), a dependent clause (e.g. although, while, when), or a gerund phrase (e.g. being, walking, singing). If you read a sentence out loud and it lacks a sense of completion or the whole thing just sounds weird by the end, chances are it's a sentence fragment.

Example 1
Wrong:People who have a sense of entitlement and feel absolutely no sympathy for those less fortunate even when they take advantage of their services.
Correct:People who have a sense of entitlement and feel absolutely no sympathy for those less fortunate even when they take advantage of their services make me sick.

Example 1 is a relative clause sentence fragment.

Example 2
Wrong:Because my broken heart, which you have left hardly beating in my chest, is the reason for my endless suffering.
Correct:My broken heart, which you have left hardly beating in my chest, is the reason for my endless suffering.

Example 2 is a dependent clause sentence fragment.

Example 3
Wrong:Russell Brand, the English comedian, being one of the funniest celebrities alive.
Correct:Russell Brand, the English comedian, is one of the funniest celebrities alive.

Example 3 is a gerund phrase sentence fragment.

There is no one absolute way to fix a sentence fragment. On the SAT, the simpler ones are easy to spot and fix. Often times, the trickier ones will involve removing words like who, which, although, because, since, and despite as in Example 2.

  1. Because the late night shift requiring long hours for little pay, there is a high turnover rate.

    A) NO CHANGE
    B) requires
    C) to require
    D) and requiring

  2. The lack of water and shelter from the sun in the desert which makes it extremely tough to survive.

    A) NO CHANGE
    B) and
    C) that
    D) DELETE the underlined portion.

  3. The city's rising population, as well as its poor public transportation infrastructure, has lead to massive traffic jams during the morning commute.

    A) NO CHANGE
    B) which has lead
    C) leading
    D) being the leader

  4. Refugees attempting to cross the heavily armed border of Germany face insurmountable obstacles.

    A) NO CHANGE
    B) attempting to cross the heavily armed border of Germany, they face
    C) who attempt to cross the heavily armed border of Germany and face
    D) who attempt to cross the heavily armed border of Germany, where they face

  5. Matt decided to listen to what the teacher had to say. He put the laptop in his backpack and the phone in his pocket.

    A) NO CHANGE
    B) By putting
    C) When he put
    D) To put

Want more questions? Our SAT Writing Advanced Guide and Workbook contains over 500 additional practice questions (grouped by topic) and 3 practice tests.

  1. B
  2. D
  3. A
  4. A
  5. A