SAT OwlQuestion bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
Museum collections of nineteenth-century insect drawings often include work by amateurs as well as by trained professionals. A self-taught naturalist who never attended a university, ______
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Edwin Marsh drew beetles so precisely that professional entomologists admired his work.
Edwin Marsh's drawings of beetles were admired by professional entomologists.
the drawings of beetles by Edwin Marsh were admired by professional entomologists.
professional entomologists admired the beetle drawings of Edwin Marsh.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The opening phrase, "A self-taught naturalist who never attended a university," describes a person, Edwin Marsh. The noun right after the phrase must be Marsh himself, which happens only in choice A.
Choice B puts Marsh's name first, but the subject is "drawings," so the sentence calls the drawings a self-taught naturalist.
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. The subject here is "drawings," not Marsh, so the drawings become the self-taught naturalist.
- C. This makes "the drawings" the self-taught naturalist, which is illogical.
- D. This makes the professional entomologists the self-taught naturalist, though the phrase describes Marsh.
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