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SAT Reading & Writing: Colons and Dashes (Drill 2)

Drill 2 · Reading & Writing · Colons and Dashes

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About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Colons and Dashes (Drill 2) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Colons and Dashes. It contains 5 original questions developed by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

SAT colon and dash questions test the rules for using colons after complete independent clauses and paired em dashes around parenthetical information. This drill requires distinguishing between correct and incorrect punctuation in complex academic and scientific passages.

Questions & Explanations

Text
The archaeologists made a discovery that would reshape the timeline of human settlement in the ________ a set of stone tools dated to over 30,000 years before the earliest known artifacts in the region.

Question 1. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) region,
  • B) region: ✓
  • C) region;
  • D) region

Explanation: Independent clause before the blank; the material after explains what the discovery was. A colon correctly introduces this elaboration.

Text
The new trade agreement—negotiated over eighteen months by diplomats from nine ________ eliminated tariffs on over two hundred categories of agricultural exports.

Question 2. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) countries,
  • B) countries;
  • C) countries
  • D) countries— ✓

Explanation: Opening dash before 'negotiated' requires a closing dash after 'countries' to complete the parenthetical pair.

Text
The jury deliberated for less than forty minutes before announcing its ________ guilty on all counts—in a packed courtroom.

Question 3. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) verdict— ✓
  • B) verdict;
  • C) verdict,
  • D) verdict

Explanation: The dash opens a pair that sets off "guilty on all counts," a supplementary phrase specifying the content of the verdict; the sentence supplies the closing dash before "in a packed courtroom." Choice A completes that pair. Choice C opens the supplement with a comma, which cannot pair with the closing dash, so the punctuation is mismatched. Choice B places a semicolon before a phrase that is not an independent clause. Choice D runs the clause and the supplement together with no punctuation.

Text
The scholarship committee evaluated applicants on the basis of ________ academic achievement, community involvement, and demonstrated financial need.

Question 4. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) including:
  • B) such as:
  • C) three criteria: ✓
  • D) of:

Explanation: A colon must follow an independent clause. 'Three criteria' completes the clause ('on the basis of three criteria') before the colon introduces the list. A colon can't follow 'including,' 'such as,' or a preposition.

Text
The soprano's interpretation of the aria—widely praised by critics as the most compelling performance of the ________ brought several audience members to tears.

Question 5. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) season,
  • B) season— ✓
  • C) season;
  • D) season

Explanation: Opening dash before 'widely' requires a closing dash after 'season' to complete the parenthetical pair.