📐 SAT
📝 ACT
🎓 AP Exams
About Contact Blog Privacy Policy

SAT Reading & Writing: Colons and Dashes (Drill 3)

Drill 3 · Reading & Writing · Colons and Dashes

0 / 5
←
Previous drill
Drill 2
More Sat Reading Writing Colons And Dashes drills
Drill 1 5 questions → Drill 2 5 questions →
Drill 3 — current you are here

About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Colons and Dashes (Drill 3) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Colons and Dashes. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

SAT colon and dash questions test whether you can correctly use a colon to introduce a list or explanation and a dash to set off parenthetical or emphatic information. This drill focuses on recognizing when each mark is warranted based on sentence structure and meaning.

Questions & Explanations

Text
The study revealed a surprising finding________ subjects who slept more than eight hours showed lower stress, reduced anxiety, and higher cognitive performance scores.

Question 1. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) : the ✓
  • B) — the
  • C) ; the
  • D) . The

Explanation: A colon correctly introduces an explanation or elaboration of the preceding noun ("surprising finding"). The clause before the blank is a complete independent clause, satisfying the colon rule. A dash is used for dramatic interruptions or mid-sentence parentheticals, not for introducing a factual elaboration of a research result.

Text
The novelist's latest work — a sprawling, multi-generational epic set in rural ________ has received widespread critical acclaim.

Question 2. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) Mississippi,
  • B) Mississippi — ✓
  • C) Mississippi;
  • D) Mississippi:

Explanation: The phrase 'a sprawling, multi-generational epic set in rural Mississippi' is a parenthetical set off by dashes. The second dash must close it before the main clause resumes.

Text
Three cities were finalists for the new headquarters________ , Denver, and Raleigh.

Question 3. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) : Austin ✓
  • B) — Austin
  • C) ; Austin
  • D) . Austin

Explanation: A colon correctly introduces a list that specifies the 'three cities.' A semicolon would require an independent clause to follow.

Text
The chef uses only locally sourced ingredients — organic vegetables from a nearby farm, free-range eggs, and wild-caught ________ to prepare each dish.

Question 4. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) fish:
  • B) fish — ✓
  • C) fish;
  • D) fish,

Explanation: The list is a parenthetical set off by dashes. The closing dash after 'fish' completes the interruption and returns to the main clause ('to prepare each dish').

Text
The committee had three priorities________ reduce costs, to improve transparency, and to shorten processing times.

Question 5. Which choice conforms to Standard English?

  • A) priorities: to ✓
  • B) priorities — to
  • C) priorities, to
  • D) priorities; to

Explanation: A colon introduces the three-part infinitive list that specifies what the priorities were. The clause before the blank is a complete independent clause ("The committee had three priorities"), satisfying the colon rule. A dash is not standard before an enumerated list; a semicolon requires an independent clause to follow; a comma is too weak after a complete clause.