SHSAT ELA practice: Revising/Editing and Reading

Two parts of the ELA section

SHSAT ELA combines Revising/Editing questions, which test grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and the organization of a short text, with Reading Comprehension questions based on longer informational and literary passages.

Revising/Editing strategy

These questions reward knowing a limited set of rules well.

• Sentence boundaries: run-ons, fragments, and comma splices.
• Punctuation: commas with clauses, semicolons, and colons.
• Agreement: subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent.
• Modifiers: placement of descriptive phrases.
• Organization: transitions, sentence placement, and relevance to the paragraph's purpose.

Sample editing question

Which revision corrects the sentence? “The museum opened a new exhibit last week, it features artifacts from ancient Egypt.”

Answer: “The museum opened a new exhibit last week; it features artifacts from ancient Egypt.” The original joins two complete sentences with only a comma, which is a comma splice. A semicolon, a period, or a conjunction such as “and” fixes it.

Reading comprehension strategy

• Read actively: note the main idea of each paragraph in a few words.
• Identify the author's purpose and point of view.
• Answer from the text, not from outside knowledge.
• Eliminate choices that are too extreme, too narrow, or not supported.
• For evidence questions, find the exact lines that support your answer.

Build reading stamina

Strong readers perform better on the SHSAT. Daily reading of challenging nonfiction, such as science articles, history, and long-form journalism, builds vocabulary and the focus needed for a three-hour exam.