Deleting Mindfully – Ticket to WLT Success on the SAT!

We all sign in relief at the WLT section of SAT because grammar is easy right? But then comes along the dreaded “delete” questions which force you to read the passage and evaluate mindfully whether specific portions of the passage should be removed. It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn’t. So, lets see what delete questions are all about.

Typically, these questions will ask you to determine whether a sentence from a specific part of a passage should be deleted. Solving such questions will require your powers of comprehension, which by now have been amply tested by the reading section, and your understanding of how a part of a passage fits into the whole.

While solving such questions, you need to have one motto – if it doesn’t fit, it needs to be removed!

Delete questions look something like this

“The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the writer do this?”

To solve them you need to:

Ø  Review the title of the passage and think for yourself what the main point of the passage is.

Ø  Read the paragraph where the underlined sentence is located and determine the purpose of the paragraph.

Ø  Think for yourself what purpose the underlined sentence, which is supposed to be deleted, is serving in the paragraph.

Ø  Ask yourself if the underlined portion is relevant to the paragraph or if it makes the focus of the paragraph unclear.

Conducting these mental exercises can help you determine whether the portion should be kept or removed. 

Give this sample question a try:

The passage title is Whey to Go

Yogurt manufacturers, food scientists; and government officials are also working together to develop additional solutions for reusing whey. [6] Though these conservation methods can be costly and time-consuming, they are well worth the effort. Nutritionists consider Greek yogurt to be a healthy food: it is an excellent source of calcium and protein, serves to be a digestive aid, and it contains few calories in its unsweetened low- and non-fat forms. Greek yogurt is slightly lower in sugar and carbohydrates than conventional yogurt is. Also, because it is more concentrated, Greek yogurt contains slightly more protein per serving, thereby helping people stay

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the writer do this?

A) Yes, because it does not provide a transition from the previous paragraph.

B) Yes, because it fails to support the main argument of the passage as introduced in the first paragraph.

C) No, because it continues the explanation of how acid whey can be disposed of safely.

D) No, because it sets up the argument in the paragraph for the benefits of Greek yogurt.

Choice D is the best answer because the paragraph includes several benefits of consuming Greek yogurt, particularly in regard to nutrition and satisfying hunger, to support the sentence’s claim that the conservation efforts are ‘well worth the effort.’ This transition echoes the passage’s earlier claim that ‘the advantages of Greek yogurt outweigh the potential drawbacks of its production.’

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because they inaccurately describe the sentence in question.

[extracted from SAT Practice Test #1 College Board]

How did you find D to be the right answer?

Step 1

Review the title: The title of the passage tells us that the by-product whey from the yogurt has to “go”, or has to be disposed of properly for the protection of the environment.

Step 2

Determine the main point of the paragraph: The paragraph begins by stating that ‘Yogurt manufacturers, food scientists; and government officials’ are working together to develop effective methods of reusing whey from yogurt production. It then talks about the elaborate health benefits of Greek yogurt.

Step 3

Determine the relevance of the underlined sentence: The underlined sentence fits in perfectly with the context because given the health benefits of Greek yogurt, it is well worth the effort and cost required to develop proper disposal methods of the leftover whey.

Step 4

Should it be deleted or not? It should not be deleted because not only is it relevant to the context of the paragraph, it also ties up the two parts of the paragraph – effective whey reuse methods and benefits of Greek yogurt – by stating that these methods, though expensive and time-consuming, are well-worth the effort as Greek yogurt has a vast array of health benefits.

By following this simple methodology, you can face the delete questions on the WLT section with undaunted confidence. Just remember the magic formula – if it doesn’t fit, it should be removed!