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.
