CLT Grammar & Writing

Start with sentence relationships: subject and verb, modifiers, pronouns and independent clauses. Then move to paragraph structure, style and word choice, where several grammatical options may serve different meanings. Read enough surrounding text to know the writer’s aim before editing. The core section allows thirty-five minutes for forty questions. Practice passage units with a clock only after you can explain your untimed repairs; use the result to identify where repeated rereading or uncertainty slows you down. A brief check of the complete revised sentence is usually worth more than accepting a phrase that merely sounds familiar.

Updated October 2, 2026

Format detail	What to know
Questions / tasks	40
Timing	35 minutes
Calculator	Not applicable.

What to study

sentence structure
usage
editing

How to approach the section

Identify the core sentence before restoring interrupting phrases; agreement follows the actual subject.
Mark clause boundaries and check that punctuation preserves attachment and the intended relationship.
For additions, deletions or sentence placement, state what the paragraph needs and show how the edit performs that job.
Keep a repair log with the original error, the grammatical relationship and one new sentence using the same principle.

Common mistakes

Agreeing the verb with the closest noun rather than the subject.
Using a comma because of a spoken pause or a colon merely because a list follows.
Choosing the shortest revision when it deletes evidence, changes certainty or obscures the agent.
Making a locally grammatical change without checking pronoun reference or meaning elsewhere in the sentence.