I agree that some test maker sometimes ask questions based on obscure  
rules, but this one seems fair to me.  Comparing "Heather" to  
"Joanne's fear" causes the reader one second of adjustment.  Try  
reading the sentence without the interrupting clause.  Unlike her  
sister Heather, Joanne’s fear kept her from going anywhere near the  
creatures. Parallel structures (such as "unlike x") set up  
expectations in readers.  When the writer doesn't deliver, it is as  
unsatisfying as the musician who withholds the final note.


On May 29, 2009, at 11:55 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F wrote:

> Susan,
>
> You wrote:
>
> FYI, I realize I never revealed the correct answer to the SAT  
> grammar question.  It is D.  Joanne (as a noun) must be parallel to  
> Heather (as a noun).
>
> Unlike her sister Heather, who would always put spiders safely  
> outside if she found them in the house, Joanne’s fear kept her from  
> going anywhere near the creatures.
>
> A.     Joanne’s fear kept her from going anywhere near the creatures
>
> B.     Joanne’s fear is what kept her from going anywhere near the  
> creatures
>
> C.     fear is why Joanne had not gone anywhere near them
>
> D.     Joanne was too afraid to go anywhere near the creatures
>
> E.     they scared Joanne too much to go anywhere near them
>
> I find D possible.  I find BCE awkward, but I see nothing wrong  
> with the sentence as it is.  Context would certainly help me to  
> choose between A and D, but I don’t understand why Heather and  
> Joanne must be parallel because they are both nouns, regardless of  
> context, which seems to be what the test question and identifying  
> only D as correct imply.   If the topic of the paragraph is “fear,”  
> then A works better—or at least as well.  Perhaps the passage will  
> be about distinct phobias the sisters have, or about fear as the  
> reason for Joanne’s behavior rather than, perhaps, her mother’s  
> insistence.  I’m sure we could come up with other contexts as well,  
> but the point is that A and D have different structures because  
> they have different meanings.  This test question strikes me as an  
> instance of the sort of rigid rule, like the PAP we discussed  
> earlier in connection with this example, that should not be  
> taught.  Even if we teach the rule and also teach that other  
> structures work in different contexts, we are still implying, and  
> inviting our students to infer, that there is a default correct  
> structure.
>
> I do understand that this is a standardized test question and not a  
> point you were trying to make, which leads to the broader question  
> we’ve frequently dealt with on this list, the poor level of  
> grammatical knowledge that leads teachers, editors, employers, and  
> test developers to insist on rules that aren’t.
>
> Herb
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