PSAT Writing and Language Question 81: Answer and Explanation

Question: 81

The author is considering deleting the phrase not just restaurants from the preceding sentence and adjusting the punctuation accordingly. Should the phrase be kept or deleted?

• A. Kept, because it clarifies that the practice described in the essay is not limited to one industry.
• B. Kept, because it encourages companies other than restaurants to hire Chief Listening Officers.
• C. Deleted, because it incorrectly implies that patrons of other businesses discuss their experiences on social media.
• D. Deleted, because the previous paragraph is all about restaurants, and this one is not.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A

Note the question! The question asks whether a phrase should be deleted, so it tests consistency. If the content of the phrase is consistent with the ideas surrounding it, it should be kept. If not, it should be deleted. The first two paragraphs of the essay discuss using social media to talk about a restaurant experience. The phrase not just restaurants clarifies that other companies are related to the social media issue discussed in the first paragraph, which only discusses restaurants. The phrase is consistent with the essay and provides a transition between what is true for restaurants and how it is also true for other businesses, so it should be kept; eliminate (C) and (D). Keep (A) because it correctly describes the phrase's use in the sentence. Eliminate (B) because Chief Listening Officers are not introduced until later in the paragraph and do not provide a reason for keeping the phrase. The correct answer is (A).