The SAT Writing and Language Test will always include questions that ask you how to best combine two sentences into a single compound sentence. Deciding between the presented options requires just not grammar skills, but also an eye for details.

For example, let’s say we have to combine the following two sentences: Since its popularization in the nineteenth century, photography has played various and complex roles. Crude pinhole cameras first appeared in antiquity.

We can’t just connect these sentences with ‘and.’ The first sentence discusses a 19th  century occurrence, and the second sentence discusses something invented “in antiquity” way earlier in history. When working with a timeline of events, it often makes sense to discuss the events that happened earliest first.

Adjusting the timeline of these two sample sentences is a bit more complex than just switching the order in which they appear since the first sentence introduces photography as the subject of the passage.

Consider this correct combined version: While crude pinhole cameras first appeared in antiquity, photography was only popularized in the 19th century, after which it has played various and complex roles.

There! Now, you may be thinking, “That may take a while. Do I really need to do that for every sentence combination question on the test?” Thankfully, No. Because on the test you are presented with answer options. The best answer is right there in front of you - you just have to pick it out.

Let’s now try some sample problems like those you might see on test day so that you can practice selecting the best answer instead of coming up with a revised sentence from scratch.

Example 1
[1] During the 1960s, many directors from Czechoslovakia contributed to a film movement called “Czechoslovak New Wave.” [2] This period is often considered to be the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema. [3] These films often used improvised dialogue rather than a script and featured many nonprofessional actors. [4] The directors from this period wished to capture the authentic experience of living in Czechoslovakia at the time.

What is the best option for combining Sentences 1 and 2?
A. During the 1960s, a period often considered the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema, many directors from Czechoslovakia contributed to a film movement called “Czechoslovak New Wave.”
B. During the 1960s, many directors from Czechoslovakia contributed to a film movement called “Czechoslovak New Wave,” this period is often considered to be the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema.
C. During the 1960s, many directors from Czechoslovakia contributed to a film movement called “Czechoslovak New Wave” because this period is often considered to be the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema.
D. During the 1960s, many directors from Czechoslovakia, often considered to be the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema, contributed to a film movement called “Czechoslovak New Wave.”

Solution: The correct answer is A. This phrasing most clearly indicates that the 1960s are the period considered the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema. Answer choice C adds “because,” and as a result, it appears that the movement came about because the period was the golden age, when in actuality the reverse is true. Answer choice B only adds a comma and creates a run-on. Answer choice D moves the phrase “often considered to be the golden age of Czechoslovak cinema” after “Czechoslovakia.” It remains unclear to what period the phrase refers.

Example 2
[1] Cowboys have long been a symbol in American society. [2] On the one hand, they represent American strength, adventurousness, and indefatigability. [3] They also call up images of oppression, racism, and exploitation. [4] However, both of these romanticized views of cowboys betray the dull routine and everyday realities of the lives that many cowboys lived.

What is the best option for combining Sentences 2 and 3?
A. While they also call up images of oppression, racism, and exploitation, they represent American strength, adventurousness, and indefatigability.
B. They represent American strength, adventurousness, and indefatigability, and they call up images of oppression, racism, and exploitation.
C. On the one hand, they represent American strength, adventurousness, and indefatigability; moreover, they call up images of oppression, racism, and exploitation.
D. On the one hand, they represent American strength, adventurousness, and indefatigability; on the other hand, they call up images of oppression, racism, and exploitation.

Solution: These sentences are meant to contrast with one another. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that emphasizes the disparity in the views discussed. Options A and D may each look like a good choices, but A’s use of “also” before the first view instead of between the first and the second makes its phrasing slightly awkward. D is the best answer. It adds in the phrase “on the other hand” to complement “on the one hand,” and as a result stresses the disparity in views being presented.
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Example 3
[1] While perhaps not as well-known as Bluebeard or Captain Kidd, Bill Johnston was still known as a feared pirate and river smuggler in his day. [2] That day was the War of 1812. [3] He came from a British Loyalist family and settled in Upper Canada before beginning a career as a Lake Ontario schooner captain. [4] His ships carried some legal cargo, but they also smuggled tea and rum into Canada.

What is the best option for combining Sentences 1 and 2?
A. While perhaps not as well-known as Bluebeard or Captain Kidd, Bill Johnston was still known as a feared pirate and river smuggler in his day, the War of 1812.
B. While perhaps not as well-known as Bluebeard or Captain Kidd, Bill Johnston was still known as a feared pirate and river smuggler during the War of 1812.
C. While perhaps not as well-known as Bluebeard or Captain Kidd, Bill Johnston was still known as a feared pirate and river smuggler in his day: that of the War of 1812.
D. While maybe he wasn’t as well known as Bluebeard or Captain Kidd, Bill Johnston was still known as a feared pirate and river smuggler in his day of the War of 1812 era.

Solution: This question revolves around one main issue: how to mesh the phrasing “in his day” from Sentence 1 with Sentence 2’s, “That day was the War of 1812.” Recognizing this need allows us to omit A, C, and D as potential answer choices, as they each attempt to keep both phrases in play, and the effect is a confusing and awkwardly phrased sentence. B is the best answer because it doesn’t equate the War of 1812 with a single “day” or “day” as meaning era. The correct answer is B.

Example 4
[1] While many people feel strongly about the genetic modification of foods, most do not understand the full nature of genetically modified (GM) plants and animals. [2] Genetic modification is defined as the artificial manipulation of a species’ DNA usually for the purpose of improving crop yield, resistance to disease, or nutritive value. [3] It has been going on for millennia: ancient farmers were selectively breeding foods to provide better flavour, produce smaller seeds, or withstand drought and flooding. [4] Today, more sophisticated tools allow scientists to transfer genes for a desirable characteristic such as better resistance to pests from one organism to another. [5] Opponents of genetic modification argue that the DNA modifications are unstable, undesirable, and unhealthy for the environment, though scientific evidence suggests this is not true. [6] Additionally, some also argue that consuming GM foods is unsafe for humans, despite much scientific evidence to the contrary.

What is the best option for combining Sentences 5 and 6?
A. Arguing that DNA modifications are unstable, undesirable, and unhealthy for the environment, opponents of genetic modification argue that consuming GM foods is unsafe for humans, despite much scientific evidence to the contrary.
B. Opponents of genetic modification argue that the DNA modifications are unstable, undesirable, and unhealthy for the environment, and additionally, some also argue that consuming GM foods is unsafe for humans, despite much scientific evidence to the contrary.
C. Opponents of genetic modification argue that the DNA modifications are unstable, undesirable, and unhealthy for the environment as well as unsafe for human consumption, despite much scientific evidence to the contrary.
D. Though arguing that DNA modifications are unstable, undesirable, and unhealthy for the environment, opponents of genetic modification argue that consuming GM foods is unsafe for humans, despite much scientific evidence to the contrary.

Solution: There’s a lot of redundancy in these sentences. We’re told in the first sentence that opponents of GM argue three things despite scientific evidence, and the second sentence tells us that they also argue an additional point despite scientific evidence. We can combine these oppositional points into a list of four and then say that opponents of genetic modification argue the entire list despite scientific evidence. The only answer choice that does that is C, which creates a clearer, simpler structure.

Example 5
[1] As anyone who has tried it can tell you, Filipino food involves an exciting and intriguing blend of flavours. [2] Due to its interaction with various nations and cultures, it’s cuisine is marked by influences from Austronesia, Spain, China, Malaysia, and the United States. [3] For example, if you walked into a Filipino restaurant, you might encounter paella, a traditionally Spanish dish, or spring rolls, which are part of Chinese cuisine. [4] Street food is another important aspect of Filipino cuisine. [5] Filipino street food includes a wide variety of fried items, such as bananas, plantains, dumplings, squid balls, battered quail eggs, and fruit or vegetable spring rolls.

Which of the following is the best option for combining Sentences 4 and 5?
A. Another important aspect of Filipino cuisine is street food, which includes many fried items such as bananas, plantains, dumplings, squid balls, battered quail eggs, and fruit or vegetable spring rolls.
B. Another important aspect of Filipino cuisine, including many fried foods, such as bananas, plantains, dumplings, squid balls, battered quail eggs, and fruit or vegetable spring rolls, is street food.
C. Street food—including many fried foods such as bananas, plantains, dumplings, and squid balls—is another important aspect of Filipino cuisine, and it can also include battered quail eggs, and fruit or vegetable spring rolls.
D. Including many fried foods such as bananas, plantains, squid balls, battered quail eggs, and fruit or vegetable spring rolls, street food is another important aspect of Filipino cuisine.

Solution: These two sentences have a common topic: Filipino street food. Furthermore, we have a very long list of fried items to include. The correct answer is A. This answer choice introduces Filipino street food in its initial independent clause before detailing all of the fried items that fall under its purview.