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Revising/Editing — Passage-BasedFree

Adding a supporting sentence or claim — SHSAT practice questions

Adding a supporting sentence or claim on the SHSAT Revising/Editing — Passage-Based section tests whether a student can strengthen a numbered passage by inserting a sentence that actually backs the author's ideas. The student must read the surrounding sentences, judge what the paragraph is arguing, and choose a claim that follows logically without repeating, contradicting, or wandering off topic. Items usually ask which sentence should follow a given numbered sentence or which concluding sentence should be added, with complete-sentence answer choices. Common traps include a well-written but irrelevant sentence, a conclusion that introduces a new idea, and a detail that belongs in a different part of the passage.

  • Section: Revising/Editing — Passage-Based 5 questions on the paper
  • 185 practice questions in the app

Sample questions

A Quieter Way to Practice

(1) During lunch, several students at Westbridge Middle School began meeting in an unused music room for ten-minute practice sessions. (2) They were not rehearsing for a concert; instead, they were trying short breathing exercises, quiet stretching, and focus routines before afternoon classes. (3) A typical session lasted no longer than the walk between two classrooms. (4) Students sat on the floor or on folding chairs, and no one talked much. (5) The room was chosen because it was empty at that hour and far from the gym. (6) At first, the meetings were informal, with students reminding one another to arrive quickly and leave the room exactly as they found it. (7) The idea started after a science lesson about how brief pauses can help people reset their attention. (8) Soon, students from different grades were asking whether they could join.

(9) The school cafeteria served soup on Fridays. (10) The group needed a system that would keep the room calm without turning the sessions into another club with officers, speeches, and long meetings. (11) Nobody wanted to spend the ten minutes deciding who would speak first. (12) The room also had a limit, since a crowd would make quiet impossible. (13) The students talked about the problem for a week without agreeing on an answer. (14) A seventh grader named Nia suggested a simple sign-up sheet with only twelve spaces per day. (15) She also proposed that each session begin with a one-minute written goal, such as 'listen carefully in math' or 'finish my reading notes.' (16) The goals were written on small slips of paper and dropped in a box at the door. (17) No one read them aloud, and no one had to share. (18) Twelve slips a day added up to a small stack by Friday. (19) The sign-up sheet filled every day within the first week. (20) Some students wanted to add music, snacks, and decorations, but others worried that those changes would make the room busier rather than quieter. (21) After two weeks, the group surveyed participants and found that most preferred the plain format.

(22) The survey took one lunch period and used four questions. (23) Nineteen of the twenty-two responses said the sessions should stay exactly as they were. (24) A few asked for a second room so more students could sign up. (25) The group decided to keep one room and one sheet for now. (26) The students then asked the assistant principal for permission to continue using the room through the spring. (27) Their request explained that the short sessions worked best because they were limited, predictable, and easy to clean up.

Question 1

Which sentence would best follow sentence 7 to improve the organization of the passage?

  1. AThe science lesson included a demonstration using a timer and a short list of tasks.
  2. BThe group later asked the assistant principal for permission to continue using the room.
  3. CThis connection between the lesson and the lunch meetings helped other students understand the purpose of the sessions.
  4. DNia later suggested a sign-up sheet so the meetings would not grow too large.
Show answer

Answer: C — This connection between the lesson and the lunch meetings helped other students understand the purpose of the sessions.

Sentence 7 explains that the idea started after a science lesson about brief pauses, and the third choice improves organization by linking that origin to the growing interest described in sentence 8. The first choice adds a detail about the lesson itself and does not show how the lesson led to the lunch meetings. The second choice is relevant later, when the students actually make that request at the end of the passage. The fourth choice belongs later, after the group has already recognized that it needs a simple system to keep the room calm.

Question 2

Which sentence presents ideas irrelevant to the topic of the passage and should be deleted?

  1. Asentence 3
  2. Bsentence 9
  3. Csentence 18
  4. Dsentence 22
Show answer

Answer: B — sentence 9

Sentence 9 mentions the cafeteria menu, which has no connection to the quiet practice sessions, the need for a simple system, or the later survey. Sentence 3 should be kept because it shows that the sessions were brief, a point the passage later uses to explain why the routine worked. Sentence 18 should be kept because it shows that students used the written-goal system consistently. Sentence 22 should be kept because it explains how the group gathered the survey evidence that follows.

Question 3

Which concluding sentence should be added after sentence 27 to best support the ideas presented in the passage?

  1. AIn the end, the group showed that a useful school routine does not have to be complicated to be effective.
  2. BIn the end, the group showed that a sign-up sheet with twelve spaces was the most important part of the routine.
  3. CIn the end, the group showed that science lessons can lead students to start new activities during lunch.
  4. DIn the end, the group showed that asking an administrator for permission should come before any student meeting is organized.
Show answer

Answer: A — In the end, the group showed that a useful school routine does not have to be complicated to be effective.

The first choice reflects the main idea: the sessions succeeded because they remained brief, calm, and easy to maintain. The second choice focuses only on the sign-up sheet, which was one part of the system rather than the central lesson of the passage. The third choice returns to the science-lesson origin and ignores how the group kept the sessions simple and effective. The fourth choice misstates both the sequence of events and the passage's point: the students organized the meetings first and asked for permission later, and that request is not the main idea.

Practice 185 Adding a supporting sentence or claim questions in the app

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