SAT Reading & Writing · Form, Structure, and Sense
The panel of judges, despite scoring the routines independently and without conferring, ______ remarkably close agreement on which…
The panel of judges, despite scoring the routines independently and without conferring, ______ remarkably close agreement on which performance deserved first place.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: shows
"The panel of judges" is treated as a single collective unit here, taking the singular verb shows, and "despite scoring the routines independently and without conferring" is a parenthetical phrase that doesn't change the number of the true subject. Show and are showing are both plural, incorrectly suggesting the panel should be treated as separate individual actors instead of the single body the sentence describes. Have shown is also plural and additionally shifts to present perfect without any signal in the sentence calling for that tense.
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