PSAT Writing — when no punctuation is correct

Many Boundaries questions on the PSAT/NMSQT are answered by removing a mark, not adding one. Test writers place a comma, colon or dash where it looks natural to the ear but breaks the grammar of the sentence, and students who punctuate by pause choose it. This material trains the opposite reflex: find the core of the sentence first, and refuse any mark that splits it.

The twelve quiz questions each print one original sentence and ask which change makes it conform to the conventions of Standard English. The options describe the repair in words (delete the comma after a given word, replace a colon with a semicolon, and so on), so you judge the rule rather than squint at near-identical sentences. The errors covered are the ones the section returns to again and again: a comma between a long subject and its verb, between a verb and its object, and before a that-clause; commas around a restrictive appositive such as "the novelist Willa Cather" and around an essential title; a colon between a verb and its objects; a comma before "and" joining two verbs that share one subject; a comma after a coordinating conjunction; a comma before a quotation woven into the writer's own sentence; a comma between the last adjective and its noun; and commas around a restrictive relative clause. One sentence is already correct, so "make no change" is sometimes the right answer. The explanations say what each wrong repair would do to the sentence.

The flashcards state each no-punctuation rule with a model sentence and end with a one-line test for deciding whether a mark is needed at all. The written sheet asks you to state the rules in your own words, explain the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive elements, and correct faulty sentences. In the spoken session the examiner gives one sentence at a time and asks what, if anything, should be removed, and why.

It offers four formats: a twelve-question quiz with explanations, a set of twelve flashcards, a printable written sheet of eight open questions that is checked after you photograph your answers, and a spoken practice session with an examiner who asks one question at a time and gives short feedback at the end. It is practice material written by Zestly and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.

  • Recognize that no punctuation separates a subject from its verb or a verb from its object
  • Punctuate restrictive appositives, titles and relative clauses without commas, and nonrestrictive ones with paired commas
  • Reject colons after incomplete clauses and commas after coordinating conjunctions
  • Decide when a correctly punctuated sentence needs no change

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the College Board's published description of the PSAT/NMSQT Reading and Writing section (digital format, 54 questions in 64 minutes), Standard English Conventions domain, Boundaries skill, as described on satsuite.collegeboard.org (checked September 2026). All sentences, notes and texts are original.

Sample question

The writer drafted this sentence: "The team of volunteers who restored the old lighthouse on Pelican Point, received an award from the state historical society." Which change makes the sentence conform to the conventions of Standard English?

See the answer

Delete the comma after "Point"

The subject is the long phrase "The team of volunteers who restored the old lighthouse on Pelican Point," and its verb is "received." No punctuation belongs between a subject and its verb, however long the subject is, so the comma must be deleted. A semicolon would need an independent clause on each side, a colon would need a complete sentence before it, and a single dash would also cut the subject off from its verb.

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