The Official SAT Question of the Day™

Part of the following sentence is italics; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.

Certain shipwrecks have a particular fascination for those people which have a belief in finding the treasure in them.

(A) which have a belief in finding the treasure in them
(B) that belief there is treasure to be found in them
(C) who believe they hold treasure and that they can find it
(D) who believe that there is treasure to be found in them
(E) who believe about treasure to be found in them

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:
This sentence is awkward as written, and the pronoun "which" is the wrong relative pronoun to refer to "people" (the antecedent of the pronoun in this sentence). Choice (D) uses the correct pronoun "who" and more effectively than the other choices states the characteristics of people who are fascinated by shipwrecks. The correct sentence reads: Certain shipwrecks have a particular fascination for those people who believe that there is treasure to be found in them.

(A) which have a belief in finding the treasure in them
(B) that belief there is treasure to be found in them
(C) who believe they hold treasure and that they can find it
(D) who believe that there is treasure to be found in them
(E) who believe about treasure to be found in them