Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. At first, the hunter thinked the body was a reindeer, but when he excavated the carcass and realized it was actually a mammoth, he called local authorities right away.

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct preposition for each blank. Unsung Innovators The two men agreed ____ producing a stylish and powerful car that would sell for a moderate price.

Instructions: The paragraphs of the following essay have been scrambled so that they are out of order. Read them and then answer the question(s) that follow. Two Childhoods _____ (1) Just as our lifestyles differed, so too did our personalities. (2) Relatives say that my mother was a loving, caring child who was always willing to help. (3) She was praised for being clever and vibrant, levelheaded and respectful to others. (4) My mother was strong-willed and spoke her mind when she saw fit, but she placed few demands on her parents for toys or fancy clothes. (5) Somehow her environment, which had instilled in her an appreciation of nature and living things, was enough. _____ (6) My childhood, on the other hand, was spent in New York City, without animals, scenic surroundings, or close-knit neighbors. (7) Mine was a lifestyle of fast activity crammed into a tight schedule. (8) Nature was replaced by shops and businesses, trees by tall buildings. (9) My knowledge was not based on the simple things at hand, but on expensive toys, the latest clothes, and the newest sneakers. (11) Compared to my mother s country existence, my city childhood seems humdrum a constant series of trips to the park or movies, visits to the grocery store or shopping center, picnics at the amusement park or beach, and a few birthday parties thrown in. _____ (12) When I was young, my mother told me stories about her childhood. (13) I loved her tales and still think of them. (14) It was intriguing to hear about life thirty years ago before mine began. (15) What fascinated me most, however, were the differences between her youth and mine. _____ (16) I, on the other hand, was considered a bit too extroverted, selfish, and stubborn. (17) I reveled in being petulant, pigheaded, demanding, and unstable. (18) Although I could be loving, I cleverly used this trait to my advantage in an attempt to manipulate my parents and get the beautiful toys and clothes I wanted. (19) After all, these gave me all the aesthetic appreciation I needed. (20) In fact, I was a brazenfaced brat. _____ (21) Looking back, I think it would have been nice as a child to have fallen off a few trees or driven a scooter at maniacal speeds or even milked a cow or crushed some coffee beans in a mortar. (22) Yes, that would have been nice. (23) It really would have been. _____ (24) My mother grew up in the country. (25) She spent most of her young years on a farm in South Carolina, surrounded by animals, orchards, cane fields, and agricultural machinery. (26) By the time she was six, she was a walking agricultural textbook. (27) Hers was a simple, serene, and comfortable life within a close-knit, neighborly environment. (28) My mother s days were filled with swimming in nearby rivers and lakes, climbing and falling off trees, scooter-riding down country lanes, playing marbles with siblings and friends, bird watching and mending of wings, and building fences and tree houses. Cheryl Parris, Student Part A: Select the letter of the answer that numbers the paragraphs in the order they should appear in the essay. a. 5, 1, 3, 4, 2, 6 b. 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 2 c. 1, 2, 4, 6, 5, 3 Part B: Which paragraph in the reordered sequence begins with a transitional expression that indicates this pattern? a. paragraph 2 b. paragraph 3 c. paragraph 6 Part C: What pattern does the writer use to arrange the main points in her essay? a. time order b. alternating back and forth between the two subjects c. order of importance

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and then answer the question(s) that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response. Playing video games can be a fun and relaxing hobby. For some players, though, this activity can become an addiction that s as harmful as gambling. That s why gamers who play two or more hours a day should be aware of the signs of addiction. One of these signs is abandonment of other hobbies. Someone who stops participating in all other leisure time activities or social events to play video games may be in the grip of a harmful addiction. Another sign of possible addiction is constantly thinking or talking about a game even while doing other things. If thoughts about the next gaming session prevent someone from paying attention to other tasks or people, that player could be addicted. A final warning sign is fighting with or lying to loved ones about the amount of time spent playing. Neglecting relationships with family members and friends is a classic sign of video game addiction. This paragraph was written for an audience of

Instructions: Each of the following sentences states what you are trying to persuade someone to do. Beneath each sentence are four reasons that attempt to convince this person that he or she should take this particular course of action. Select the letter of the reason that seems irrelevant, illogical, or untrue. If you wanted to persuade someone to support the construction of a new nuclear power plant, you could say that nuclear energy

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the following questions. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph below. (1) Within 20 minutes of quitting smoking, an ex-smoker s blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal. (2) Within eight hours, oxygen levels in the blood increase, and carbon monoxide levels decrease. (3) Forty-eight hours after quitting, the ex-smoker s senses of smell and taste return to normal. (4) By three months after quitting, the ex-smoker s circulation will have improved, and his or her lung function will have increased by as much as 30 percent. (5) A year after quitting, the ex-smoker s risk for heart disease is slashed by half. (6) The risk for lung cancer is cut in half within five years of quitting. (7) It s clear that the longer an ex-smoker goes without cigarettes, the healthier he or she becomes.

Instructions: In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where the verb should be. Select the letter of the correct past tense verb. Neither woman ____ her own earplugs to the meet.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. Traditional musical instruments can be divided, according to how they produce sounds, into three categories: stringed, wind, and percussion. Stringed instruments produce music through the vibration of taut strings that are plucked, strummed, or bowed. The harp, the guitar, the banjo, and the violin are examples of stringed instruments. The second category contains the wind instruments, which are usually sounded by the player s breath. This category includes the clarinet, the tuba, the trumpet, and so on. The third category, percussion instruments, makes sounds when they are struck. Obvious examples of percussion instruments are drums, gongs, and cymbals. Surprisingly, the piano is also considered a percussion instrument because, when the player touches a key, a small hammer inside the piano strikes a string. Select the answer that correctly lists the categories.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Amateur stargazing is an interesting and rewarding hobby. (2) Exploring astronomy builds knowledge about our amazing universe. (3) It s an inexpensive pastime, too. (4) All that s needed is a telescope, a book about how to understand what you re looking at, and maybe a membership in an astronomical club. (5) Studying the night sky is free! (6) That s why astronomy is also a great family activity. (7) In fact, looking at the heavens may awaken a love of science in children. (8) Plus, those who star-gaze long enough might even make an important discovery. (9) After all, many amateur astronomers have discovered comets, asteroids, and other heavenly bodies. (10) In 2005, for example, two amateur sky-watchers in New Zealand discovered a new planet 15,000 miles from Earth using only a backyard telescope. How many arguments support the topic sentence?

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. In contrast, white egrets ____ motionless in the tall grass near the water.

Instructions: Proofread the following sentence(s) for inconsistent tense and person. In addition, check for faulty parallelism. Select the type of error each sentence contains. I like everything about Lamont: his natural good looks, his witty conversational style, and reading his short stories.

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. For each one, select correct if the sentence is punctuated correctly, fragment if it is a fragment, run-on if it is a run-on, and comma splice if it is a comma splice. As they worked together in nature.

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. For each one, select the type of error in the sentence. If the sentence is free of mechanics errors, select Correct. Children of the Kindertransport Foster families saved 10,000 lives in the Kindertransport, a single flame against the sea of human ignorance.

Instructions: Each topic sentence below is followed by supporting details. Select the letter of the answer that arranges each group of details according to space order. Describe a skyscraper. ____ 150 hotel rooms take up the fifteenth through thirtieth floors ____ offices on floors 2-14 ____ on the ground floor, shops and restaurants ____ condominiums occupying the top eighteen floors ____ at the very top, rooftop penthouses

Instructions: In the groups below, choose the set of words in which all the words are spelled correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which set of words is spelled correctly?

Instructions: The paragraphs of the following essay have been scrambled so that they are out of order. Read them and then answer the question(s) that follow. Trading My Brown Shirt for a Backpack _____ Although I was prepared to have less money, one effect I didn t expect from losing my job was the negative feelings I would have. I was embarrassed to tell my family what had happened, worried that my fianc e would think less of me, and angry that events I couldn t control had ruined my life. It was strange and depressing not having the job to go to every day. Maybe some wouldn t consider delivering packages a career, but I liked my work, it paid well, and I was outside driving a truck all day. So it s not just the money I miss; it s the job. _____ The words economic downturn didn t mean much on the front of a newspaper, but then I got laid off. Suddenly, those weren t just words but the beginning of a long chain of events in my life. I liked my job at the United Parcel Service, and I had received many positive performance reviews, so I didn t think the rising unemployment rate was going to touch me. People still have to ship packages, right? Wrong. Getting my pink slip had powerful effects on my lifestyle and plans, but not all the effects have been bad ones. _____ The one positive effect of getting laid off is that it forced me to reconsider college. When I got a good job shortly after high school, in confirmed my decision to head straight into the real world. Now that there are so few full-time jobs with benefits out there, getting more education and training seems like the logical move. A counselor at the unemployment office encouraged me to attend a career fair at San Francisco Community College. I ended up taking placement exams and enrolling that same afternoon. _____ After losing my job, I have had to make major financial changes. My unemployment check is about half what I was making at UPS, so I have to budget very carefully. I used to take my fianc e out to a nice dinner almost every week. Now our dates involve pizza and rented movies. We also had to postpone our wedding until I m back on my feet. The hardest change by far has been moving back in with my dad because I couldn t make the rent on my apartment. _____ So here I am in a freshman writing class, returning to school the spring I expected to be getting married and hunting for a nice apartment. So far I m enjoying college more than I thought. I feel proud to be pursuing my Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certificate. When I m done, I ll be driving around in an ambulance instead of a delivery truck, and I have a feeling I m going to like it. Alex Silvio, Student This essay is a

Instructions: Select the letter of the correctly punctuated sentence. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

Instructions: In each of the following plans, one detail has nothing to do with the topic sentence; it is merely a bit of irrelevant information. Select the letter of the irrelevant detail. It was clearly a bird lover s room.

Instructions: Choose the sentence in which every adjective and adverb is correct. Select the letter of the correct answer. In which sentence is every adjective and adverb correct?

Instructions: In each group, select the letter of the sentence that is limited enough to be the thesis statement of a good essay. Choose the thesis statement.