Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

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. T.J. ____ that he would graduate with honors.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) At my Halloween party, my friend George showed up wearing on his head what looked like an ax embedded in his skull. (2) His hair was matted with fake blood. (3) On his face, he used rubber scars and gashes, makeup, and more fake blood to make it look as though he had been sliced and diced. (4) On one eye, he wore another prosthetic rubber device that made his eye appear slashed. (5) More bloody wounds covered his neck. (6) His tattered clothes were spattered with fake blood, and a fake knife protruded from his back. (7) George looked absolutely grotesque in that gory getup. Select the number of the topic sentence that states the overall impression of the subject.

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct preposition for each blank. Unsung Innovators By that time, Durant had formed General Motors, which also consisted ____ Oldsmobile and Cadillac.

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. The Regent Diamond _____ (1) In 1701, the 410-carat gem was discovered in an Indian mine by a slave who risked his life to smuggle it out. (2) Slashing his leg, he stuffed the huge diamond into the wound and headed for the seacoast. (3) A shifty sea captain offered to sail him to freedom for half the value of the jewel. (4) When at sea, the captain stole the stone and threw the slave overboard. (5) He then sold the precious rock to a powerful diamond merchant. _____ (6) Now called the Regent diamond, the fabulous stone was the most valuable French crown jewel. (7) In 1792, during the French Revolution, it disappeared, only to be found in a ditch in the middle of Paris. (8) Upon becoming emperor, Napoleon had the diamond set into the hilt of his ceremonial sword. (9) In 1887, when the last French monarchy fell and the jewel collection was auctioned, the Regent diamond was placed in the Louvre, the famous museum in Paris, where it still glitters today. _____ (10) People have long been fascinated by huge gemstones, such as the Hope diamond, the Ruspoli sapphire, the Rajaratna ruby, and the Gachala emerald. (11) The Regent diamond is one jewel that has long been among the world s most desired. _____ (12) Few people believed Pitt had come by the diamond honestly, so he also had trouble selling it. (13) Pitt was terrified of being robbed and murdered. (14) Whenever he carried the stone, he disguised himself and would not sleep in the same place for more than two nights. (15) If someone recognized him, he would deny that he carried the stone with him. (16) It took years, but he finally sold his diamond in 1717 for an enormous sum to the Duke of Orleans, the Regent of France. _____ (17) The merchant had difficulty unloading the diamond because it was so large and because it was stolen. (18) He finally sold it to Robert Pitt, a young Englishman who had come to India seeking his fortune. (19) By the time this shrewd adventurer returned home, the English had nicknamed him Diamond Pitt and christened the stone the Pitt. This essay is a(n) a. definition essay. b. narrative essay. c. illustration essay.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the underlined part that contains an error. Either way, we experience stress physically and in an emotional sense . A second type is chronic stress.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Learning to make a budget is the key to managing your hard-earned money. (2) First, select your budget period, usually a week or a month. (3) Second, estimate your income for that time period as accurately as you can. (4) Include not only your salary after payroll deductions, but the least you expect to make from other sources, such as tips, bonuses, and commissions. (5) Third, add up all your expenses for the budget period. (6) Be sure to add in your fixed costs like rent, utilities, tuition, and taxes as well as savings. (7) Also include your variable expenses. (8) The most difficult ones to estimate, variable expenses include all your nonfixed living costs, from money for food and transportation to planned events like vacations and less predictable ones like medical and home repair bills. (9) Fourth, subtract your expenses from your income to see whether you need to adjust your budget. (10) If your expenses are greater than your income, look for ways to cut costs for example, on clothing. (11) If your income is greater than your expenses, you have the luxury of splurging or saving extra money for that car or trip you have always wanted. Which of the following sentences in the paragraph does NOT contain a transitional expression that indicates time?

Instructions: Select the answer that correctly adds the suffix to each word below. concur + ing

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. While scientists continued their work of building a genetic map of the extinct species, Lyuba s remains toured museums worldwide where visitors seed the most perfectly preserved prehistoric animal ever found.

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

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, choose the correct words to fill in the blanks. Then select the letter that indicates your choice. John was the handyman ____ was ____ to replace the ____ hinge on the kitchen cupboard.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Crime dramas are some of the most watched television shows today, and it s true that shows like the popular C.S.I . are interesting and entertaining. (2) However, C.S.I. is also producing some serious problems. (3) Some people say that C.S.I. is actually making real-life crimes harder to solve by giving criminals good tips for covering their tracks. (4) For example, crime experts have been noticing an increase in cases in which suspects have burned or bleached evidence to destroy DNA samples that can be traced back to them. (5) In other cases, criminals have planned their crimes using techniques they learned on C.S.I. for leaving no evidence behind them. (6) Another effect has been the reluctance of real-life juries to convict criminals in the absence of clear-cut evidence like the kind gathered by the fictional forensic scientists on the C.S.I. show. (7) Prosecutors say that the show distorts viewers impressions of the speed and accuracy of crime labs, technology, and gadgets. (8) Therefore, viewers form unrealistic expectations of actual criminal courtroom trials. (9) In fact, this phenomenon has been given a name: the C.S.I. effect. Which of the following sentences contains a transitional expression that signals cause or effect?

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) The average age of first marriage has been rising; in America, it is now 28.4 for men and 26.5 for women. (2) Why are people waiting longer to get married? (3) Americans are postponing marriage for a number of reasons. (4) One cause of this phenomenon is young people s desire to concentrate on their careers before taking on the additional responsibilities of a spouse and children. (5) Many people also want to enjoy the freedom and independence of the single life as long as possible. (6) Another reason for postponing marriage is the lack of pressure to marry. (7) Society now finds it acceptable for people in their twenties to be involved in intimate, long-term relationships without tying the knot. (8) Therefore, friends and family members are less likely to urge young people to formally commit to one another. (9) Yet another cause for the rising age of first marriage is the fear of divorce combined with high expectations for a marital relationship. (10) People want to wait to marry until they re sure they ve found their perfect soul mate. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a transitional expression that signals cause or effect?

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer. Proofreading is most effective when you

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: For each pair of sentences below, select the letter of the option that provides the best sentence variety. Which answer choice provides the best sentence variety?

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. The Zamboni vacuums the dirty water and replaces it with clean, hot water, which comes out of a hot towel in the ____ rear.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. For ____, hockey and figure skating fans have looked forward to the appearance of the Zamboni machine.

Instructions: For each of the following sentences, select the list of words that should include apostrophes. Its eight o clock and time for my favorite TV shows.

Instructions: Each question below is a plan for a narrative paragraph. The events in the plan(s) are not in the correct chronological order. Select the letter of the answer that numbers the events in the proper time sequence. The Civil War battle between two iron-covered ships, on March 9, 1862, changed sea warfare forever. ____ Two hours into the battle, the Monitor ran out of ammunition and moved into shallow water to reload. ____ After four hours, the Merrimack , her hull leaking and her smokestack broken, escaped from the scene of battle. ____ When the Monitor returned with guns loaded, the Merrimack lured her into deep water and then suddenly swung around and rammed her, leaving barely a dent. ____ At the end of the conflict, neither ironclad ship had really won, but the wooden fighting ship was a thing of the past. ____ At first, the two ships the North s Monitor and the South s Merrimack just circled each other like prehistoric monsters, firing at close range but causing no damage.

Instructions: Read each of the following essay introductions. Select the letter of the method the writer used in each introduction. The essay below begins with a(n) If the entire human species were a single individual, that person would long ago have been declared mad. The insanity would not lie in the anger and darkness of the human mind though it can be a black and raging place indeed. And it certainly wouldn t lie in the transcendent goodness of that mind one so sublime, we fold it into a larger soul. The madness would lie instead in the fact that both of those qualities, the savage and the splendid, can exist in one creature, one person, often in one instant. Adapted from Jeffrey Kluger, What Makes Us Moral, Time, 12.3.07, p 55.