Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

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. How many steps are in the process?

Instructions: Identify the cause and the effect contained in each of the following statements. The defendant was found guilty of kidnapping. Therefore, he was sentenced to life in prison.

Instructions: Read each of the following essay conclusions. Choose the letter of the method the writer used to end the composition. The essay below concludes with a For all the predictions that ebooks will transform education, the evidence is clear: students, at least for now, prefer paper textbooks. They want to flip back and forth, scribble in the margins, and, in short, learn and study the old-fashioned way.

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct verb for each blank. First, Johnson s Farm ____ visitors during July and August.

Instructions: For each of the following sentences, 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. Nowadays, health-conscious people who add skewered vegetables to their barbecues.

Instructions: In each set below, select the letter of the sentence in which every adjective and adverb is correct. Which sentence contains correct adjectives and adverbs?

Instructions: Select the correct noun for each blank. Children can sometimes recognize ____ and short words as early as age 2.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the letter of the word that is misspelled. In origami, the artist does not use sissors, decorations, or adhesives of any kind.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Mexico City is a fascinating mixture of modern and traditional ways of life. (2) The city boasts sleek skyscrapers, such as the famous Latin America tower. (3) However, it also proudly displays its graceful Spanish colonial palaces and public buildings, many of which are 300 years old. (4) Glittering stores line the main shopping streets, offering the latest in international styles of clothing and house furnishings. (5) Yet old fashioned street markets fill the city, from the great food market of the Merced to stalls in small plazas selling such pi atas and paper Christmas decorations. (6) Huge modern factories in the northern section turn out most of Mexico s clothing, steel, cement, appliances, and electrical supplies. (7) In contrast, craftspeople line the city s streets with their handmade baskets, pottery, metalwork, and textiles. Does this paragraph compare, contrast, or both?

Instructions: In each set below, select the letter of the sentence in which every adjective and adverb is correct. Which sentence contains correct adjectives and adverbs?

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 Gradually, however, the young people adapted to their new homes and grew up to lead useful and successful lives. A documentary film, Into the Arms of Strangers, shares many of these young people s stories and those of the heroes who took them in.

Instructions: Choose the correct words to insert in each of the following sentences. Then select the letter of the correct response. As the basketball team scored the winning point, the fans ____, ____, and ____ their feet.

Instructions: Read each of the following essay conclusions. Then choose the letter of the method the writer used to end the composition. The essay below concludes with a Illness related to chemical dumping is increasing in Larkstown, yet only a handful of citizens have joined the campaign to clean up the chemical dump on the edge of town and to stop further dumping. Many people say that they don t want to get involved, but with their lives and their children s futures at stake, can they afford not to?

Instructions: Read the following paragraph. For each set of sentences below the paragraph, select the letter of the sentence that provides the best revision for consistency; parallel structure; sentence variety; and fresh, concise language. On December 4, 1872, the crew of the Dei Gratia discovered a ship named the Mary Celeste drifting in the Atlantic. Some of them rowed out to investigate. According to their account, the ship was seaworthy, but a lifeboat was missing, and not one single, solitary person was on board. It seemed that the Mary Celeste s crew simply vanished into thin air without a trace, leaving their oilskin boots and pipes behind. The Mary Celeste s captain recorded his last entry in the ship s log book on November 25 when the ship lands on an island in the Azores. An Admiral Court inquiry found no evidence of foul play or piracy, and praise for the crew of the Dei Gratia for safely bringing both vessels to harbor. The public didn t give a hoot about the incident until young Arthur Conan Doyle s fictional version of the event made them chomp at the bit to learn more in 1884. Conan Doyle described untouched breakfasts and still-warm cups of tea on the captain s table. The public began to confuse fiction with the facts. Obsessed with the mystery, many people developed theories about what happened; some suggested, for example, that the ship experienced a seaquake, and others wondering if the Dei Gratia s men slaughtered everyone. Which sentence provides the best revision for consistency; parallel structure; sentence variety; and fresh, concise language?

Instructions: Read the definition below and answer the question(s) that follow. A labyrinth is a maze. The subject of the sentence is ____.

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. If the sentence contains a pronoun error, select Pronoun error. If the sentence is free of pronoun errors, select Correct. Then us girls punched it down and kneaded it again.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and then answer the question(s) that follow(s) by choosing the letter of the correct response. Students who do not have the money to pay for some or all of their college expenses can apply for various forms of financial aid. Obtaining the funds for tuition, books, and even living expenses begins with filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The fastest way to fill out this form is to complete it online at www.fafsa.gov , but students can also fill out and mail in a paper version of the form. This form asks for information about students financial situation and requires them to answer questions about their taxable and untaxed income and their assets, such as savings account balances and investments. If students are considered dependent on their parents, their parents financial information is also required. After students submit their FAFSA forms, those forms are processed, and students receive a Student Aid Report. A report is also sent to the colleges the student identified on the FAFSA. Each college uses the information it receives to calculate the amount of aid the student can receive; then, the college generates an award letter for the student. This application process must be completed every year a student is enrolled in school and needs financial aid. This paragraph was written for an audience of

Instructions: For each of the following statements, select the answer that correctly identifies the cause and effect. Many people conquer their addiction to alcohol by joining the twelve-step Alcoholics Anonymous program.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Last September, I watched my ten-year-old grandson act like an adult in an emergency. (2) While cleaning the living room carpet, I tripped and fell over the vacuum cleaner hose. (3) At first, I was dazed. (4) Soon, I realized that my left arm hurt terribly. (5) I called to my grandson Joel, who was the only other person at home. (6) When Joel saw me on the floor, his face went pale. (7) Then he calmly took charge of the situation. (8) He went to the phone and dialed for emergency help. (9) I heard him give our address, exact details of what had happened, and a description of the position I was lying in. (10) I could tell that he was carefully listening to the instructions he was given. (11) Returning to the living room, Joel covered me with a wool blanket and told me that an ambulance was on its way. (12) He sat by my side in the ambulance and stayed with me while the doctor treated me. (13) My sprained arm bothered me for only three weeks, but I will always feel proud of what my grandson did on that day. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a transitional expression that indicates time?

Instructions: Below is a plan for a contrast paragraph. The points of contrast in the second column do not follow the same order as the points in the first column. In addition, one detail is missing. Living in a big city or a small town Living in a big city Living in a small town 1. Crowds and long lines are common ____ Fewer job options 2. Heavy traffic ____ Traffic jams are rare 3. Many employment opportunities ____ Slower lifestyle 4. A wide range of cultural and sports events ____ ________________________ 5. Faster pace ____ Not many entertainment options Select the letter of the answer that correctly numbers the points in the second column to match those in the first.