Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) When he first became a star, the young Elvis Presley wore his coal-black hair in a slicked-back, ducktail haircut. (2) Dark sideburns framed the sides of his handsome face. (3) His intense eyes were blue, and his mouth curled up on one side when he smiled. (4) When he sang, his lips pouted or snarled, depending on the lyrics. (5) On his trim body, he wore loose, open-necked shirts that started a major new fashion trend among young males. (6) On his famous swiveling, wiggling hips, he usually wore black slacks. (7) Elvis definitely had a distinct look, one that made teenage girls melt and boys want to copy him. Select the number of the topic sentence that states the overall impression of the subject.

Instructions: Select the answer that correctly adds the suffix to each word below. pin + ed

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Although black bass and striped bass are two familiar fish in the world of saltwater fishing, their habits are altogether different. (2) Staying in one locale and waiting intently for its victims to pass, the black bass feeds steadily on fiddler crabs, mussels, skimmer, and clams. (3) Its cousin, the striped bass, however, remains in constant motion, always searching for its prey. (4) The striped bass feeds on smaller fish, squid, tin cans, or any glittering or wiggly object. (5) The black bass builds its home in the rocks that lie along the bottom of the ocean wall; it is well protected from the fisherman, whose line will often snag and break before this fish is taken. (6) On the other hand, the striped bass makes its home almost anywhere; it is usually caught near the surface of the water or several feet from the bottom. (7) The best way to catch the black bass is with a hook and sinker, whereas trolling is the best way to land a striped bass because this fish does not remain in one spot very long. (8) Striped bass and black bass, however, do have one thing in common: both make delicious eating after being caught and then fried in an open pan. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Instructions: For each sentence below, choose the correct preposition to insert. Select the letter of the correct answer. I left the sheet music ____ top of the piano.

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 Music is the speech of angels, wrote Thomas Carlyle over a hundred years ago. Today, growing numbers of scientists might agree. Soothing music has been shown to lower the blood pressure of heart patients, reduce pain after surgery, and help premature babies gain weight. In fact, research studies show that music has the power to heal and to work medical miracles.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) The city of Bangalore, India, is a jarring mixture of new and old. (2) Bangalore has become a world center of the computer software industry, and companies like IBM, Dell, and Hewlett Packard have built dozens of gleaming new buildings. (3) In contrast, the rutted dirt roads are choked with oxcarts, and three-wheeled taxis belch black fumes. (4) Over breakfast each morning at the Taj Residency Hotel, Indian programmers chat with American engineers about the latest piece of computer code. (5) Yet sandal-clad women carry baskets of tools on their heads at a nearby construction site, and workers drag a huge pipe into place using only ropes. (6) Each night, teams of programmers send their work by satellite uplink to teams on the other side of the earth. (7) However, they must rely on diesel generators because power outages lasting two or three hours occur almost every day. Does this paragraph compare, contrast, or both?

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, select the letter for the word that most exactly and vividly completes the sentence. The driving hail ____ our faces as we ran for the car.

Instructions: Proofread the following sentences, which form an essay, for errors in the past participle. If the sentence contains a past participle error, select Past participle error. If the sentence is correct, select Correct. Patients with muscle injuries and rheumatism have discovered that they feel better after taking a hot peat bath.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) The city of Bangalore, India, is a jarring mixture of new and old. (2) Bangalore has become a world center of the computer software industry, and companies like IBM, Dell, and Hewlett Packard have built dozens of gleaming new buildings. (3) In contrast, the rutted dirt roads are choked with oxcarts, and three-wheeled taxis belch black fumes. (4) Over breakfast each morning at the Taj Residency Hotel, Indian programmers chat with American engineers about the latest piece of computer code. (5) Yet sandal-clad women carry baskets of tools on their heads at a nearby construction site, and workers drag a huge pipe into place using only ropes. (6) Each night, teams of programmers send their work by satellite uplink to teams on the other side of the earth. (7) However, they must rely on diesel generators because power outages lasting two or three hours occur almost every day. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a transitional expression that indicates contrast or comparison?

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Just as growing children develop physically in stages, they also progress through stages of moral development. (2) Devised by American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, the stages describe the moral reasoning that guides decision-making. (3) The earliest stage Kohlberg called pre-conventional. (4) Here, children base their moral decisions on the outcome of a choice. (5) In other words, something is right or wrong depending on whether they will be punished or praised for doing it. (6) The next level is called the conventional stage because people at this level base their moral judgments on the conventions of society. (7) Something is right during this stage if most people agree that it is right. (8) Many people do not pass beyond the conventional level of moral reasoning. (9) Those who do have arrived at what Kohlberg termed the post-conventional level, a stage at which people base their moral decisions on personal beliefs. (10) People with such convictions will do what they consider is right even if it contradicts social rules or comes with negative consequences. How many stages are in the process?

Instructions: Each question below is a plan for a process paragraph. The steps for each plan are not in the correct chronological order. For each plan, select the answer that numbers the steps in the proper time sequence. Because turtles are cold-blooded animals, they hibernate during the winter. ____ After finding the right place, they dig their winter home, bury themselves in the mud, and fall into a deep sleep. ____ As the weather begins to turn cold, turtles begin to seek a spot in the mud near a pond to spend the winter. ____ With the onset of spring, the ice on the pond melts and the thawing mud awakens these buried creatures to new life. ____ Throughout the winter, as they sleep, their metabolism remains low.

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct verb or verbs for each sentence. Tsunamis ( is , are ) especially dangerous because they are so difficult to detect in advance.

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. Impressed that the students were fiercely competitive and working on a high level.

Instructions: In each set below, select the letter of the sentence in which commas are used correctly. In which sentence are commas used correctly?

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that correctly identifies the subject and complete verb in each sentence. Two-paycheck families are becoming more common.

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct pronoun for the blank in each of the following sentences. The University Judiciary Board, composed of twelve undergraduate students, reached ____ decision on the date rape case.

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct noun to fill in the blank in each of the following sentences. Most ____ in the Northeast have public transportation systems.

Instructions: If the sentence is correctly punctuated, select Correct. If the sentence is not correctly punctuated, select Not correct. I never thought I would become a scientist, Craig said, but after taking cell biology, I became very interested in cancer research.

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. How many causes does the writer include to develop the topic sentence?

Instructions: Below is a source followed by passage(s) from student papers. If the student has summarized, directly quoted, or indirectly quoted the source correctly, select Correct. If you believe the source is incorrectly summarized or plagiarized, select Incorrect. In May, scientists in the Gulf of Mexico began tracking plumes of methane and oil droplets drifting up to 30 miles from the broken BP oil well, at depths of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. One of those scientists was University of Georgia biogeochemist Mandy Joye, who has spent years studying hydrocarbon vents and brine seeps in the deep Gulf. She found a plume the size of Manhattan, and its methane levels were highest she had ever measured in the Gulf. As bacteria feast on spilled oil and methane, they deplete the water of oxygen; at one point Joy found oxygen levels dangerously low for life a water layer 600 feet thick, at depths where fish usually live. Since waters in the deep Gulf mix very slowly, she said, such depleted zones could persist for decades. Bourne, Joel. The Gulf of Oil: The Deep Dilemma. Green . Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 100-112. Print. Student version: The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from one of the BP Oil Company s wells was one of the most environmentally damaging spills in the history of oil drilling. Bourne says that, according to one University of Georgia scientist, huge columns of oil and methane in the Gulf have already led to depleted oxygen supplies in the water. As a result, vast areas once home to fish may be unable to support life for years to come. (110-111).