Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. There are billions of stars in each galaxy, and there are billions of galaxies in the universe. Stars are bodies of gas that range in size, weight, and temperature, and can be hot or cold .

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 What the reader would strive for, then, is a more active kind of listening. Whether you listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington, you can deepen your understanding of music only by being a more conscious and aware listener not someone who is just listening, but someone who is listening for something. Aaron Copland, What to Listen for in Music . Signet Classics, 2002, page 14

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. If someone really wants to make homemade pizza, they can.

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 in the second column. Compare a community college and a university. Community college University 1. hundreds of dollars for each semester s tuition _____ graduate students teach many of the classes 2. no housing, students must commute _____ students mostly in their teens and twenties 3. small classes _____ thousands of dollars for each semester s tuition 4. professors teach classes _____ classes often contain hundreds of students 5. wide age range in student body _____ ____________________ Select the letter of the answer that numbers the points in the second column to match those in the first.

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Huge brown pelicans ____ on the posts of the dock.

Instructions: Each of the following sentences tells 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 join a particular club on campus, you might say that

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the questions below. If an essay exam question asks you to evaluate something, your paragraph or essay should

Instructions: Each of the following plans for an essay contains a thesis statement and several topic sentences in scrambled order. Select the letter of the answer that numbers the topic sentences in each group according to an order that makes sense. Thesis statement: America s current high school drop-out crisis is negatively impacting our society in a number of ways. Topic sentences: ____ Worst of all, because too many high school drop-outs wind up in prison or on unemployment, the high drop-out rate reflects a terrible waste of human potential. ____ Even worse, some drop-outs become a financial burden on their communities because they pay little to no taxes but need support in the form of food stamps, housing assistance, and government health care. ____ One consequence of large numbers of high school drop-outs, who typically earn low wages, is a significant reduction in the community s economic growth.

Instructions: Number the sentences 1, 2, 3, and so on, as if you were preparing to write a paragraph. ____ She started her new work with the poor by teaching the street children of Calcutta arithmetic and reading. ____ Mother Teresa was rightly and lovingly named the Saint of the Gutters. ____ After several years at the school, she decided that her calling lay with the poor. ____ After her efforts in India, she aided relief agencies in Lebanon and Ethiopia, caring for the displaced and the starving. ____ With help from local authorities, she opened and staffed free clinics in the worst sections of Calcutta. ____ Soon she realized that what these poor people needed most was adequate medical facilities. ____ She began her career working at a Catholic school for the wealthy in Calcutta. Select the letter of the answer that lists this set of sentences in logical order.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. Zamboni invented a machine that would scrape the ice, collect the old ____, and add water to the new surface, all at the same time.

Instructions: Select the correct noun for each blank. Timber ____ are extinct in Western Europe, but they can still be found in North America, Russia, and parts of Asia.

Instructions: In each set below, select the letter of the sentence in which capital letters and punctuation have been used correctly. Which sentence uses capital letters and punctuation correctly?

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each set of choices, select the letter of the answer in which conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs are used correctly and punctuation is correct. Which sentence is correct?

Instructions: Read each of the sentences below carefully. Then select the correct word in parentheses. Every woman on the basketball team brought ( her , their ) date to the banquet.

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that correctly identifies each type of prewriting. The prewriting below is an example of Physical Fitness Who? Kids, adults, teenagers, senior citizens What? Working out at home or at a gym, jogging, running, walking, taking classes, personal trainer, buy videos Where? Home, gym, outdoors running, team sports When? After work, on weekends, during school (P.E. classes), at work during breaks and lunch hour Why? Health, stress relief, mental sharpness, improve appearance How? Commitment, get an exercise buddy, join a gym

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct verb or verbs for each sentence. As a tsunami ( approaches , approach ) a coastline, its length ( shortens , shorten ) as its height ( increases , increase ).

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. When hanging a framed picture, use a level to make sure they are not crooked.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word or phrase for each blank. Nearly 3 million people line up each year to rub shoulders with the images of historic and contemporary celebrities. ____ make Madame Tussaud s the most popular paid tourist attraction in England.

Instructions: Each group below has been divided according to a single basis of classification. However, one item in each group does not belong; it does not fit that single basis of classification. Read each group of items carefully; then select the letter of the one item that does not belong. Next, for each group, identify the single basis of classification that includes the rest of the group. Part A: Beds a. double b. twin c. water d. king Part B: Basis of classification: a. size b. firmness c. price

Instructions: For each set of sentences below, choose the sentence in which capital letters and punctuation have been used correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentence uses capital letters and punctuation correctly?