Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

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. Environmentalists have began to realize that the bog, with its varied uses, must be preserve.

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct pronoun for the blank in each of the following sentences. Elon and ____ majored in economics because ____ are fascinated with world finance.

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct verb for each blank. Since parents and children may not enjoy doing the same things; children, for example, often ____ like to wander the halls of a museum of art.

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?

Instructions: Select the answer that correct joins each pair of simple sentences with conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs and is punctuated correctly. Beth has an insatiable appetite for fatty foods. She will have to cut down if she wants to stay trim.

Instructions: Read the following sentence(s) carefully. Then select the correct adjective or adverb in parentheses. These cookies are more ( crunchier , crunchy ) than the last batch we made.

Instructions: Read each of the essay conclusions below. Select the letter of the method the writer used for each conclusion. The essay below concludes with a When I received my paper back from my instructor, I stuffed it in the back of my notebook. I could not bear to look at the evidence of my crime. The grade of A and the few lines of praise the teacher had written were not for me. They were for the person who had actually put in the time and the effort to write that paper. I simply stole it and pretended it was mine. I have never felt lower or more disappointed in myself, and I vowed then and there that I would stay up all night writing or earn an honest F before I would stoop to cheat again. Beth Brown, Student, The Cheater

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that correctly identifies the subject and complete verb in each sentence. The Australians were thrilled about their country s victory in the sailing competition.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Houseguests can be classified according to their level of self-sufficiency as independent, semidependent, or completely dependent. (2) Independent guests make an effort to fit their routines to yours; they make their own beds, cook breakfast if they get up early, and know how to entertain themselves if you have other things to do. (3) These usually are the guests you want to invite back. (4) Semidependent guests demand more of your attention and companionship; they may want to be driven around town or may urge you to play pool with them even though you hate pool or have a term paper due. (5) Still, the guests in this category may have charming qualities that make their visit worthwhile. (6) Most infuriating are the helplessly dependent guests, who enter your house as if it were a hospital or spa, expecting to be taken care of. (7) My friend George, for example, sprawls on a chair, his feet on my coffee table, complaining about his love life while I cook dinner, set the table, and change the CDs. (8) After two days of waiting on George while I try to solve his problems, I m exhausted. (9) As these categories show, houseguests are a mixed blessing some more mixed than others. On what basis does the writer classify houseguests?

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Clearly, then, stars are not cool and distant as they seem at first glance, but dynamic, evolving spheres of energy that never stop changing .

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Soda may be one of America s favorite beverages, but many experts now believe that drinking soda is bad for our health. (2) Because soda is high in calories but offers no nutritional value, it contributes to weight gain and obesity. (3) The sugar and acid in soda can cause unhealthy tooth decay. (4) Even sugar-free drinks may cause health problems because, as some studies have indicated, artificial sweeteners may increase the risk for cancer and other diseases. (5) Other research has shown that drinking soda is harmful to bones. (6) The phosphorus in soda causes bones to lose calcium. (7) As a result, they weaken and break more easily. Which of the following is a transitional expression that indicates cause or effect?

Instructions: In each of the sentences below, choose the correct words to fill in the blanks. Then select the letter that indicates your choice. I loved seeing ____ new house, but I don t ____ if I would ____ something so ostentatious.

Instructions: In each set below, choose the sentence in which all the apostrophes are used correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer. Which prewriting technique involves writing in a notebook every day or several times a week about your thoughts and experiences?

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. As program coordinator, I was responsible for maintaining the organization s database, filing new reports, and assessed each student s progress.

Instructions: Select the answer that correct joins each pair of simple sentences with conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs and is punctuated correctly. Arthur was anxious about the benefit dinner. Only twenty people had responded to the invitation.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Horace Bristol might be the only photographer to owe his fame to his child s book report. (2) Before he became an architect, Bristol had been a documentary journalist. (3) One day his teenage son was writing a report on The Grapes of Wrath , John Steinbeck s novel about an Oklahoma farm family forced off their drought-stricken land during the 1930s. (4) He asked his father if he d ever read the book. (5) Not only had he read it, Bristol replied, he had dreamed up the idea for it, recruited Steinbeck to write it, and photographed thousands of real farm families forced to leave their homes. (6) After revealing his past to his son, Bristol the photographer came out of hiding. (7) Hoping to sell a few of his photographs, he was soon astounded by the prices they commanded. (8) Encouraged, he took up his camera once again. (9) Since then, the photographs of Horace Bristol have become famous. (10) His images of despair during the Depression, heroism in the Pacific during World War II, and postwar poverty and hope in rural Korea are among the greatest photographs of the twentieth century. Select the number of the topic sentence that tells the point of the story.

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. Bogs have appear on every continent in the world except icy Antarctica.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct words and punctuation for each blank. Today the Library of Congress holds over 34.5 million books in 470 ____ the largest collection of books on the planet.

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 the reader 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 convince someone to adopt a dog from the animal shelter, you could say that