Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct definition of the word. Illustrate

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) People who are thinking about getting a pet should carefully consider the kind of care that animal will require. (2) Pets can be classified into three categories according to how labor-intensive they are. (3) The first category includes very labor-intensive pets. (4) These animals require the most time, energy, and money because they need constant, daily care. (5) Horses kept in a barn are probably the best example, for they need to be fed, exercised, and groomed on a daily basis. (6) Dogs, which need to be fed and walked at least once a day, are another good example of a high-maintenance pet. (7) The second category contains those pets that are only moderately labor-intensive, such as a cat or a hamster. (8) They need to be fed every day, but other maintenance is done on only a weekly or monthly basis. (9) For example, a cat s litter box or a hamster s cage needs only periodic cleaning. (10) The third and final category includes very low-maintenance pets. (11) Fish are the best example. (12) They need just a little sprinkling of food every day, and their tanks need cleaning only a few times a year. On what basis does the writer classify pets?

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. What two things are being compared and/or contrasted?

Instructions: In each group below, select the letter of the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

Instructions: In each of the following sets, select the letter of the sentence that uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and that is punctuated correctly. Which sentence uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and is punctuated correctly?

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. The Zamboni is a massive machine that resurfaces scraped ice after figure skaters and hockey players scuff the ____ surface during practices, competitions, and games.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Ambivalence can be defined as a feeling or attitude that is both positive and negative at the same time. (2) For instance, a young woman might feel ambivalent about motherhood. (3) She may want to have a child yet fear that motherhood will use up energy she would like to spend on her career. (4) Or a Michigan man who is offered a slightly higher salary in Arizona might be ambivalent about moving. (5) He and his family don t want to leave their friends, their schools, and a city they love. (6) On the other hand, they are tempted by a larger income and by Arizona s warm climate and clean air. (7) Finally, two people may have ambivalent feelings about each other, loving and disliking each other at the same time. (8) It hurts to be together, and it hurts to be apart; neither situation makes them happy. (9) As these examples show, the double tug of ambivalence can complicate decision making. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

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 the passage and then answer the question(s) that follow. According to sports writer Ian Stafford, the British hold the record for winning the world s oddest competitions . In one of these bizarre events, contestants contort their faces and are judged on their ugliness. One competitor removed half his dentures and reversed the other half, rolled his eyes, and tucked his nose into his mustache and upper lip to achieve prize-winning ugliness. Another of these eccentric contests is snail racing. Opponents in this case are, of course, snails, which are placed in the center of a thirteen-inch cloth circle. The first to reach the edge of the circle wins. The race often takes four to five minutes, although the all-time champion (owned and trained by an English seven-year-old) finished the course in two minutes. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, worm charming the British have emerged as unconquered rivals in all of these so-called sports. Perhaps you think that sports writer Ian Stafford should win first prize in the Biggest Liar in the World Competition. No, every one of these outlandish games exists. You can check them all out on the Internet. What synonym refers to the subject of this passage (in italics)?

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the underlined part that contains an error. None of these is a big deal on its own, but when small frustrations add up, they take there toll.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Satire is a type of humor that attacks or exposes foolishness or lack of good sense of a subject using sarcasm, wit, or irony. (2) Subjects of satire can be specific individuals or organizations. (3) Examples of modern satire include three popular animated TV comedy series: Family Guy , South Park , and The Simpsons . (4) All three repeatedly make fun of the modern American middle-class lifestyle as well as all other aspects of American culture and society. (5) In particular, greedy, selfish, or ineffective authority figures including parents, teachers, principals, police officers, elected officials, and the clergy are favorite targets of ridicule in all three of these comedies. (6) Other examples of modern television satire are The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report , two fake news programs that poke fun at the media, government, and politics. What word or phrase is being defined in this paragraph?

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Most of the ingredients in cigarettes cause serious damage to health, but three of the worst are tar, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. (2) Tar, the brown, sticky substance produced by a burning cigarette, is a messy mixture of hundreds of toxic chemicals. (3) At least forty-three of those chemicals cause cancer. (4) The other two destructive substances, carbon monoxide and nicotine, contribute to heart disease. (5) Carbon monoxide prevents red blood cells from carrying a full load of oxygen. (6) Therefore, it reduces the body s oxygen supply. (7) At the same time, nicotine is not only constricting blood vessels and impairing blood flow but also stimulating the heart, making it beat faster and crave more oxygen. (8) Consequently, carbon monoxide and nicotine work together to damage the cardiovascular system. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Instructions: Select the letter of the list of words that should be capitalized. To get to kittery, maine, drive north on interstate 93; then, follow the local signs.

Instructions: For each of the following sentences, select the list of words that should include apostrophes. Well send this applicants r sum to the accounting department.

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the following questions. Study the body of the following paragraph. Then, select the letter of the topic sentence that is most accurate. When two people discuss complex or serious issues, they need to be able to explain themselves fully. An exchange of brief text messages forces them to limit their vocabulary and the length of their statements, so they are less likely to express their complete meaning to one another. In a conversation about an important matter, people also need to be able to convey their moods and emotions to each other. Communicating via text messages eliminates the nonverbal channels facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language that express feelings, so texting often inhibits emotional connection. If the conversation becomes an argument, the deficiencies of text messaging can not only prevent a resolution of the conflict but also make it worse.

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct noun for each blank. Fans screamed cruel slurs and booed him when he was on the field or up at bat, but a few of the sports ____who saw him play realized that he was a great hitter, fielder, and base runner.

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. The bulb has ____ only three times over the years, during moves between fire stations.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Parents should not enter their little girls in children s beauty pageants. (2) First of all, children who participate in these pageants may develop an unhealthy body image. (3) Studies have found that children who competed in beauty contests are more likely than those who didn t compete to be dissatisfied with their bodies, an attitude that can lead later to eating disorders or other psychological issues. (4) Another reason to avoid pageants is the cost. (5) Participation requires a lot of money for clothing, props, coaching, and travel, and these expenses quickly add up to thousands of dollars per pageant. (6) Many parents have admitted going into debt to finance their pageant hobby; Rick and Misty Simon of Atlanta, Georgia, for example, say that their credit card debt rose to $30,000 after two years of entering their daughter in a series of local pageants. (7) The most important reason to avoid these pageants, though, is their tendency to sexualize little girls. (8) The glitz pageants in particular require young contestants to wear heavy makeup and elaborate hairstyles that adults would wear. (9) They encourage parents to put their children into revealing costumes and then have those kids gesture and dance flirtatiously while wearing inappropriately suggestive facial expressions. (10) Little girls have no business prancing around on stage made up like adult women, winking at the judges, blowing kisses, and swinging their hips. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

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. Withered leaves ____ down the deserted streets.

Instructions: Each general statement is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. In 1900, about 1.8 million children under the age of 16 were employed full time in the United States.