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. Stars glow like a light bulb , even from a distance, because of the nuclear fusion going on continually exploding in the star s center.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) The federal minimum wage should be increased to at least $10.00 per hour. (2) First of all, this increase will help families who are living in poverty. (3) Not only will it provide these people with a fairer and more decent rate of pay for their labor, but it will also decrease their need for welfare, food stamps, and other forms of government support. (4) Increasing the minimum wage may also stimulate job growth. (5) According to one 2006 study published by the Fiscal Policy Institute, employment in small businesses grew faster in states that boosted their minimum wage above the federal minimum than in states requiring only the federal minimum. (6) This report also found that total job growth was faster in the states with higher minimum wages. (7) That may be because workers who earn more can spend more, which stimulates the economy. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and then answer the following question(s) by selecting the letter of the correct response. Coffee drinkers should seriously consider switching to tea. According to the latest research, the ingredients in tea may help people stay slim. When Taiwanese researchers studied 1,000 people, they found that the people who drank two cups of any kind of tea every week for ten years had 20 percent less body fat than people who didn t drink tea. But there s an even better reason to switch. As it turns out, tea lowers the risk of serious disease, such as some cancers, heart attack, and stroke. In 2003, scientists found out that after just three weeks of drinking five cups of black tea per day, fifteen people cut their cholesterol by 7 percent and their bad LDL cholesterol by 11 percent. Australian researchers studying 218 women found that tea reduced blood pressure; in fact, the more tea a person drank, the more blood pressure dropped. Coffee does not offer any of these health benefits, so tea is clearly the better beverage choice. The subject of this paragraph is

Instructions: The paragraphs of the following essay have been scrambled so that they are out of order. Read them and then answer the question(s) that follow. Different Types of Weightlifters _____ (1) Power lifters may be athletes, competitive power lifters, and people wanting to increase strength. (2) These groups take power lifting seriously. (3) Power lifters lift four days a week with a two-day split. (4) Days one and four are reserved for upper body, days two and five for lower body, and the other days for rest. (5) Power lifters use a pyramid scheme to track their strength and progress. (6) The pyramid scheme is a chart that uses percentages of maximum lifts to guide repetitions for each set. (7) Power lifters rest two to two and one-half minutes between each set so that maximum strength can be applied to every set. (8) A power lifter s main focus is explosion rather than isolation or burning. (9) Sets of each lift include a low number of repetitions with a high weight to create as much strength as possible. (10) Power lifters are knowledgeable weightlifters, but they are extremely injury prone. (11) Their use of high weight with a concentration on explosion makes an injury easily possible. _____ (12) Weightlifting can be used for different purposes throughout one s life. (13) Different people lift weights for different reasons. (14) Weightlifters can be classified into four categories: intermediate lifters, circuit lifters, power lifters, and mass lifters. (15) Each category focuses on a different type of lifting and each leads to different results. _____ (16) Intermediate lifting contains the largest number of weightlifters. (17) Intermediate lifters do not take weightlifting seriously, using it only as a complement to cardiovascular exercise. (18) Lifters in this category do not keep journals of workouts, and they lift weights between two to five days a week, depending on their schedules. (19) An intermediate lifter s workout varies daily since records of past workouts are not kept. (20) One workout could be a total-body workout while the next is three sets of arm curls. (21) These lifters are typically beginners with little or no weightlifting knowledge. (22) Due to this lack of knowledge, intermediate lifters are injury prone. _____ (23) Circuit lifters are the second largest group of weightlifters. (24) A circuit lifter s goal is to define his or her muscles. (25) Lifting is second to cardiovascular exercise since their main goal is to bum fat covering muscle definition. (26) Circuit lifters lift five days a week with a specific plan as well. (27) The plan includes day one for chest, day two for back, day three for legs, day four for shoulders, and day five for biceps and triceps. (28) Circuit lifters sometimes take fat-burning supplements to aid them in burning fat. (29) Circuit lifters will do fifteen to twenty repetitions per set with a light weight. (30) They will rest thirty to forty-five seconds between each set, concentrating on keeping the muscle burning. (31) The burning means lactic acid is being released, which means fat is being burned. (32) Circuit lifters are the least injury prone due to their use of light weight. (33) The risk of injury is small but still remains. _____ (34) Intermediate lifters, circuit lifters, power lifters, and mass lifters all lift for different reasons. (35) Each lifter receives different benefits in his or her quest for improvement. (36) All weightlifters fall into one of the four mentioned categories, each with a different goal. _____ (37) Mass lifters are typically bodybuilders or people who want to get bigger. (38) These people follow weightlifting religiously. (39) Mass lifters lift five days a week with a specific plan. (40) This plan includes chest and triceps on days one and four; back, shoulders, and biceps on days two and five; and legs on day three. (41) The other days are reserved for rest. (42) Mass lifters usually take weight-gaining supplements to aid them in their quest for more muscle mass. (43) Mass lifters will do eight to twelve repetitions per set using a medium weight. (44) Their rest periods are between one and one and one-half minutes. (45) A mass lifter concentrates on isolation of each body part, which will maximize muscle growth. (46) Mass lifters are prone to injury simply because they lift weights. (47) They are less injury prone than most lifters, however, due to their good form and proper rest techniques. Andy Sarjahani, Student Student Voices, Cengage Learning, 2009 Select the number of the sentence that is the thesis statement of this essay. a. Sentence 1 b. Sentence 12 c. Sentence 14

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Do you know what happens when you fall asleep? (2) After studying brain-wave patterns, neuroscientists identified five distinct stages of human sleep. (3) In stage 1, you feel drowsy and your muscles begin to relax. (4) This stage between waking and sleep only lasts five to ten minutes. (5) During the second stage, you experience light sleep. (6) Your heart rate, brain activity, and breathing slow down, and your body temperature decreases. (7) In the third stage, you transition between light sleep and the fourth stage of deep sleep. (8) It is during stages 3 and 4, which are known as slow-wave sleep, that your body rests, replenishes its energy, and repairs itself. (9) Finally, about 90 minutes after you first fall asleep, the fifth stage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs. (10) Your brain is very active, but your muscles are paralyzed. (11) During REM sleep, you dream. (12) Throughout an average night, you move constantly from one stage to another in recurring cycles. (13) These sleep cycles last about 70 to 90 minutes and are repeated four or five times a night. (14) While you do not go through all five stages of sleep consecutively, you will experience each stage at least once during a full sleep cycle. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Instructions: Select True if the statement is true or False if the statement is false. It is acceptable to switch person from I to you within your paper.

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

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) An unlikely friendship formed in 2005 at the Mutsugoro Okoku Zoo near Tokyo, Japan. (2) In October of that year, a snake named Aochan refused to eat the frozen mice zookeepers gave him for his dinner. (3) Then, the zookeepers presented a live hamster named Gohan, which means meal. (4) Instead of eating the hamster, however, Aochan made friends with it. (5) Three months later, when newspapers began to print the story, predator and prey were still sharing a box. (6) Gohan was even taking naps on top of the snake, who eventually developed a taste for frozen rodents. (7) Even then, Aochan showed no sign of wanting to gobble up his new companion. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a transitional expression that indicates time?

Instructions: Select the letter of the list of words that should be capitalized. On november 19, 1863, abraham lincoln delivered the gettysburg address, a simple, 270-word speech that honors those who died in that civil war battle.

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 Before the war ended in 1945, the Nazis had murdered an estimated 5.7 million Jews in the Holocaust, widely considered the most horrific and evil act of modern times.

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each pair, select the answer with more sentence variety. Which answer choice has sentence variety?

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct preposition for each blank. Unsung Innovators Overexpansion and a business slump forced him from the company in 1910, but not for long; Durant soon joined forces ____ the fearless car-racing star Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941).

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) You are sitting in a restaurant quietly having a meal when suddenly a man nearby starts choking on a piece of food lodged in his throat. (2) By using the Heimlich maneuver, you may be able to save this person s life. (3) Your two hands are all you need to perform this lifesaving technique. (4) First, position yourself behind the choking person. (5) Then wrap your arms around the person s midsection, being careful not to apply any pressure to the chest or stomach. (6) Once your arms are around the victim, clench one hand into a fist and cup this fist in the other hand. (7) Now turn the fist so that the clenched thumb points toward the spot between the choker s navel and midsection. (8) Finally, thrust inward at this spot using a quick, sharp motion. (9) If this motion does not dislodge the food, repeat it until the victim can breathe freely. How many steps are in the process?

Instructions: Select the sentence that contains concise, fresh language. Which sentence contains concise, fresh language?

Instructions: Read each of the following essay introductions. Then select the letter of the method the writer used to begin the composition. The essay below begins with a Benjamin Franklin said, It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it. This saying still applies to life in general, but it also fits today s competitive workplace. Employees in any field should be aware of and avoid several activities that can undermine their integrity and cost them their jobs.

Instructions: Select the letter of the word in the sentence that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. Accept for Julio, everyone here has been to Miami.

Instructions: The paragraphs of the following essay have been scrambled so that they are out of order. Read them and then answer the question(s) that follow. Libraries of the Future - Now _____ (1) A third illustration of a library breaking the old mold, the Cerritos Public Library in New Mexico strives for mixed-media experience that reflects modern culture. (2) The first titanium-clad building in the U.S., this sleek library s golden skin changes colors with the weather. (3) Its lobby, where a 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium reproduces a coral reef, looks more like the inside of a futuristic shopping mall than a library. (4) Video screens flash images such as movie clips, and visitors glide in space-age elevators. (5) Librarians don t sit behind desks; instead, armed with headsets and handheld computers, they greet visitors and move among them to offer assistance and guidance. (6) In the children s library, kids can project themselves onto a video screen beside a life-size replica of a T. rex dinosaur. (7) The library aims, through interaction and sensory experience, to stimulate library-goers imaginations and curiosity, inspiring them to grab one of the library s 300,000 books and start reading. _____ (8) A second, even more experimental example is the Salt Lake City Library, which has become one of Utah s top attractions since it opened in 2003. (9) The curved glass skin of the building dazzles visitors with views of the city and the Wasatch Mountains beyond, and a roof garden overlooks the entire Salt Lake Valley. (10) Like Seattle s library, this has won architectural awards, but unlike Seattle, it has been called the unquietest library in America. (11) Inside, music pumps through speakers, and librarians wear No Shhh! buttons, although the five floors do get quieter the higher one goes. (12) Patrons can sip coffee at a caf , browse a huge CD and DVD collection, surf the Internet on one of the 163 computers, stroll through an art gallery, or attend a lecture or concert in the auditorium. (13) Of course, they can also help themselves to one of the books in the library s 500,000-volume collection. _____ (14) As information-seekers began turning to computers and the Internet, some people predicted the death of the public library, which supposedly would serve no purpose in an electronic world. (15) But that has not happened. (16) On the contrary, many city planners now think that libraries will take on a new role for busy people in the twenty-first century. (17) In fact, pioneering cities are spending vast sums to reinvent their libraries as community information centers that not only integrate the latest technology but also attract visitors with art, music, comfort, and beautiful design. _____ (18) To achieve the goal of expanding their citizens knowledge and literacy, savvy library planners know that, first, they must draw people inside. (19) In the case of these three libraries, the plan seems to be working. (20) Library membership at all three has risen dramatically. (21) Residents who never before set foot in a library are regulars, and after school, young people hang out and do homework. (22) As such extreme library makeovers are revealed, old perceptions of libraries as stuffy or boring shatter. (23) Wired? Enlightening? Gorgeous? Cool? (24) It might be a library. _____ (25) One example is the new library in Seattle, Washington, which opened in 2004 to worldwide praise. (26) After studying feedback from residents, librarians, and library users of all ages, architect Rem Koolhaas created at a cost of $165 million a modernistic copper and glass building with interior touches of eye-popping color. (27) Employees describe it as so much fun to work in that they never miss a day. (28) Library-goers enter a huge, welcoming living room where they can relax, socialize, read, or connect wirelessly to the Internet. (29) Virtual guides on large monitors greet people and later pop up helpfully on screens throughout the library. (30) At the building s core, a continuous, user-friendly spiral of bookshelves holds the library s collection. (31) Patrons can get help from librarians, search for information on 132 computers, or chat online with the virtual reference service in a space Koolhaas calls the mixing chamber. (32) In the teen center, young patrons can enter sound domes and blast ear-splitting music without disturbing anyone else. How many examples does the writer use to develop the thesis statement? a. two b. three c. five

Instructions: Select True if the statement is true or False if the statement is false. Be consistent in use of verb tenses in your writing.

Instructions: Find the complete subject and the complete verb in each sentence. Then select the letter of the answer that contains both the subject and the verb. Dr. Tania Rodriguez requested and received blue carpeting for her office.

Instructions: Select the letter of the list of words that should be capitalized. Alcoholics anonymous was started in 1935 by two alcoholics and continues to help thousands of recovering alcoholics each year.