Exam 3: The Proccess of Writing Paragraphs

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Recent research shows that laughter improves health through its positive effects on stress hormones and boosting the immune system. (2) Studies by Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University in California show that belly laughter reduces at least four hormones associated with high levels of stress. (3) Another beneficial effect of laughter, according to these researchers, is an increase in the body's natural ability to kill diseased cells. (4) Laughter seems to reduce pain, too. (5) The Journal of Holistic Nursing reported that patients who were told jokes or watched comic videos after surgery perceived less pain than those who did not get a dose of humor. (6) Consequently, experts recommend taking time to laugh each day, especially during stressful times like finals week. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the questions. (1) Although separated by many years in age, Carolyn's father and her son are remarkably similar. (2) A gray-haired elderly gentleman, Carolyn's father always carefully selects his clothing before he steps into the public view. (3) His greatest treat is to browse through encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs to absorb scraps of knowledge, minute facts, and out-of-the-way statistics. (4) At dinner, he enjoys surprising his family with the annual rainfall of Australia or the average length of the tiger shark. (5) Billy, Carolyn's seven-year-old, also carefully surveys his clothing each morning to see what would best suit his mood. (6) He too loves to read, but he confines himself to children's books on exotic lands. (7) Just like his grandfather, at mealtime he parades his store of odd facts before the family, relishing the surprised looks on their faces. (8) Maybe the old saying should be "Like grandfather, like grandson." Transitional words or phrases are used in which sentence(s)?

Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the following questions. The group of sentences below can be unscrambled and written as a paragraph. Select the letter of the topic sentence in this group of sentences.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Judges can be divided, on the basis of their written opinions, into three categories: conservative, liberal, and centrist. (2) Although all judges respect the law, conservative judges have an especially strong belief in the importance of the law and the history surrounding it. (3) They believe that real justice comes only from strictly applying the law to the facts of a case, whether or not the outcome seems fair to an individual. (4) On the other hand, liberal judges look beyond a rigid reading to the "spirit of the law" in their search for real justice in a case. (5) They might broadly interpret the law in order to champion individual rights. (6) The outcome of the case matters more to them than the letter of the law. (7) Finally, centrist judges walk the middle ground between conservative and liberal. (8) They do not apply the law as rigidly as conservative judges, yet they are not as willing as liberal judges to apply the law loosely. (9) Having different types of judges helps balance our legal system; their differing views help protect both the law and individual rights. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

Study the body of each of the following paragraphs. Then, select the letter of the topic sentence that is most accurate. Select the best topic sentence for the paragraph. It dates back to ancient Egypt, when players tried to knock down pins by rolling a ball made of stone or wood at them. One historian claims that Germans were playing the game by 300 A.D. By the Middle Ages, bowling had become so popular that in 1366, England's King Edward III banned the sport because it was distracting his soldiers from archery practice. English, Dutch, and German settlers all imported different variations of the game when they immigrated to America. Today, almost 70 million Americans go bowling every year, making it the most popular participatory sport in the United States.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Employers should take aggressive steps to end age discrimination at the workplace. (2) According to the AARP, one-third of older American voters say that they or someone they know has experienced some form of age discrimination. (3) This problem is a serious one, as workers fifty-five and older are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. (4) Age discrimination is on the rise in these difficult economic times. (5) Workers who are laid off at age fifty-five or sixty find it difficult to find work. (6) The same is true for men and women who retire early, whether by choice or due to a corporate buyout. (7) Some employers say that older workers will take more time to learn things and will be less willing to work long hours. (8) However, that is a narrow-minded view. (9) Older workers can bring wisdom and expertise to the work environment. (10) In addition, they can prove to be excellent teachers to younger employees who need help. (11) Therefore, employers must treat every worker and job applicant with fairness and objectivity, regardless of age. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

Check the following paragraph(s) for unity. Select the number of the sentence that does not belong in the paragraph. Identify the sentence that does not belong. (1) Bottled water is not necessarily any purer or healthier than the water you can get from your sink. (2) In fact, in many cities and towns, the testing requirements for tap water are much stricter than those for bottled water, and the bottled water may actually contain contaminants that the tap water is not allowed to have. (3) Plus, bottled water usually lacks fluoride, an important mineral that is added to tap water. (4) Another reason to drink tap water is the waste generated by consumption of bottled water. (5) While all of those empty plastic bottles can be recycled, most people just toss them into the trash, and they end up in landfills already overflowing with garbage. (6) Recycling glass, newspaper, and aluminum will also help to minimize America's waste problem. (7) Finally, bottled water costs a lot more than tap water. (8) In fact, it's often about 300 times more expensive.

Each group of sentences below could be unscrambled and written as a paragraph. Read each group, and select the letter of the topic sentence for each. Choose the topic sentence.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Investors should be familiar with three common kinds of investments. (2) The first kind of investment is called a certificate of deposit, or CD. (3) It is the investment option with the least risk. (4) A CD loans your money to your bank for a specific period of time, during which your money collects interest. (5) The second type of investment is a bond, a slightly less conservative way to invest money. (6) With a bond, you invest your money in a business or in the government, which treats your investment as a loan. (7) The third, and riskiest, type of investment of all is in stock. (8) If you buy stock in a company, it means that you own a part of that company, however small. (9) Your fortune will rise and fall with the profits and failures of the company. (10) Each investment option has advantages and disadvantages. (11) It is best to research all options before making your choice. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

For each paragraph, select the number of the topic sentence. Identify the topic sentence of the paragraph below. (1) A well-written resume is a critical component for a successful job search. (2) To write a resume that gets results, always include action verbs that clearly reveal your skills and abilities. (3) Specific action verbs help potential employers understand how your experiences match their needs, so these action words should always begin your descriptions of duties you performed at previous jobs. (4) As you are listing these duties, use verbs such as analyzed, calculated, delivered, wrote, monitored, and purchased to describe the actions you have performed in the past. (5) In addition, make sure that, as much as possible, the verbs in your resume match the employer's description of the position. (6) If the position description states that good organizational skills are required, make sure to use the verb organized to describe at least one duty that you've performed in past jobs. If the position description asks for a supervisor, and you have supervisory experience, use the word supervised to describe one of your previous responsibilities.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Why is money such a problem issue for couples? (2) Psychologists and others have identified several causes. (3) One cause of financial tension is that people who overspend tend to marry people who hoard their money. (4) The hoarders feel happy and in control when they are not spending, whereas the overspenders feel happy and in control when they are spending. (5) Another reason is that most couples have more difficulty communicating about money than about any other subject. (6) Although they may talk to each other about everything else under the sun, they can't seem to communicate about money or how they feel about it. (7) A third cause of trouble involves gender differences, including differences in how men and women see the world and operate in it. (8) Some of these differences may go back to the early roles of men as hunters and women as food gatherers. (9) Rob Becker, in his theater piece, Defending the Caveman , describes men going out to buy a shirt, wearing it until it dies, and then going out to kill another shirt ⎯ while women, the gatherers, shop early and accumulate items for later giving. (10) Even though this picture may strike us as funny and we know people who are exceptions to all the generalizations, money issues continue to plague our relationships. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) The bedroom had been carefully put in order. (2) The two French windows to the left of the door sparkled with the sunlight reflected onto their clean glass panes. (3) Beneath each window was a carved honey-colored bookcase about three feet high and four feet wide. (4) Both bookcases contained neat rows of leather-bound books. (5) Flush against the back wall stood a magnificent canopy bed covered with an eyelet comforter. (6) Several eyelet-covered pillows were plumped at the head of the bed. (7) Against the right wall was a carved writing table on which lay a neat stack of writing paper and a gold pen. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

Check the following paragraphs for unity. Select the number of the sentence that does not belong in the paragraph. Identify the sentence that does not belong. (1) In nineteenth-century America, chocolate was a rare, expensive treat. (2) It was Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey Foods, who made chocolate affordable and widely available. (3) He had built a successful caramel-making company before chocolate-making first fascinated him in 1893. (4) For years, he worked at perfecting a recipe for making milk chocolate, a process which up until then had been the secret of Swiss chocolate makers. (5) Hershey experimented with different combinations of milk, sugar, and cocoa until he found the right one. (6) Then, using mass-production techniques, he was able to make and sell large quantities of individually wrapped, affordably priced chocolate. (7) For decades after Hershey began manufacturing his Hershey bars in 1904, the candy cost only a nickel. (8) In the early 1900s, a nickel also bought a ride on the New York subway.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) New Jersey businessman Barry Halper owned the world's largest collection of baseball memorabilia. (2) Three packed rooms in his basement held countless baseball-related objects priceless to any lover of the game. (3) He owned, for instance, at least 1 million baseball cards, all in complete sets. (4) Nine hundred players' uniforms on a dry cleaner's conveyor belt hummed through a huge closet in Halper's basement. (5) Another prized example of Halper's passion was a life-size wax statue of Babe Ruth purchased from Madame Tussaud's famous wax museum in London. (6) Halper displayed a huge leather chair shaped like a baseball mitt, 3,000 autographed balls, a baseball pinball machine made in the 1930s, posters, bats, masks, trophies. (7) In 1998, he sold his collection; Major League Baseball bought many of Halper's treasures and donated them to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Choose the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Reality television shows are inspiring viewers to explore and adopt new hobbies. (2) For example, the fashion design show Project Runway has sparked new interest in sewing. (3) Enrollment in sewing classes and sales of sewing machines have both increased significantly since the show began in 2004. (4) Another example is the Dancing with the Stars shows, which feature celebrities performing routines with ballroom dance professionals. (5) This series has led to a resurgence of interest in dances like the tango, the waltz, and the cha cha, with dance studios all over America reporting a spike in enrollment since this show started in 2005. (6) Reality TV shows like Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, and Pawn Stars have spawned new interest in antiques and collectibles. Transitional words or phrases are used in which sentences?

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Reality television shows are inspiring viewers to explore and adopt new hobbies. (2) For example, the fashion design show Project Runway has sparked new interest in sewing. (3) Enrollment in sewing classes and sales of sewing machines have both increased significantly since the show began in 2004. (4) Another example is the Dancing with the Stars shows, which feature celebrities performing routines with ballroom dance professionals. (5) This series has led to a resurgence of interest in dances like the tango, the waltz, and the cha cha, with dance studios all over America reporting a spike in enrollment since this show started in 2005. (6) Reality TV shows like Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, and Pawn Stars have spawned new interest in antiques and collectibles. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Music aficionados will always argue over compact discs and records. (2) LPs, or long playing records, have been around since the invention of the phonograph. (3) Many jazz fans say that LP records give jazz and blues music a certain character. (4) They refer to the authentic pops and scratches audible even on a good recording after several plays. (5) Classical music fans, however, stand by compact discs as the best way to listen to recorded music. (6) Though LPs capture the pops and scratches, CDs capture both the highs of virtuoso violins and the lows of tubas with a clarity that LPs cannot replicate. (7) Although record companies produce fewer and fewer LPs each year, they will always have die-hard fans who will stand by vinyl. Transitional words or phrases are used in which sentence(s)?

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the questions. (1) Achieving the position of attention ⎯ a key position in all military movements ⎯ is not as simple as most people think. (2) To obtain this position, a person must first bring his or her heels together and in line, toes forming a forty-five-degree angle. (3) The person then rests his or her weight equally on the heels of both feet and straightens the legs without locking the knees. (4) Next, he or she stands erect, hips level, chest lifted and arched, shoulders square and even. (5) The head should be erect and square, eyes to the front, chin drawn in so that the head and neck are vertical. (6) Finally, the arms should be straightened with fingers curled so that the tips of the thumbs are touching the index fingers. (7) The thumb should rest along the seams of the pants. (8) Like everything else in military life, the position of attention has a format that must be followed. Transitional words or phrases are used in which sentences?

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) For two long days, Davisville's residents lived through the consequences of a power outage. (2) The most dramatic effect of the blackout was that people could not use their refrigerators, fans, or air conditioners although these were the two hottest days of the year. (3) Most residents tried to keep cool as best they could. (4) Lights were out, of course, so the local grocery store quickly sold its entire stock of candles and flashlights. (5) Couples and families could be seen trying to read by natural light until darkness fell. (6) Businesses were affected, too. (7) Small stores in the center of town used gas-fueled power generators to keep their produce cool and well-lit for customers. (8) Workers used to the conveniences of fax machines and computers had to bide time, making calls to clients to explain the situation. (9) The happiest consequence for some children was that they got to spend more hours at the town swimming pool, but when the power went back on Thursday morning, most people were eager to resume their daily activities. Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s). (1) Judges can be divided, on the basis of their written opinions, into three categories: conservative, liberal, and centrist. (2) Although all judges respect the law, conservative judges have an especially strong belief in the importance of the law and the history surrounding it. (3) They believe that real justice comes only from strictly applying the law to the facts of a case, whether or not the outcome seems fair to an individual. (4) On the other hand, liberal judges look beyond a rigid reading to the "spirit of the law" in their search for real justice in a case. (5) They might broadly interpret the law in order to champion individual rights. (6) The outcome of the case matters more to them than the letter of the law. (7) Finally, centrist judges walk the middle ground between conservative and liberal. (8) They do not apply the law as rigidly as conservative judges, yet they are not as willing as liberal judges to apply the law loosely. (9) Having different types of judges helps balance our legal system; their differing views help protect both the law and individual rights. Transitional words or phrases are used in which sentences?