Question 1

Instructions: Read the paragraph below, and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Sadly, this college is part of a national trend. (2) Date rate is on the rise. (3) To stop date rape, college administrators and students must understand and deal with is possible causes. (4) First, some fraternities and male peer groups on campus promote an attitude of disrespect toward women. (5) This mentality sets the stage for date rape. (6) Second, alcohol and drugs erode good judgment and self-control. (7) The kegs, barrels, and bags consumed at many parties here put students at risk, including the risk of date rape. (8) A third cause of date rape is miscommunication between men and women. (9) Men and women often have different ideas of what date rape is or even if it exists. (10) We need campus workshops in which we can discuss this issue openly and come to some understanding between the sexes. (11) Date rape is a serious problem that can ruin lives. (12) We can make a difference by addressing the causes of date rape: the male mentality of disrespect, heavy campus use of alcohol and drugs, and the differing views of men and women. Michael White Moon, Student Which of the following is a transitional expression that indicates cause or effect?

Accepted Answer

A)  Sadly 
B)  To stop date rape 
C)  A third cause

Question 2

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the letter of the word that is misspelled. Today, many art teachers introduce origami basics to elementry school children in the United States.

Accepted Answer

A)  introduce 
B)  elementry 
C)  children

Question 3

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. Not surprisingly, manufacturers have ____ little interest in returning to a filament that could put them out of business.

Accepted Answer

A)  shown 
B)  showed

Question 4

Instructions: In each set of sentences below, select the letter of the sentence that includes an error. Which sentence includes an error?

Accepted Answer

A)  I know, said Ivonne, that they re lost. 
B)  What we really need is a week s vacation. 
C)  I admit it, you fascinate me.

Question 5

Instructions: Each general statement below is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. Communication tools designed to make us more productive often distract us and actually reduce our efficiency.

Accepted Answer

A)  Throughout the day, we allow incoming tweets and e-mail messages to constantly interrupt us by reading them immediately. 
B)  Television takes up much of our free time; the average person now watches more than four hours per day. 
C)  Ringing cell phones often interrupt us and pull our attention away from the task at hand. 
D)  The ding of a text message usually causes us to drop what we re doing to respond.

Question 6

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. Hand blown by the long defunct Shelby Electric Company, the light bulb has ____ its longevity through a special carbide filament no longer in use.

Accepted Answer

A)  maintain 
B)  maintained

Question 7

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. The whole procedure takes about 15 to 20 ____ from beginning to end.

Accepted Answer

A)  minute s 
B)  minutes

Question 8

Instructions: Select the correct preposition in parentheses for each of the following sentences. I ll take responsibility ( for , from ) all administrative errors.

Accepted Answer

A)  for 
B)  from

Question 9

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) A first glance at Benny tells you that he is an attractive young man. (2) The riveting feature is the contrast between his close-cropped black hair and his light skin. (3) There are two slight scars on his left cheek, but they add to instead of detract from his appearance. (4) His eyelashes are not prominent, but dark brown eyes gaze at you from under a canopy of thick, black eyebrows. (5) His nose is short and straight, befitting his oval face. (6) The cheekbones are high but not prominent, and the well-kept mustache gives a promise of luxuriant growth if given free reign. (7) Benny s mouth is small and full, and though the braces are off-putting, that shy smile will someday break a lot of hearts. (8) All of these factors put together with a mischievous gleam in his eyes draw the picture of an intelligent, quite personable young man. Carmen Crawford, student Give the number of the topic sentence that states the overall impression of the subject.

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 1 
B)  Sentence 2 
C)  Sentence 7

Question 10

Instructions: Select True if the statement is true or False if the statement is false. When you revise a paper, you should only be looking for spelling or grammatical errors.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct preposition to insert in each of the following sentences. According ____ the preface, the author of this book was an eyewitness to the earthquake.

Accepted Answer

A)  by 
B)  to 
C)  with

Question 12

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that arranges the ideas that develop each topic sentence below in their order of importance. Begin with the most important (or largest, most severe, most surprising) and continue to the least important. Louis Pasteur is revered as a great scientist for his three major discoveries. ____ Almost as important was Pasteur s development of pasteurization, the process that keeps beverages from spoiling, after he realized that tiny living beings, not chemical reactions, were spoiling beverages like milk, wine, vinegar, and beer. ____ Most important, after this Frenchman discovered that weakened forms of a disease could help a person or animal build up immunity to that disease, he created vaccines that have saved millions of lives. ____ Finally, Pasteur found ways to stop a silkworm disease that threatened to ruin France s profitable silk industry.

Accepted Answer

A)  2, 1, 3 
B)  3, 2, 1 
C)  1, 3, 2

Question 13

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the questions below. According to MLA guidelines, where should a source citation appear in an essay?

Accepted Answer

A)  inside the essay in parentheses and at the end of the essay in a Works Cited list 
B)  at the bottom of the page only 
C)  at the end of the essay on an Endnotes page

Question 14

Instructions: Below is a source followed by passage(s) from student papers. If the student has summarized, directly quoted, or indirectly quoted the source correctly, select Correct. If you believe the source is incorrectly summarized or plagiarized, select Incorrect. Human communication depends largely on signs in the form of written or spoken words, images, or gestures. These symbols are conscious and explicit representations of reality of objects, actions, and concepts in the world around us. But there is another aspect of symbolism that is equally important though less explicit: the side that relates to our inner psychological and spiritual world. Within this inner world, a symbol can represent some deep intuitive wisdom that eludes direct expression. Fontana, David. The Secret Language of Symbols . San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993: 9-10. Print. Student version: David Fontana says that symbols serve two important purposes. They function as signs that help us communicate with one another, and they also help us understand inner wisdom that is difficult to express. Fontana claims that this second purpose is as important as the first, but I m not sure I agree. Symbols seem much more critical as a communication tool (9-10).

Accepted Answer

A)  Correct 
B)  Incorrect

Question 15

Instructions: Each general statement below is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. Many people are lively and creative in old age.

Accepted Answer

A)  Eighty-seven-year-old Mary Baker Eddy founded The Christian Science Monitor , one of the world s great newspapers. 
B)  Pablo Picasso was engraving and drawing at ninety. 
C)  When she was 100 years of age, Grandma Moses was still painting. 
D)  Michelle Obama became First Lady of the United States when she was 45 years old.

Question 16

Instructions: Each of the following groups of things 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, select the single basis of classification that includes the rest of the group. Part A: Clothes a. church, mosque, or synagogue attire b. evening wear c. office attire d. designer clothing Part B: Basis of classification: a. level of formality b. price c. color of fabric

Accepted Answer

Question 17

Instructions: Choose the correct spelling of each of the following words. Choose the correct spelling.

Accepted Answer

A)  separate 
B)  seperate

Question 18

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct preposition to insert in each of the following sentences. The more Tyrese worries ____ the work he has left to do, the less able he is to finish on time.

Accepted Answer

A)  on 
B)  after 
C)  about

Question 19

Instructions: Select the answer that correctly adds the suffix to each word below. mature + ly

Accepted Answer

A)  maturely 
B)  maturly

Question 20

Instructions: Select the sentence that uses concise, fresh, and exact language. Which sentence uses concise, fresh, and exact language?

Accepted Answer

A)  The kitten sat on the arm of the couch. 
B)  The gray kitten perched on the arm of the couch. 
C)  The cat sat on the couch.

Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs