Question 1

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. If the sentence contains a pronoun error, select Pronoun error. If the sentence is free of pronoun errors, select Correct. Them included four cups of flour, one package of cake yeast, two tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

Accepted Answer

A)  Pronoun error 
B)  Correct

Question 2

Instructions: Each general statement is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. The United States is actually behind the times when it comes to electing a woman for president, for several other countries have had at least one female leader.

Accepted Answer

A)  Voters in both Brazil and Thailand elected their first female leaders to begin terms in 2011. 
B)  In the United States, actresses have played the president of the United States on the popular television shows 24 and Commander in Chief . 
C)  Angela Merkel was elected the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005. 
D)  Women have been elected to the top leadership position in Jamaica, Argentina, India, Ireland, Finland, and New Zealand.

Question 3

Instructions: In each set below, choose the sentence that uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and that is punctuated correctly. Then select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentence uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and is correctly punctuated?

Accepted Answer

A)  June s grandparents retired in Colorado but her parents preferred to retire in California. 
B)  June s grandparents retired in Colorado but, her parents preferred to retire in California. 
C)  June s grandparents retired in Colorado, but her parents preferred to retire in California.

Question 4

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the letter of the word that is misspelled. For beginers, it is an inexpensive art form that can result in beautiful objects.

Accepted Answer

A)  beginers 
B)  inexpensive 
C)  beautiful

Question 5

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. It ____ only 6 a.m.

Accepted Answer

A)  was 
B)  be

Question 6

Instructions: Select the letter of the word in the sentence that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. Please set your books their on the table, and the librarian will check them out for you.

Accepted Answer

A)  set 
B)  their 
C)  for

Question 7

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Two different groups of black musicians grew up in New Orleans. (2) The first of these, the slaves, brought with them the music of Africa and the influences of Caribbean music. (3) Denied education and opportunity by slavery, they improvised, making instruments from gourds, bamboo, and bone. (4) They created songs charged with emotion: work songs, chants, and spirituals. (5) In contrast to the slaves, the free men of color were raised as Creoles. (6) Formally educated and sometimes sent to European schools, they were well versed in classical music, and they played classical instruments. (7) During the Reconstruction period, these two groups of musicians were flung together. (8) The brilliant child of this unlikely union was jazz. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 1 
B)  Sentence 2 
C)  Sentence 8

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

A)  Michelle majored in sociology, the study of human behavior; her thesis explored race, success, and the black community. With her high grades and a maturing philosophy, Michelle attended Harvard Law School, graduated, and joined a Chicago law firm. 
B)  Michelle majored in sociology, the study of human social behavior. Her thesis explored race, success, and the black community. Michelle had high grades and a maturing point of view. She attended Harvard Law School. She graduated. She joined a Chicago law firm.

Question 9

Instructions: In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where a verb should be. Select the letter of the correct helping verb and past participle form. Only after he moved did he realize that he ____ away his favorite photos.

Accepted Answer

A)  has throwed 
B)  has thrown 
C)  had thrown

Question 10

Instructions: Below is a plan for a contrast paragraph. The points of contrast in the second column do not follow the same order as the points in the first column. In addition, one detail is missing. Watching sports live and on television Watching a live game Watching game on television at home 1. High level of excitement ____ Costs no extra money to watch a game on home TV 2. More distractions from other people and constant activity all around you ____ Can be quiet and dull, especially if you watch alone 3. You can miss things due to location of your seat or lack of instant replays ____ Comfortable chairs or couch in your own living room 4. Tickets, food and beverages, and souvenirs can be expensive ____ You can minimize distractions and interruptions 5. Seats are often uncomfortable ____ ________________________ Select the letter of the answer that correctly numbers the points in the second column to match those in the first.

Accepted Answer

A)  4, 1, 5, 2, 3 
B)  5, 3, 2, 1, 4 
C)  1, 5, 3, 4, 2

Question 11

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) The wide availability of canned, frozen, and precooked foods has definitely improved people s lives by freeing up time that used to be spent preparing meals. (2) However, these convenience foods have also had some negative consequences. (3) One effect has been a rise in obesity. (4) Because plentiful convenience foods need little to no preparation time, many people have developed a tendency to eat too much and put on too much weight. (5) These foods also tend to contain unhealthy ingredients like preservatives and high amounts of salt. (6) Therefore, people who rely too heavily on them can find themselves with health problems such as heart disease. (7) Another negative result of convenience foods has been the death of family dinner time. (8) Now that people can grab prepackaged foods on the run, they just don t try as hard to sit down to a meal as a family. (9) Convenience foods have also contributed to Americans rushed lifestyle overall. (10) Unfortunately, when it became easy to just microwave a burrito and keep going, sitting down and eating a relaxed meal seemed like a waste of precious time. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a transitional expression that indicates cause or effect?

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 3 
B)  Sentence 5 
C)  Sentence 6

Question 12

Instructions: Select the letter of the word in the sentence that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. Marci has trouble accepting compliments; she blushes and becomes quite.

Accepted Answer

A)  accepting 
B)  compliments 
C)  quite

Question 13

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Both a cold and the flu can make you miserable, but they are different in several ways. (2) Experts say a cold will go away by itself. (3) However, the flu can lead to pneumonia and other serious or even deadly problems. (4) A cold usually comes on gradually, accompanied by little or no fever. (5) In contrast, the flu comes on suddenly, and its fever can spike as high as 104 degrees and linger for three or four days. (6) Someone with a cold might experience mild body aches and fatigue, but the flu often brings severe body aches, deep fatigue, chills, and a major headache. (7) In general, a cold is wet, with much congestion, a runny nose, and even runny eyes. (8) The flu, on the other hand, is far drier, marked by a dry cough. Which one of the following transitional expressions indicating contrast or comparison does not appear in the paragraph?

Accepted Answer

A)  however 
B)  in contrast 
C)  besides 
D)  on the other hand

Question 14

Instructions: What kind of paragraph or essay is required by each of the following questions? Select the letter of the correct answer. Analyze the consequences of Truman s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.

Accepted Answer

A)  argue 
B)  discuss effects 
C)  illustrate

Question 15

Instructions: In the groups below, choose the set of words in which all the words are spelled correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which set of words is spelled correctly?

Accepted Answer

A)  weather, copying, truly 
B)  managable, canoing, changeable 
C)  echoes, sopranoes, soceity

Question 16

Instructions: For each Works Cited page entry below, select the answer Correct if the entry is correctly formatted according to MLA guidelines. Select the answer Incorrect if the entry is not correctly formatted. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can t Stop Talking . New York: Crown, 2012. Print.

Accepted Answer

A)  Correct 
B)  Incorrect

Question 17

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer with the correct words for the blanks in each of the following sentences. ____ were not ____ enough seats for the crowd when we ____ the stadium at 3 o clock.

Accepted Answer

A)  There, quiet, past 
B)  There, quite, passed 
C)  Their, quit, past

Question 18

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)?

Accepted Answer

A)  an English seven-year-old 
B)  first prize 
C)  these outlandish games

Question 19

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct pronoun for the blank in each of the following sentences. At the concert hall, ____ said that I could leave Keisha s ticket at the box office.

Accepted Answer

A)  him and her 
B)  them 
C)  he

Question 20

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) We rarely get tired when we are doing something interesting and exciting. (2) For example, I recently took a vacation in the Canadian Rockies up around Lake Louise. (3) I spent several days trout fishing along Coral Creek, fighting my way through brush higher than my head, stumbling over logs, struggling through fallen timber yet after eight hours of this, I was not exhausted. (4) Why? (5) Because I was excited, exhilarated. (6) I had a sense of high achievement: six cutthroat trout. Dale Carnegie, Banishing Boredom on the Job Select the number of the sentence containing a transitional expression that introduces an illustration.

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 2 
B)  Sentence 3 
C)  Sentence 5

Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs