Question 1

Instructions: Find the complete subject and the complete verb in each of the following sentences. Then select the letter of the answer that contains both the subject and the verb. Charlotte was proud of her final grades.

Accepted Answer

A)  Charlotte, was 
B)  Charlotte, was, grades 
C)  Charlotte, her final grades

Question 2

Instructions: For each of the following sentences, choose the correct pronoun to fill in the blank. Select the letter of the correct answer. ____ has never been to Disneyland or Epcot will go with ____ this July.

Accepted Answer

A)  Whomever, us 
B)  Whoever, we 
C)  Whoever, us

Question 3

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. For each one, select correct if the sentence is punctuated correctly, fragment if it is a fragment, run-on if it is a run-on, and comma splice if it is a comma splice. He earned a bachelor s degree in electrical engineering.

Accepted Answer

A)  correct 
B)  fragment 
C)  run-on 
D)  comma splice

Question 4

Instructions: In each set below, select the letter of the group in which all the words are spelled correctly. In which group are all of the words spelled correctly?

Accepted Answer

A)  cowardise, nite, typical 
B)  dirtier, commonwealth, weakened 
C)  politeness, villain, enemys

Question 5

Instructions: Select the letter of the sentence that is correctly punctuated with commas. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

Accepted Answer

A)  It seems impossible to get tickets for Laughing on the Inside which is one of the biggest hits in years. 
B)  It seems impossible to get tickets for Laughing on the Inside, which is one of the biggest hits in years. 
C)  It seems impossible, to get tickets for Laughing on the Inside, which is one of the biggest hits, in years.

Question 6

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. In May, scientists in the Gulf of Mexico began tracking plumes of methane and oil droplets drifting up to 30 miles from the broken BP oil well, at depths of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. One of those scientists was University of Georgia biogeochemist Mandy Joye, who has spent years studying hydrocarbon vents and brine seeps in the deep Gulf. She found a plume the size of Manhattan, and its methane levels were highest she had ever measured in the Gulf. As bacteria feast on spilled oil and methane, they deplete the water of oxygen; at one point Joy found oxygen levels dangerously low for life a water layer 600 feet thick, at depths where fish usually live. Since waters in the deep Gulf mix very slowly, she said, such depleted zones could persist for decades. Bourne, Joel. The Gulf of Oil: The Deep Dilemma. Green . Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 100-112. Print. Student version: I think that America should still be boycotting the BP Oil Company over its disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists say that the damage caused by this spill may deprive the Gulf waters of oxygen for decades, making large areas uninhabitable for fish. It is absolutely outrageous that people are still pulling up to BP gas stations to fill up their tanks. Instead, we should refuse to buy their fuel (110-111).

Accepted Answer

A)  Correct 
B)  Incorrect

Question 7

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct verb for each blank. We will be able to see how sheep ____ shorn and cows are milked.

Accepted Answer

A)  is 
B)  are

Question 8

Instructions: The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the letter of the word that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. Cesar Chavez was an important labor leader and civil writes activist. A migrant worker himself, Chavez knew all too well the deplorable working conditions that workers endured for a meager wage.

Accepted Answer

A)  an 
B)  writes 
C)  too

Question 9

Instructions: Each of the following sentences tells what you are trying to persuade someone to do. Beneath each sentence are four reasons that attempt to convince the reader that he or she should take this particular course of action. Select the letter of the reason that seems irrelevant, illogical, or untrue. If you wanted to convince parents that their children should do household chores, you could say that

Accepted Answer

A)  doing chores helps to teach kids the value of money. 
B)  kids who do chores learn responsibility. 
C)  children who do chores learn practical life skills they ll need later when they re on their own. 
D)  kids who don t do chores are sure to become bums who will never leave home.

Question 10

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. Transitional expressions that indicate contrast or comparison include all except :

Accepted Answer

A)  usually 
B)  however 
C)  on the other hand 
D)  whereas

Question 11

Instructions: The following sentences form an essay. Select the correct verb for each blank. Anyone with a family ____ that taking a vacation with children require careful planning.

Accepted Answer

A)  know 
B)  knows

Question 12

Instructions: Read the following sentence(s) carefully. Then select the correct adjective or adverb in parentheses. Gwen is the ( older , oldest ) of three daughters, but not the ( prettier , prettiest ).

Accepted Answer

A)  older, prettier 
B)  oldest, prettiest

Question 13

Instructions: Each question below is an entry for a Works Cited page. Select Correct if the entry is correctly formatted according to MLA guidelines or Incorrect if the entry is not correctly formatted. Isaacson, Walter. Keep It Simple. September 2012 Smithsonian , p. 42.

Accepted Answer

A)  Correct 
B)  Incorrect

Question 14

Instructions: In each sentence below, select the letter of the correctly punctuated sentence. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

Accepted Answer

A)  Several of us object to, your lighting that cigar. 
B)  Stunned by the news, the crowd stood in silence. 
C)  Raking all the leaves into a neat pile Cynthia admired her work.

Question 15

Instructions: For each of the following statements, select the answer that correctly identifies the cause and effect. Natural disasters like hurricanes often cause the price of gasoline to rise.

Accepted Answer

A)  Cause: rise in the price of gasoline Effect: natural disasters like hurricanes 
B)  Cause: natural disasters like hurricanes Effect: rise in the price of gasoline

Question 16

Instructions: Select the letter of the word in the sentence that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. If your going by the sports shop, please pick up two pairs of goggles.

Accepted Answer

A)  your 
B)  by 
C)  two

Question 17

Instructions: Choose the sentence in which all the commas are used correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentences uses all commas correctly?

Accepted Answer

A)  On Saturday, August 4, 2012, our team completed our men s spring collection for the fashion show. 
B)  On Saturday, August 4, 2012 our team completed our men s spring collection for the fashion show. 
C)  On Saturday August 4, 2012, our team completed our men s spring collection for the fashion show.

Question 18

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)  argument, paradize, committee 
B)  amateur, villain, seiz 
C)  writing, aggravate, pursue

Question 19

Instructions: Identify each of the following statements as true or false. Careful documentation of information gathered from outside sources will help prevent plagiarism.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

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(n) One day in 1946, Percy Spencer stuck a chocolate bar in his pocket and went to work. Later, standing next to the radar machine he was working on, he noticed that his chocolate bar had melted. Almost immediately, Spencer saw the possibilities, sent for unpopped popcorn, and invented the first microwave oven marketed the following year as the radar range. The microwave is just one of many important inventions created out of the interaction of two factors: a lucky accident and the presence of a trained person who understood what that accident meant.

Accepted Answer

A)  single-sentence thesis statement. 
B)  contradiction. 
C)  illustration.

Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs