Question 1

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. Childhood and adulthood Childhood Adulthood 1. More free time ____ More work than fun 2. Lots of fun and games ____ ________________________ 3. Little experience or knowledge ____ Less time to do the things you most like to do 4. Few responsibilities ____ Greater wisdom 5. Parents, teachers, and other adults make the decisions ____ Obligations include a job, a house, bills, a spouse, kids The missing detail in the plan above is

Accepted Answer

A)  taller and stronger. 
B)  more job opportunities. 
C)  independent decision making.

Question 2

Instructions: Select the correct noun for each blank. Many of Jay s close ____ practice law downtown.

Accepted Answer

A)  friends 
B)  friend

Question 3

Instructions: Each of the following groups of things or persons 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, identify the single basis of classification that includes the rest of the group. Part A: Hotels a. moderately priced b. budget c. luxury d. beachfront Part B: Basis of classification: a. price b. size c. location

Accepted Answer

Question 4

Instructions: Select the answer that correct joins each pair of simple sentences with conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs and is punctuated correctly. Rhonda s parents chose to rent an apartment. They can t afford a house.

Accepted Answer

A)  Rhonda s parents chose to rent an apartment yet they can t afford a house. 
B)  Because they can t afford a house, Rhonda s parents chose to rent an apartment. 
C)  They can t afford a house, therefore Rhonda s parents chose to rent an apartment.

Question 5

Instructions: For the following question(s), select the letter of the answer that correctly identifies each type of prewriting. The prewriting below is an example of Living in a big city traffic jams crowds, waiting in line art galleries, museums, concerts, theaters, performances restaurants and food carts sounds of horns, sirens, police whistles park people sitting on grass, throwing a Frisbee, eating lunch skyscrapers subway

Accepted Answer

A)  focused freewriting. 
B)  brainstorming. 
C)  clustering. 
D)  asking questions. 
E)  keeping a journal.

Question 6

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) Energy sources can be divided into two groups: nonrenewable sources and renewable sources. (2) The first group, nonrenewable sources, includes the energy sources that are in finite supply and will eventually be depleted. (3) Fossil fuels, which include coal, petroleum, and natural gas, are in this category. (4) They are obtained from deposits in the earth that were formed from living matter during previous geologic eras. (5) When these deposits have been emptied, these energy sources will no longer be available. (6) The second group contains renewable energy sources. (7) Energy produced by wind, water, the sun s rays, and the heat of the Earth, for example, will always be available because these sources continuously regenerate as they are consumed. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 1 
B)  Sentence 2 
C)  Sentence 3

Question 7

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the letter of the correct response. When Lewis and Clark made their way through what is now North Dakota, the Shoshone Indian woman named Sacajawea joined the team of explorers. Because the expedition was traveling with a Native American, other tribes did not attack the group. In fact, one tribe even supplied horses to help the explorers and their interpreter cross the Rocky Mountains. This invaluable team member taught the men how to find medicine and food in the wilderness and once even saved the records of the journey when a canoe overturned during a storm. She reached the Pacific Ocean with Lewis and Clark in 1805. Her fame eventually spread; one of the best-known monuments to her is a statue in Portland, Oregon. Which of the following is a synonym used to refer to the subject of the paragraph?

Accepted Answer

A)  this invaluable team member 
B)  the men 
C)  the wilderness

Question 8

Instructions: Read the paragraph below and answer the question(s) that follow. (1) America s public schools should adopt the principles of Harlem, New York s Promise Academy, three charter schools established in 2004 to revitalize an impoverished urban area through better education. (2) First, public schools should lengthen the school day. (3) In the Promise Academy schools, the school day begins at 8:00 a.m. and does not end until 4:00 p.m.; furthermore, teachers assign homework in every subject every night. (4) Putting this kind of emphasis on academic studies in public schools would result in graduates who are better prepared for the challenges of higher education and the workforce. (5) Second, public schools should offer an after-school program like the one at the Promise Academy. (6) In that program, which lasts until 6:00 p.m. for elementary school children and 7:30 p.m. for middle and high school students, young people can get academic help or take additional classes to learn to speak a foreign language, play a musical instrument, or explore a new hobby such as photography or chess. (7) If offered a similar program, public school children would be more likely to spend their time in safe, productive activities and less likely to get into trouble. (8) Finally, public schools should replicate what the Promise Academy calls its culture of achievement and intellectual growth. (9) By creating this type of culture, public schools would increase their student success rates. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Accepted Answer

A)  Sentence 1 
B)  Sentence 2 
C)  Sentence 3

Question 9

Instructions: In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where the verb should be. Choose the correct past tense verb. Select the letter of the correct answer. In 1992, Barack Obama ____ Michelle Robinson.

Accepted Answer

A)  marries 
B)  married 
C)  marry

Question 10

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. Janice dissolved the yeast in one cup of water and let it stand for ten minutes.

Accepted Answer

A)  Pronoun error 
B)  Correct

Question 11

Instructions: For each of the following sentences, choose the correct pronoun to fill in the blank. Select the letter of the correct answer. The company launched ____ new environmental campaign today.

Accepted Answer

A)  their 
B)  its 
C)  it s

Question 12

Instructions: Select the letter of the writing process step in which the task is completed. Proofreading for grammar and spelling errors

Accepted Answer

A)  Prewriting 
B)  Writing 
C)  Revising

Question 13

Instructions: Select the letter of the answer that correctly identifies the subject and complete verb in each sentence. The job was a good opportunity for him to learn about merchandising.

Accepted Answer

A)  job, was 
B)  opportunity, was 
C)  him, learn

Question 14

Instructions: Proofread the following sentences, which form an essay, for errors in the past participle. If the sentence contains a past participle error, select Past participle error. If the sentence is correct, select Correct. During World War II, bog moss was use as a dressing for wounds.

Accepted Answer

A)  Past participle error 
B)  Correct

Question 15

Instructions: Each question below is a plan for a narrative paragraph. Events in each plan are not in correct chronological order. For each plan, select the letter of the answer that numbers the events in the proper time sequence. Alexander Fleming s discovery of the first antibiotic was accidental. ____ By 1939, researchers had figured out how to get penicillin to kill bacteria inside the body, a discovery that would help many wounded soldiers in World War II. ____ In 1928, Fleming, who kept a messy laboratory, left a Petri dish contaminated with bacteria in his sink. ____ Studying the mold, he noticed that bacteria would not grow near it. ____ Although Fleming stopped studying penicillin after 1931, researchers at Oxford University continued his work. ____ The next day, he discovered that airborne spores had invaded the dish and grown a blue-green fungus, or mold. ____ He named the bacteria-inhibiting substance penicillin after the Penicillium notatum fungus that produced it.

Accepted Answer

A)  6, 1, 3, 5, 2, 4 
B)  2, 1, 4, 3, 4, 6 
C)  5, 6, 3, 1, 2, 4

Question 16

Instructions: Select the letter of the word in the sentence that is a look-alike/sound-alike error. I hope you re just been cute when you tell me that my suitcase is missing.

Accepted Answer

A)  you re 
B)  been 
C)  tell

Question 17

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the questions below. If an essay exam question asks you to summarize something, your paragraph or essay should

Accepted Answer

A)  provide the main ideas in condensed form. 
B)  analyze the reasons or causes of it. 
C)  point out its similarities to something else.

Question 18

Instructions: Read the definition below and answer the question(s) that follow. A phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by strong, persistent, illogical fear of a specific object or situation. List the synonym, the class, or the negation that helps to define the subject of the sentence.

Accepted Answer

A)  an anxiety disorder 
B)  strong, persistent, illogical fear 
C)  a specific object or situation

Question 19

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. Compare two teachers. Dr. Wu Mr. Franklin 1. gives a lot of homework ____ messy, disorganized classroom 2. lectures every day ____ cracks jokes all the time 3. neat, orderly classroom ____ leads class discussions and activities 4. rarely smiles or laughs ____ teaches art 5. teaches history ____ ____________________ Select the answer that correctly numbers the points in the second column to match those in the first.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 20

Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer. Which of the following is a good way to identify personal error patterns?

Accepted Answer

A)  Read your returned papers and study the errors marked by the instructor. 
B)  Read a book about grammar. 
C)  Read your classmates papers and notice the mistakes they make.

Exam 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs