Examination Number
00706900
WRITING SKILLS PART 1
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Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question.
1. Which one of the following sentences contains an unnecessary word?
A. Why don't you leave before the crowd arrives?
B. The snake raised up its head and struck.
C. She left early, though he told her not to.
D. Rich was angry, but he concealed his feelings.
2. Choose the connective that belongs in the blank. She left the party early. Next she went to a movie. _______ she went home.
A. Next
B. Meanwhile
C. Finally
D. First
3. Which of the following topics would lend itself only to a formal style of writing?
A. Folk Songs I Have Sung
B. Psychological Effects of Nuclear Weapons
C. How I Lost 10 Pounds
D. Why Living in the Country Is Better Than Living in the City
4. Choose the connective that belongs in the blank in the following sentence. I like to play baseball. _______, I can't throw a ball very well.
A. However
B. In fact
C. For instance
D. Besides
5. Which of the following sentences has a compound predicate?
A. She raced along the path to beat him to the beach.
B. While he swam, she collected shells.
C. She washed the shells and dried them in the sun.
D. She placed the shells in a plastic bag while he dried himself off.
6. Which of the following sentences has a dangling modifier?
A. When the storm began to abate, we went home.
B. By the light of the moon, I tripped over a rock.
C. The dog that is man's best friend is cat's worst enemy.
D. On the way to the bank, the interest rates went down.
7. Choose the connective that belongs in the blank in the following sentence. Everyone appeared to be having a good time. _______, my impressions may have been wrong.
A. In fact
B. In other words
C. Furthermore
D. Of course
8. Which one of these statements would be considered inappropriate in formal writing?
A. Dr. Thomson arrives promptly each morning.
B. He hates to be late.
C. He reviews the reports of his assistants.
D. Next, he prepares to conduct his experiments.
9. A clause from sentence (i) has been turned into a(n) _______ in sentence (ii). (i) Since she knew what the lecture was about, she didn't attend the meeting. (ii) Knowing what the lecture was about, she didn't attend the meeting.
A. compound predicate
B. relative pronoun
C. infinitive
D. phrase
10. How are the ideas in the following two sentences tied together? The best time I had all summer was the night of Sherry's party. The worst was the next day.
A. A connective
B. Sentences closely connected in meaning
C. Word pointers
D. No connection
11. Which sentence contains a prepositional phrase?
A. With the proper help, they'll complete the project early.
B. Running all the way, he got there early.
C. They sang it, and sang it again.
D. They tried, although they didn't expect to win.
12. Two things to keep in mind when you're deciding whether to use formal or informal English are the
A. opinion and the occasion.
B. occasion and the audience.
C. reader and the audience.
D. reader and the location.
13. Which of the following groups of words is a sentence fragment?
A. When we stopped by the garden.
B. Stop by the garden.
C. We stopped; she didn't.
D. Stopping by the garden, we saw that the flowers were in bloom.
14. What is the name of the common error in the following sentence? Having risen because of the rains, the hikers were unable to cross the river.
A. Infinitive phrase
B. Run-on sentence
C. Dangling modifier
D. Prepositional phrase
15. Which of the following is the best opening sentence for a business letter that you want to sound fairly informal?
A. I am in receipt of your order of February 10.
B. This letter is to make you cognizant of our receipt of your order.
C. Your order of February 10 arrived in our office today.
D. Please be advised that I've just received your order.
16. Which one of the following sentences contains two ideas joined by a connecting word?
A. Frank went fishing on Saturday he caught many fish.
B. Tina arrived at work earlier than usual.
C. Mike ran after the bus.
D. Sally lives with her parents, although she could afford her own apartment.
17. Which of the following is a way you could begin an essay that's about the medical uses of iodine?
A. Last summer, a splinter in my brother's leg became infected, which led to blood poisoning. He could have prevented the problem with a few drops of iodine.
B. The Winter Olympics of 1980 took place in the beautiful area of Lake Placid, New York. Lake Placid is nestled in the Adirondack mountains.
C. Silver iodide is used in photography. Photography is a widespread form of art, and it has become more popular than painting.
D. Although iodine is useful for medical treatments, so are other elements like oxygen, radium, and barium.
18. Which of the following sentences has a relative clause?
A. The audience applauded the ambassador, who spoke for one-half hour.
B. Tony ate the pizza and then went to the movies.
C. Many young people are searching for jobs.
D. The bus stopped at the corner, but she forgot to get off.
19. Sentence (i) has been shortened in sentence (ii) by using a(n) _______. (i) She likes a location that is in the sun. (ii) She likes a sunny location.
A. prefix
B. adjective
C. phrase
D. connective
20. Which of these is a run-on sentence?
A. I went home and ate and ate.
B. Before lunch, I played volleyball; after lunch I did again.
C. I thought about what he'd said soon I realized he was right.
D. You and I and the whole team will go.