Name______Date______
Section 1 (39 points)
This section contains 13 multiple-choice items worth 3 points each.
Directions
Select the correct answer to each item and circle your answers on the answer sheet.
1. Which of the following is a fragment?
A. Often, I go for walks with my dog before anyone else in the house is awake.
B. After hours of driving, we finally spotted an exit with a hotel, so we decided to stop.
C. Singing in the school choir, with all of my friends.
2. Which of the following is a fragment?
A. At first, she didn’t see anything.
B. Running around the track as fast as she could.
C. Walk slowly!
3. Read these sentences.
Marilyn played in the snow for hours with her friends. Before she had to go inside and get ready to go to the movies.
How is the sentence fragment best corrected?
A. Before she had to go inside and get ready to go to the movies, Marilyn played in the snow for hours with her friends.
B. Marilyn played in the snow for hours with her friends, before she had to go inside, and get ready to go to the movies.
C. Before, she had to go inside and get ready to go to the movies Marilyn played in the snow for hours with her friends.
4. Read these sentences.
When Harold went racing down the hill on his sled. He hit a large bump and flew into the air, and landed safely on the ground.
How is the sentence fragment best corrected?
A. When Harold went racing down the hill on his sled. He hit a large bump and flew into the air. And, landed safely on the ground.
B. When Harold went racing down the hill on his sled, he hit a large bump, flew into the air, and landed safely on the ground.
C. When Harold went racing down the hill on his sled, he hit a large bump and flew into the air. And, landed safely on the ground.
5. Read this sentence.
Costa Rica bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, has a rich history and booming tourist industry.
Which of these sentences corrects the punctuation in the sentence?
A. Costa Rica bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south has a rich history and booming tourist industry.
B. Costa Rica, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, has a rich history and booming tourist industry.
C. Costa Rica bordered by Nicaragua to the north, and Panama to the south, has a rich history and booming tourist industry.
6. Read this sentence.
Many tourists, who visit Costa Rica choose to visit the Arenal volcano, considered Costa Rica’s most active volcano because of its young age, perfect conical shape, and easy accessibility.
Which of these sentences corrects the punctuation in the sentence?
A. Many tourists who visit Costa Rica choose to visit the Arenal volcano considered Costa Rica’s most active volcano because of its young age, perfect conical shape, and easy accessibility.
B. Many tourists, who visit Costa Rica choose to visit the Arenal volcano considered Costa Rica’s most active volcano, because of its young age, perfect conical shape, and easy accessibility.
C. Many tourists who visit Costa Rica choose to visit the Arenal volcano, considered Costa Rica’s most active volcano, because of its young age, perfect conical shape, and easy accessibility.
7. Read this sentence.
Many Americans travel to Costa Rica during the winter months, the peak season because of the warmer temperatures found at many of Costa Rica’s tropical beaches and lush rain forests.
Which of these sentences corrects the punctuation in the sentence?
A. Many Americans travel to Costa Rica during the winter months, the peak season, because of the warmer temperatures found at many of Costa Rica’s tropical beaches and lush rain forests.
B. Many Americans travel to Costa Rica during the winter months, the peak season because of the warmer temperatures found at many of Costa Rica’s tropical beaches and lush rain forests.
C. Many Americans travel to Costa Rica, during the winter months the peak season, because of the warmer temperatures found at many of Costa Rica’s tropical beaches and lush rain forests.
8. Which best states the purpose of the thesis statement in a research paper?
A. It presents the subject of the paper.
B. It states the approach being taken with the topic of the paper.
C. It provides a clear summary of the major points of the paper.
9. When using an editing checklist to review your paper, you should ______.
A. focus on one or two errors at a time
B. find all errors on the first pass so you do not have to repeat the review
C. highlight errors in the paper and then learn the grammatical rule for each
10. Why would you need to read your essay several times when editing it?
A. You may keep starting and stopping.
B. You may not catch all of the errors in one pass.
C. You need to pay attention to each sentence.
11. How does creating an idea inventory help you start a research paper?
A. It helps you figure out what you already know and what you need to research about your topic.
B. It provides an extensive list of possible approaches to take on various topics.
C. It organizes your ideas for topics into manageable pieces so you can narrow down your topic.
12. How can you avoid plagiarism?
A. Be sure to cite the source for information and ideas that are not your own.
B. Rewrite all researched information into your own words so it fits in with your paper better.
C. Think about how your researched information fits into your topic.
13. Which is the difference between paraphrasing and quoting?
A. You don't need to cite your source when paraphrasing, but you do need to cite your source when quoting.
B. Paraphrasing uses more words to express someone else’s ideas, while quoting is more concise.
C. Paraphrasing is using your own words to explain someone else's ideas, while quoting is using someone else’s words.
Section 2 (30 points)
This section contains 4 revising and editing exercises worth 7.5 points each.
Directions
Read the business letter. Complete or answer the items that follow. Write your answers on the answer sheet.
November 3, 2005
Shauntay Evans
552 North Second Street
El Paso, TX32998
Rosa Blanchett
3412 White Oak Knoll
Phoenix, AZ43029
Hey Ms. Johnston:
What’s up? We have enjoyed using your web site to shop for our holiday shopping. It has a wonderful variety of gifts for everyone on our list. It has come to my attention that some of the items we ordered from your web site are not available. We would like a refund for these items and will purchase them from another web site that has them.
I don’t understand why you would advertise items that you are not able to ship immediately. This is very frustrating for buyers, and business owners should know better. Most web sites don’t trick their customers into thinking they have items, and notify them after payment that an item is on backorder. This seems shady. The web site should tell shoppers what items are not currently available. I have seen that on many other web sites. And, I think in the future I will be doing more of my shopping at those sites. I need those items soon, and I don’t have time to wait for them to come in to your shop and for them be shipped to us.
Please credit our account the amount of the items on backorder. Send the items that are in stock.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter. I wish you the best with your sales this year.
Sincerely,
Shauntay Evans
14. Critique the business letter. What are its strong points? What are its weak points?
15. Label each part of the letter.
16. Edit this paragraph for errors in sentence formation, spelling, and punctuation. Rewrite the paragraph on the answer sheet and highlight or circle the areas where you made changes.
Sea Turtles
Why are sea turtle populations dwindling. Beach erosion, weather, and heavy surfs can cause the sea turtles’ nests which are always found on land to flood. Tourism and development of coastal areas affect the sea turtles’ nesting patterns. Lights often from beachfront properties can disorient newborn turtles and interrupt mothers trying to nest on the beach. If these turtles are unable to find their way to the water after hatching they can become dehydrated and die. Sea turtle eggs are often attacked by ants and crabs or eaten by raccoons lizards, or foxes. Additionally many adult sea turtles are captured for their meat, skin, and shells, and others are captured by mistake in fishing nets Finally, when plastics are disposed of in the ocean, they can resemble jellyfish, one of the sea turtles favorite foods. When a turtle mistakes a plastic bag for a jellyfish and swallows it, the turtle can choke.
17. Read this paragraph, which contains vague language. Rewrite the paragraph, using more precise wording.
Cherokee Strength
In the late 1820s, gold was discovered in the northern and central regions of Georgia. With thoughts of easy money, many European settlers came to the regions. Problems were when the settlers began to view the Cherokee, who had most of the land, as a threat.Georgia came up with plans to have the Cherokee Nation removed from these lands. The most infamous of these "removals" was in the winter of 1838 and was called the "Trail of Tears." The Cherokee were made to give up their lands to the gold-mining Europeans. They had to go over 1,000 miles of rough terrain, as thousands of men, women, and children went from their Georgia homelands to Oklahoma. The removal was upsetting to the Cherokee Nation; thousands died on the trail or after their arrival.
Section 3 (31 points)
This section contains 2 short essay items worth 8 points each and 3 bibliography entries worth 5 points each.
Directions
Complete the following. Write your responses on the answer sheet.
18. You have been assigned to write a research paper in your history class. Select a topic that you are studying now or have studied before and write a thesis statement. Create a rough outline for what your paper will cover. This outline must include information for three paragraphs in addition to the introduction and conclusion.
19. Your younger sister is getting ready to write her first research paper. She is completely lost about how she should go about writing it. Write out the steps that she needs to follow when writing her paper.
20. Write this citation information in either MLA or APA format on your answer sheet.
A. Book:
Author—Robin Brown
Title—Gardening Tips
Published in New York by Brahm and Brothers in 1992
B. Article from a magazine:
Author—Joaquin Jordan
Article Title—Filming from the Top of Mt.Rushmore
Magazine Title—Photography and You Volume 4
Published—Winter 2003
Page 26
C. Article on a web site
Web site—
Article—San Diego Travel Tips
Author—Antonio Sanchez
Name of Organization—American Travelers
Source—United States Travel
Date Published—December 17, 2002
Date Retrieved—March 3, 2003
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