Multiple choice questions:
1. Which of the following sentences shows correct usage of a comma or commas?
A. William of Orange, arrived in England in 1688, to claim the English throne from James II.
B. Christopher Wren, a contemporary of Isaac Newton and John Locke, was the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral.
C. Claire's plum pudding was mainly distinctive, for its absence of plums.
D. After a fire at their home, Carlie and her mother rented a house in Glendale, Arizona from November 14, 2007 to January 28, 2008.
2. As you're revising an essay, you write down several sentences to describe your intended readers. Why should you do this?
A. To ensure that your essay will entertain the audience
B. To make sure you're writing what you know, not what you believe
C. To see if your essay is directed toward its intended audience
D. To ensure that you're instructing your audience adequately
3. A judicial decision handed down in court uses the _______ level of diction.
A. colloquial
B. popular
C. informal
D. formal
4. Which of the following sentences uses a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?
A. Out in the yard, the children shouted loudly and threw silly insults at each other.
B. My aunt, who usually behaves like a queen, was suddenly asking-no, begging-for help.
C. The budget payment is much higher than we anticipated, but the price of heating oil has skyrocketed this year.
D. We fired our old housekeeper, who we thought had stolen Grandma's rings; we later regretted it.
5. A student who regularly tracks mistakes in spelling, verb forms, and parallelism is probably
A. focusing on learning style.
B. keeping an error log.
C. using a flowchart.
D. analyzing the essays' organization.
6. Which of the following is a simple sentence?
A. I went to the airport, but I was too late to meet them.
B. Karen and David arrived at the airport at 3:35 P.M. and took a taxi to their hotel.
C. When I realized I was too late, I called David's cell phone and made arrangements to meet them in town.
D. I got to the airport late because the traffic was so terrible.
7. Which of the following is a compound sentence?
A. Because fraud is so common in some corporations, regulatory agencies are overworked.
B. Butterflies and hummingbirds feed on the nectar of flowering plants.
C. Because Viceroy butterflies migrate over very great distances, tracking them is a challenge to entomologists.
D. Corporate fraud is becoming more common in the United States, and the civil courts are being stretched to their limits.
8. Choosing a good reviewer for your writing means finding someone who
A. will concentrate on your ideas and how well you support them.
B. knows everything about writing and will find every mistake.
C. is a close friend and will give you a positive review.
D. concentrates on correcting your spelling and grammar errors.
9. Nathan argues that each paragraph in a narrative should support the author's thesis. Nan says that paragraphs in a narrative should illuminate some part of the action. Which one is correct?
A. Only Nathan is correct.
B. Only Nan is correct.
C. Both Nathan and Nan are correct.
D. Neither Nathan nor Nan is correct.
10. Which of the following correctly uses a transitional word or phrase?
A. Kara has been happily trying lots of new activities lately. For example, she took up needlepoint on the advice of her counselor.
B. The floodwaters receded. The bridge could be inspected.
C. Sadly, Mark broke his leg during the performance. The director regretted casting him in the part.
D. First impressions are so important in both personal and professional life.