Multiple choice

Directions: The following question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

A letter by Mark Twain, written in the same year as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were published, reveals that Twain provided financial assistance to one of the first Black students at Yale Law School.

  1. A letter by Mark Twain, written in the same year as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were published,

  2. A letter by Mark Twain, written in the same year of publication as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,

  3. A letter by Mark Twain, written in the same year that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published,

  4. Mark Twain wrote a letter in the same year as he published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that

  5. Mark Twain wrote a letter in the same year of publication as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The clause 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were published' contains a subject-verb agreement error. The book title is singular, so it requires the singular verb 'was published,' not the plural 'were.' Option C corrects this error while maintaining the proper clause structure. Options B and E use wordy 'year of publication' constructions, and D changes the sentence focus and structure awkwardly.

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