Writing and Communication Skills

Of the following, which would be the best way to revise the underlined portion of sentence 8 (reproduced below)? But generalizing too soon in this regard about these industries, this is dangerous

Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] The girl, educated to earn her living in the market of the world, no longer marries simply because no other career is open to her. [2] When she does marry, she is less likely than formerly, statistics tell us, to have children-the only remaining work which, in these days, definitely requires a home. [3] Girls are willing to undertake matrimony, but often with the distinct understanding that their "careers" are not to be interfered with. [4] To them, then, marriage becomes more and more an incident in life rather than a life work. [5] For the good of coming generations the true home spirit must be saved; this is a belief, we shall do well to admit at once that the old-time home was an institution suited to its own day, but that we cannot now call it back to being. [6] Nor would we wish to do so. [7] There is no possible reason for wishing our women to spin, weave, knit, bake, brew, preserve, clean, if the products she formerly made can be produced more cheaply and more efficiently outside the home. [8] But generalizing too soon in this regard about these industries, this is dangerous. [9] At least, the factory method has not yet brought really satisfactory results, there are doubts in this directions. [10] How many women can give you reasons why they believe that it no longer "pays" to do this or that at home as they once did and do the factories always turn out as good a product as the housekeeper? [11] If they do, does the housekeeper obtain that product with as little expenditure as when she made it? [12] If she spends more, can she show that the leisure she has thus bought has been a wise purchase? [13] Is she justified in accepting vague generalizations to the effect that it is better economy to buy than to make, or should she test for herself, checking up her individual conditions and results?

Which of the following is the best way to improve sentence 7?

Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] The girl, educated to earn her living in the market of the world, no longer marries simply because no other career is open to her. [2] When she does marry, she is less likely than formerly, statistics tell us, to have children-the only remaining work which, in these days, definitely requires a home. [3] Girls are willing to undertake matrimony, but often with the distinct understanding that their "careers" are not to be interfered with. [4] To them, then, marriage becomes more and more an incident in life rather than a life work. [5] For the good of coming generations the true home spirit must be saved; this is a belief, we shall do well to admit at once that the old-time home was an institution suited to its own day, but that we cannot now call it back to being. [6] Nor would we wish to do so. [7] There is no possible reason for wishing our women to spin, weave, knit, bake, brew, preserve, clean, if the products she formerly made can be produced more cheaply and more efficiently outside the home. [8] But generalizing too soon in this regard about these industries, this is dangerous. [9] At least, the factory method has not yet brought really satisfactory results, there are doubts in this directions. [10] How many women can give you reasons why they believe that it no longer "pays" to do this or that at home as they once did and do the factories always turn out as good a product as the housekeeper? [11] If they do, does the housekeeper obtain that product with as little expenditure as when she made it? [12] If she spends more, can she show that the leisure she has thus bought has been a wise purchase? [13] Is she justified in accepting vague generalizations to the effect that it is better economy to buy than to make, or should she test for herself, checking up her individual conditions and results?

Which of the following, if placed after sentence 13, would be the most effective concluding sentence for the last paragraph?

Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] The girl, educated to earn her living in the market of the world, no longer marries simply because no other career is open to her. [2] When she does marry, she is less likely than formerly, statistics tell us, to have children-the only remaining work which, in these days, definitely requires a home. [3] Girls are willing to undertake matrimony, but often with the distinct understanding that their "careers" are not to be interfered with. [4] To them, then, marriage becomes more and more an incident in life rather than a life work. [5] For the good of coming generations the true home spirit must be saved; this is a belief, we shall do well to admit at once that the old-time home was an institution suited to its own day, but that we cannot now call it back to being. [6] Nor would we wish to do so. [7] There is no possible reason for wishing our women to spin, weave, knit, bake, brew, preserve, clean, if the products she formerly made can be produced more cheaply and more efficiently outside the home. [8] But generalizing too soon in this regard about these industries, this is dangerous. [9] At least, the factory method has not yet brought really satisfactory results, there are doubts in this directions. [10] How many women can give you reasons why they believe that it no longer "pays" to do this or that at home as they once did and do the factories always turn out as good a product as the housekeeper? [11] If they do, does the housekeeper obtain that product with as little expenditure as when she made it? [12] If she spends more, can she show that the leisure she has thus bought has been a wise purchase? [13] Is she justified in accepting vague generalizations to the effect that it is better economy to buy than to make, or should she test for herself, checking up her individual conditions and results?

Paragraph one would best be improved by the addition of

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) Even if Louis Braille died when he was only forty-three years old he succeeded in devising a system of reading and writing for the blind which is now taught all over the world. (2) Braille lost his sight accidentally as a child. (3) Nevertheless, he was able to complete his education at a school for the blind in Paris and become a teacher. (4) In his day, the few books that were available for blind people were printed in big, raised type. (5) The letters used were those of the ordinary alphabet. (6) The reading of such books required immense effort. (7) Not only that, writing was almost impossible for a blind person was still restricted to an alphabet which was extraordinarily difficult to reproduce on paper.

(8) Braille’s idea was to use raised dots instead of letter. (9) He evolved a system which made use of only six dots in all. (10) By various combinations of these dots it not only proved possible to represent each letter in the alphabet but punctuation marks, numbers and musical notations as well. (11) Reading and writing have thus been enormously simplified. (12) The sensitive fingers of a blind person can travel rapidly over the dots: and there is a small machine, something like a typewriter, which enables the blind to write quickly and clearly.

Which one of the following revisions is most needed in sentence (8) reproduced below?

Braille's idea was to use raised dots instead of letter.

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) Even if Louis Braille died when he was only forty-three years old he succeeded in devising a system of reading and writing for the blind which is now taught all over the world. (2) Braille lost his sight accidentally as a child. (3) Nevertheless, he was able to complete his education at a school for the blind in Paris and become a teacher. (4) In his day, the few books that were available for blind people were printed in big, raised type. (5) The letters used were those of the ordinary alphabet. (6) The reading of such books required immense effort. (7) Not only that, writing was almost impossible for a blind person was still restricted to an alphabet which was extraordinarily difficult to reproduce on paper.

(8) Braille’s idea was to use raised dots instead of letter. (9) He evolved a system which made use of only six dots in all. (10) By various combinations of these dots it not only proved possible to represent each letter in the alphabet but punctuation marks, numbers and musical notations as well. (11) Reading and writing have thus been enormously simplified. (12) The sensitive fingers of a blind person can travel rapidly over the dots: and there is a small machine, something like a typewriter, which enables the blind to write quickly and clearly.

The function of the second paragraph (sentences 6-10) is to

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded as a luxury for the rich dilettante; people heard little of it, and thought less. [2]The utensils and furniture of the middle class were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief that beautiful things were expensive. [3]Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article is, the more work has been lavished upon it, being never a more erroneous idea. [4]The diligent polish in order to secure nice plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy workmanship. [5]Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great pains and labor; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament.
[6]A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility. [7]People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake. [8]Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither art nor craft plays its full share. [9]Art does not consist only in original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; the best art is that which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they are strikingly new or not. [10]One principle for which craftsmen should stand is a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements employed in constructing any article.
[11]A medieval artist was usually a craftsman as well. [12]He was not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own designs and carried them out.

Of the following, which would be the best way to revise the underlined portion of sentence 7 (reproduced below)?

People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake.

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded as a luxury for the rich dilettante; people heard little of it, and thought less. [2]The utensils and furniture of the middle class were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief that beautiful things were expensive. [3]Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article is, the more work has been lavished upon it, being never a more erroneous idea. [4]The diligent polish in order to secure nice plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy workmanship. [5]Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great pains and labor; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament.
[6]A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility. [7]People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake. [8]Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither art nor craft plays its full share. [9]Art does not consist only in original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; the best art is that which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they are strikingly new or not. [10]One principle for which craftsmen should stand is a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements employed in constructing any article.
[11]A medieval artist was usually a craftsman as well. [12]He was not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own designs and carried them out.

In context, what is the best way to deal with sentence 10?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded as a luxury for the rich dilettante; people heard little of it, and thought less. [2]The utensils and furniture of the middle class were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief that beautiful things were expensive. [3]Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article is, the more work has been lavished upon it, being never a more erroneous idea. [4]The diligent polish in order to secure nice plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy workmanship. [5]Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great pains and labor; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament.
[6]A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility. [7]People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake. [8]Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither art nor craft plays its full share. [9]Art does not consist only in original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; the best art is that which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they are strikingly new or not. [10]One principle for which craftsmen should stand is a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements employed in constructing any article.
[11]A medieval artist was usually a craftsman as well. [12]He was not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own designs and carried them out.

Which of the following is most likely to follow sentence 12?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded as a luxury for the rich dilettante; people heard little of it, and thought less. [2]The utensils and furniture of the middle class were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief that beautiful things were expensive. [3]Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article is, the more work has been lavished upon it, being never a more erroneous idea. [4]The diligent polish in order to secure nice plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy workmanship. [5]Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great pains and labor; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament.
[6]A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility. [7]People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake. [8]Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither art nor craft plays its full share. [9]Art does not consist only in original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; the best art is that which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they are strikingly new or not. [10]One principle for which craftsmen should stand is a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements employed in constructing any article.
[11]A medieval artist was usually a craftsman as well. [12]He was not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own designs and carried them out.

In context, which of the following is the best way to phrase the underlined portion of sentence 6 (reproduced below)?

A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility.

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1] Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded as a luxury for the rich dilettante; people heard little of it, and thought less. [2]The utensils and furniture of the middle class were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief that beautiful things were expensive. [3]Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article is, the more work has been lavished upon it, being never a more erroneous idea. [4]The diligent polish in order to secure nice plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy workmanship. [5]Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great pains and labor; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament.
[6]A craft may easily be practiced without art, and still serve its purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure as well as serving utility. [7]People suppose that because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the less important, this is a mistake. [8]Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither art nor craft plays its full share. [9]Art does not consist only in original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; the best art is that which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they are strikingly new or not. [10]One principle for which craftsmen should stand is a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements employed in constructing any article.
[11]A medieval artist was usually a craftsman as well. [12]He was not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own designs and carried them out.

Which sentence would be the most appropriate to follow sentence 14?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1]The popular notion about marriage, that it springs from the same motives, and covers the same human needs is synonymous with love. [2]Like most popular notions this also rests not on actual facts, but on superstition.

[3]Marriage and love have nothing in common. [4]They are as far apart as the poles are; in fact, antagonistic to each other. [5]No doubt some marriages have been the result of love. [6]Not love could assert itself only in marriage; much rather it is because few people can completely outgrow a convention. [7]There are today large numbers of men and women to whom marriage is nothing but a farce, but who submit to marriage for the sake of public opinion. [8]At any rate, while it is true that some marriages are based on love, and while it is equally true that in some cases love continues in married life, I maintain that it does so regardless of marriage, and not because of it.
[9]Marriage is primarily an economic arrangement, an insurance pact. [10]It differs from the ordinary life insurance agreement only in that it is more binding, more exacting. [11]Its returns are insignificantly small compared with the investments. [12]If you take out an insurance policy, dollars and cents must be paid by you. [13] If woman's premium, however, is her husband, she pays for it with her name, her privacy, her self-respect, her very life. [14] Man too pays his toll, but as his sphere is wider, marriage does not limit him as much as woman.

In context, which of the following is the best way to phrase sentence 13 (reproduced below)?

If woman's premium, however, is her husband, she pays for it with her name, her privacy, her self-respect, her very life.

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

[1]The popular notion about marriage, that it springs from the same motives, and covers the same human needs is synonymous with love. [2]Like most popular notions this also rests not on actual facts, but on superstition.

[3]Marriage and love have nothing in common. [4]They are as far apart as the poles are; in fact, antagonistic to each other. [5]No doubt some marriages have been the result of love. [6]Not love could assert itself only in marriage; much rather it is because few people can completely outgrow a convention. [7]There are today large numbers of men and women to whom marriage is nothing but a farce, but who submit to marriage for the sake of public opinion. [8]At any rate, while it is true that some marriages are based on love, and while it is equally true that in some cases love continues in married life, I maintain that it does so regardless of marriage, and not because of it.
[9]Marriage is primarily an economic arrangement, an insurance pact. [10]It differs from the ordinary life insurance agreement only in that it is more binding, more exacting. [11]Its returns are insignificantly small compared with the investments. [12]If you take out an insurance policy, dollars and cents must be paid by you. [13] If woman's premium, however, is her husband, she pays for it with her name, her privacy, her self-respect, her very life. [14] Man too pays his toll, but as his sphere is wider, marriage does not limit him as much as woman.

Which one of the following, if placed after sentence 12, would be the most effective concluding sentence for the essay?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) Even if Louis Braille died when he was only forty-three years old he succeeded in devising a system of reading and writing for the blind which is now taught all over the world. (2) Braille lost his sight accidentally as a child. (3) Nevertheless, he was able to complete his education at a school for the blind in Paris and become a teacher. (4) In his day, the few books that were available for blind people were printed in big, raised type. (5) The letters used were those of the ordinary alphabet. (6) The reading of such books required immense effort. (7) Not only that, writing was almost impossible for a blind person was still restricted to an alphabet which was extraordinarily difficult to reproduce on paper.

(8) Braille’s idea was to use raised dots instead of letter. (9) He evolved a system which made use of only six dots in all. (10) By various combinations of these dots it not only proved possible to represent each letter in the alphabet but punctuation marks, numbers and musical notations as well. (11) Reading and writing have thus been enormously simplified. (12) The sensitive fingers of a blind person can travel rapidly over the dots: and there is a small machine, something like a typewriter, which enables the blind to write quickly and clearly.

Which one of the following sentences, if deleted, will least disturb the flow of the passage?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) In a world growing ever more noisy, a fight of vital importance to us all is under way – against the tyranny of noise. (2) Noise frays the nerves, lessens efficiency and robs us of sleep. (3) The old and infirm cannot sleep, the student cannot read, the sage cannot meditate, and the professional cannot concentrate. (4) If the general noisy condition of everyday life continues, it is not inconceivable that we might become a race of shouting maniacs. (5) To primitive man, noise was nature’s warning of approaching danger and his response was automatic. (6) The roar of a lion sounds the alert and the human nervous system takes over preparing the man for fight or flight. (7) Today we respond exactly as the primitive man did. (8) An explosion occurs and we are startled. (9) A loud noise and the new-born baby reacts with wide-eyed fear, clutching. (10) Unnecessary noise subjects us to countless false alarms daily and keeps us almost continuously alert. 

(11) Many doctors believe that there is a direct link between this unconscious tension and the rise of such stress conditions as heart disease, hypertension and other disorders. (12) Noise causes the mind to ‘blink’ – split–second periods of blanking. (13) This effect, combined with the annoyance, can lessen efficiency, lower production and make people more error–prone.