Writing and Communication Skills

In context, which of the following revisions is necessary in sentence 2 (reproduced below)? It was called A Single-Hued World: Laughable or Logical?, the paper explored the effects of a world where people could not visually distinguish race.

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – I

(1) Last summer, I wrote an essay for a Freshman Composition course on the subject of race relations. (2) It was called "A Single-Hued World: Laughable or Logical?", the paper explored the effects of a world where people could not visually distinguish race.
(3)The constantly reoccurring issue of race is one I'm familiar with. (4) I'm biracial and I love it, but I detest standardized forms that demand I label myself as one race. (5) I don't see my ethnicity as "check only one," and I don't feel this is an option.
(6) I do think about race, though, and I feel very strongly that race relations will naturally improve with time, as a two-stage process occurs. (7) First, ethnic differences should continue to be celebrated, as they are currently in California. (8) Cultural holidays, festivals, and trends will gain popularity across nationalities, and races historically degraded will gain the pride necessary to attain cultural confidence. (9) Mexican, Black, Asian Pride will grow greatly, and people will appreciate contrasts between them.
(10) The passing time would lead to equality of races, which will become an obvious state and it will diminish then. (11) In time, equality of races will become an obvious state, and the importance of race will diminish. (12) If people don't have to fight for their value as people, their insecurities will vanish. So in time, I believe racial differences will evolve into a triviality, something easily ignored.

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Which of the following sentences is best to insert between sentences 8 and 9?

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – II

(1) In life people have to make choices, in my life I have had to make many, many choices.  (2)  I think that my biggest decision or choice would be my application and move to college. (3) This would be considered the biggest decision I would have to make in my life so far.
(4) When your senior year in high school rolls around, most people have to start thinking about what they want to do with their lives in the next four years, and what will happen after these four years are done.
(5) This was a time in my life when I had to make a choice about what I was going to do. (6)  I knew that I wanted to do something that involved the technology of computers and I thought I wanted to be an engineer. (7) Well that was a choice I made, and it was not exactly a choice I thought about adequately. (8) Engineering just wasn't what I was meant to do.
(9) Computer engineering (the major that I choose first semester) was a lot more than I expected. (10)  I ended up failing Physics, Calculus and Chemistry!  (11)  In addition to that, I was subject to separation from < > college. (12) Well, now a decision really had to be made; a choice had to be made.
(13)  My parents told me to think about other colleges and to think about other things to do instead of college, but I knew that <  > was right for me. (14)  They often suggested that I go to community college for a semester or two and make sure that I was doing something that I wanted to do. (15) I had attended the community college in my area during my last year in high school to take some extra courses, and I truly detested the place.  (16)I really did not want to go anywhere but <  >.
(17)   So I petitioned for readmission to a new department at<  >. (18)  I decided that I should focus my studies on something other than engineering, because it was much more than I had expected, and it was flat out, too hard for me.
(19)  Eventually I was allowed back, and as of right now I am on academic warning.  (20)  This is a result of my low GPA from last semester. (21)  I know this time around I will do better.  (22)  As I really messed up the last semester due to my choice of classes that made me skate on thin ice. (23) My CHOICE to come back and give this my all, and to do well, is the right CHOICE for me. (24)  <  > is the right place for me.

Which of the following should be done with sentence 8 (reproduced below)?

Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in there months.

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – IV

(1) Pearl Buck's style in The Good Earth has been compared to old Chinese novels. (2) Actually, it is a simple, direct narrative style. (3) There are no complicated techniques such as cut-back or stream of consciousness. (4) The narrative moves along smoothly towards its conclusion. (5) There are no complicated subplots or subthemes. (6) Wang Lung is the central character; the actions of all the other characters relate directly to him. (7) No one in the story performs any action which is independent of the main action.  (8) Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in there months.
(9)  Perhaps the greatest strength of the style of Pearl Buck in The Good Earth is the manner in which her characters perform. (10) No matter what any one of them does, it is always in keeping with his personality. (11)  Nevertheless, none of them can be described as stereotypes; their motivations are too complex. (12)  In O-lan, the reader sees a person who is fundamentally good. (13)  Yet she does some seemingly wicked things. (14)  She steals the jewels from the rich man's house.  (15) Worse than this, she kills her own child. (16)  But both of these actions are consistent with her character indicating the context of the situations involved.
(17)  Much has been written about Pearl Buck's style of writing in The Good Earth. (18) One critic calls it "almost Biblical," while others compare it to ancient folk epics. (19)  Another critic describes it as a blend of the King James Version of the Bible and a traditional Chinese epic.

Which of the following would be the best way to conclude the passage?

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – II

(1) In life people have to make choices, in my life I have had to make many, many choices.  (2)  I think that my biggest decision or choice would be my application and move to college. (3) This would be considered the biggest decision I would have to make in my life so far.
(4) When your senior year in high school rolls around, most people have to start thinking about what they want to do with their lives in the next four years, and what will happen after these four years are done.
(5) This was a time in my life when I had to make a choice about what I was going to do. (6)  I knew that I wanted to do something that involved the technology of computers and I thought I wanted to be an engineer. (7) Well that was a choice I made, and it was not exactly a choice I thought about adequately. (8) Engineering just wasn't what I was meant to do.
(9) Computer engineering (the major that I choose first semester) was a lot more than I expected. (10)  I ended up failing Physics, Calculus and Chemistry!  (11)  In addition to that, I was subject to separation from < > college. (12) Well, now a decision really had to be made; a choice had to be made.
(13)  My parents told me to think about other colleges and to think about other things to do instead of college, but I knew that <  > was right for me. (14)  They often suggested that I go to community college for a semester or two and make sure that I was doing something that I wanted to do. (15) I had attended the community college in my area during my last year in high school to take some extra courses, and I truly detested the place.  (16)I really did not want to go anywhere but <  >.
(17)   So I petitioned for readmission to a new department at<  >. (18)  I decided that I should focus my studies on something other than engineering, because it was much more than I had expected, and it was flat out, too hard for me.
(19)  Eventually I was allowed back, and as of right now I am on academic warning.  (20)  This is a result of my low GPA from last semester. (21)  I know this time around I will do better.  (22)  As I really messed up the last semester due to my choice of classes that made me skate on thin ice. (23) My CHOICE to come back and give this my all, and to do well, is the right CHOICE for me. (24)  <  > is the right place for me.

All of the following strategies are used by the writer of the passage EXCEPT

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – III

(1) I believe my love and fascination with travel is somewhat hereditary. (2) I got interested in traveling to far away places from looking at albums of my father’s many travels. (3) I recall with great fondness many afternoons pouring over the big, bulky albums, labeled on the side - "Greece," "Italy," "France," "Israel," and others. (4) It was with curious awe that I saw my father pictured in exotic locales wondering what rich stories should be accompanying these snapshots of cherished memories.
(5) Of course, my dad would regale us at the dinner table with many a story, as we listened and absorbed his enthusiasm from the retelling of his adventures. (6) Then, we traveled a bit as a family, to Israel, then Belgium and the Netherlands, and then an awe inspiring summer in China.
(7) As I got older, my interest in travel continued, as read books on a variety of topics from world religions to international affairs. (8) Setting my first taste for another culture as a teenager, I spent a summer abroad.
(9) During high school, I took advantage of the study abroad program and spent a semester in Sydney, Australia. (10) The more I traveled, the more I wanted to travel and the more I wanted to share my experiences with others. (11) Trips to Italy, France, and England as a child further enriched my passion for learning about visiting other countries and learning about their cultures.

The writer’s story would be most improved if a paragraph were included on which of the following topics?

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – IV

(1) Pearl Buck's style in The Good Earth has been compared to old Chinese novels. (2) Actually, it is a simple, direct narrative style. (3) There are no complicated techniques such as cut-back or stream of consciousness. (4) The narrative moves along smoothly towards its conclusion. (5) There are no complicated subplots or subthemes. (6) Wang Lung is the central character; the actions of all the other characters relate directly to him. (7) No one in the story performs any action which is independent of the main action.  (8) Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in there months.
(9)  Perhaps the greatest strength of the style of Pearl Buck in The Good Earth is the manner in which her characters perform. (10) No matter what any one of them does, it is always in keeping with his personality. (11)  Nevertheless, none of them can be described as stereotypes; their motivations are too complex. (12)  In O-lan, the reader sees a person who is fundamentally good. (13)  Yet she does some seemingly wicked things. (14)  She steals the jewels from the rich man's house.  (15) Worse than this, she kills her own child. (16)  But both of these actions are consistent with her character indicating the context of the situations involved.
(17)  Much has been written about Pearl Buck's style of writing in The Good Earth. (18) One critic calls it "almost Biblical," while others compare it to ancient folk epics. (19)  Another critic describes it as a blend of the King James Version of the Bible and a traditional Chinese epic.

In context, which of the following is the best phrase to insert at the beginning of sentence 5?

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – IV

(1) Pearl Buck's style in The Good Earth has been compared to old Chinese novels. (2) Actually, it is a simple, direct narrative style. (3) There are no complicated techniques such as cut-back or stream of consciousness. (4) The narrative moves along smoothly towards its conclusion. (5) There are no complicated subplots or subthemes. (6) Wang Lung is the central character; the actions of all the other characters relate directly to him. (7) No one in the story performs any action which is independent of the main action.  (8) Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in there months.
(9)  Perhaps the greatest strength of the style of Pearl Buck in The Good Earth is the manner in which her characters perform. (10) No matter what any one of them does, it is always in keeping with his personality. (11)  Nevertheless, none of them can be described as stereotypes; their motivations are too complex. (12)  In O-lan, the reader sees a person who is fundamentally good. (13)  Yet she does some seemingly wicked things. (14)  She steals the jewels from the rich man's house.  (15) Worse than this, she kills her own child. (16)  But both of these actions are consistent with her character indicating the context of the situations involved.
(17)  Much has been written about Pearl Buck's style of writing in The Good Earth. (18) One critic calls it "almost Biblical," while others compare it to ancient folk epics. (19)  Another critic describes it as a blend of the King James Version of the Bible and a traditional Chinese epic.

What is the best revision of the underlined portion of sentence 15 (reproduced below)?

A mere hoper won’t bother (or dare) to keep exactly what God says to a person with true faith when he tries and succeeds when he does.

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

White Rose

(1)The White Rose is a shining example of resistance to Hitler. (2) The Nazi authorities also showed ruthlessness when faced with any opposition. (3) In early 1943, the  fortunes of war were clearly turning against the Germans. (4) The battle of Stalingrad had been a complete disaster, resulting in the surrender of the Sixth Army on January 31, 1943.  (5) Around this time, a small group of students, mostly centered in the University of Munich, began openly to agitate against the Nazi regime.  (6)  They say the war was lost, the good things they had thought would result from the Nazis in the 1930s as having been thrown away, and were horrified at the mistreatment of the Jews.  (7) The leaders of the student revolt were Hans Scholl (25), a medical student and his sister Sophie (21), a biology student. (8) Hans Scholl had been an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth in 1933, but he quickly became disillusioned with Nazism as its inhumanity and barbarism became more and more clear with the passage of time.

(9) People who have never lived under a fascist government have difficulty understanding how difficult - and how dangerous it is - to organize opposition to the government (10)  The Nazis in particular were organized right down to the street level and people were encouraged to inform on their parents, relatives, and friends to the Gestapo; in short, anyone who manifested disagreement with the Nazis could be in serious trouble. (11) Under its law, over 5,000 people were executed for such trivial offenses as making jokes about Hitler or listening to radio broadcasts from Britain.  (12) Most of the White Rose members were medical students, except for Sophie Scholl, who majored in biology and philosophy, and many had Jewish friends or classmates, who had been persecuted under the Nazis. (13) Their disillusionment became most pronounced as the brutality of the regime became more apparent and especially when the mass deportations of the Jews began.

In context, which is the best way to deal with sentence 7?

PASSAGE-II

Direction for questions 7 to 12: 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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

(1) Mark Twain’s publication is 1876 of his popular novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer followed the publication of his previous novel. (2)  The Gilded Age reversed a brief downturn in his success. (3) Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while he and his family were living in Hartford, Connecticut, and Twain was enjoying his fame. (4) The escapades of a young boy and his friends in St. Petersburg as told in the novel, Missouri, a village near the Mississippi River, recalls Twain’s own childhood in a small Missouri town. (5) The friendship of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn is one of the most celebrated in,American literature, built on imaginative adventures, shared superstitions, and loyalty that had risen above social convention. (6) Twain’s American reading audience loved this novel and its young hero, and the novel remains one of the most popular and famous work of American literature.

(7) Scenes such as Tom Sawyer tricking his friends into whitewashing Aunt Polly’s fence for him, Injun Joe leaping through the window of courthouse after Tom names him as Dr.  Robinson’s murderer, and Tom and Becky lost in the cave have become so familiar to American readers that one almost doesn’t have to read the book to know about them.  (8) But the pleasure of reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has kept readers coming back to the novel for over a century. (9) The novel and its characters have achieved folk hero status in the American popular imagination.

 (10) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is fun to read, there is another reason for the novel’s contemporary popularity:  It introduces the character of Huckleberry Finn, who, with the publication of Twain’s 1884 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has become one of the greatest characters in American literature.

The author wishes to divide the passage into two shorter paragraphs. The most appropriate place to begin a new paragraph would be

PASSAGE-II

Direction for questions 7 to 12: 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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

(1) Mark Twain’s publication is 1876 of his popular novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer followed the publication of his previous novel. (2)  The Gilded Age reversed a brief downturn in his success. (3) Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while he and his family were living in Hartford, Connecticut, and Twain was enjoying his fame. (4) The escapades of a young boy and his friends in St. Petersburg as told in the novel, Missouri, a village near the Mississippi River, recalls Twain’s own childhood in a small Missouri town. (5) The friendship of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn is one of the most celebrated in,American literature, built on imaginative adventures, shared superstitions, and loyalty that had risen above social convention. (6) Twain’s American reading audience loved this novel and its young hero, and the novel remains one of the most popular and famous work of American literature.

(7) Scenes such as Tom Sawyer tricking his friends into whitewashing Aunt Polly’s fence for him, Injun Joe leaping through the window of courthouse after Tom names him as Dr.  Robinson’s murderer, and Tom and Becky lost in the cave have become so familiar to American readers that one almost doesn’t have to read the book to know about them.  (8) But the pleasure of reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has kept readers coming back to the novel for over a century. (9) The novel and its characters have achieved folk hero status in the American popular imagination.

 (10) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is fun to read, there is another reason for the novel’s contemporary popularity:  It introduces the character of Huckleberry Finn, who, with the publication of Twain’s 1884 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has become one of the greatest characters in American literature.

In context, which of the following is the best way to revise and combine the underlined portions of sentences 2 and 3 (reproduced below)?

The novel is regarded as Hawthorne’s greatest accomplishment, which he tends to deny. But frequently as the greatest novel in American literacy history.

PASSAGE-I
Direction for questions 1 to 6: 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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

The Scarlet Letter

(1)Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is famous for presenting some of the greatest interpretive difficulties in all of American literature. (2) The novel is regarded as Hawthorne’s greatest accomplishment, which he tends to deny. (3) But frequently as the greatest novel in American literary history.  (4) After it was published in 1980, critics hailed it as initiating a distinctive American literary tradition. (5) It is a novel in which, in terms of action, almost nothing happens. (6) Hawthorne’s emotional, psychological drama revolves around Hester Prynne. (7) The civil and Puritan authorities in colonial Boston convicted her as she was indulged in adultery. (8) She is condemned to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest as a permanent sign of her sin.  (9) The narrative describes the effort to resolve the torment suffered by Hester and her co-adulterer, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, in many years of their affair. (10) In fact, the story excludes even the representation of the passionate moment which enables the entire novel. (11) It begins at the close of Hester’s imprisonment many months after her affair and proceeds through many years to her final acceptance of her place in the community as the wearer of the scarlet letter. (12) Hawthorne was masterful in the use of symbolism, and the scarlet letter “A” stands as his most potent symbol, around which interpretations of the novel revolve. (13) At one interpretive pole the “A” stands for adultery and sin, and the novel is the story of individual punishment and reconciliation.  (14) At another pole it stands for America and allegory, and the story suggests national sin and its human cost. (15) The most convincing reading, taking account of all others, sees the “A” as a symbol of ambiguity, the very fact of multiple interpretations and the difficulty of achieving consensus.

Which of the following is the best way to revise and combine the underlined portions of sentences 1 and 2 (reproduced below)?

The White Rose is a shining example of resistance to Hitler. The Nazi authorities also showed ruthlessness when faced with any opposition.

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

White Rose

(1)The White Rose is a shining example of resistance to Hitler. (2) The Nazi authorities also showed ruthlessness when faced with any opposition. (3) In early 1943, the  fortunes of war were clearly turning against the Germans. (4) The battle of Stalingrad had been a complete disaster, resulting in the surrender of the Sixth Army on January 31, 1943.  (5) Around this time, a small group of students, mostly centered in the University of Munich, began openly to agitate against the Nazi regime.  (6)  They say the war was lost, the good things they had thought would result from the Nazis in the 1930s as having been thrown away, and were horrified at the mistreatment of the Jews.  (7) The leaders of the student revolt were Hans Scholl (25), a medical student and his sister Sophie (21), a biology student. (8) Hans Scholl had been an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth in 1933, but he quickly became disillusioned with Nazism as its inhumanity and barbarism became more and more clear with the passage of time.

(9) People who have never lived under a fascist government have difficulty understanding how difficult - and how dangerous it is - to organize opposition to the government (10)  The Nazis in particular were organized right down to the street level and people were encouraged to inform on their parents, relatives, and friends to the Gestapo; in short, anyone who manifested disagreement with the Nazis could be in serious trouble. (11) Under its law, over 5,000 people were executed for such trivial offenses as making jokes about Hitler or listening to radio broadcasts from Britain.  (12) Most of the White Rose members were medical students, except for Sophie Scholl, who majored in biology and philosophy, and many had Jewish friends or classmates, who had been persecuted under the Nazis. (13) Their disillusionment became most pronounced as the brutality of the regime became more apparent and especially when the mass deportations of the Jews began.

The writer's story would be most improved if a paragraph were included on which of the following topics?

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 answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

White Rose

(1)The White Rose is a shining example of resistance to Hitler. (2) The Nazi authorities also showed ruthlessness when faced with any opposition. (3) In early 1943, the  fortunes of war were clearly turning against the Germans. (4) The battle of Stalingrad had been a complete disaster, resulting in the surrender of the Sixth Army on January 31, 1943.  (5) Around this time, a small group of students, mostly centered in the University of Munich, began openly to agitate against the Nazi regime.  (6)  They say the war was lost, the good things they had thought would result from the Nazis in the 1930s as having been thrown away, and were horrified at the mistreatment of the Jews.  (7) The leaders of the student revolt were Hans Scholl (25), a medical student and his sister Sophie (21), a biology student. (8) Hans Scholl had been an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth in 1933, but he quickly became disillusioned with Nazism as its inhumanity and barbarism became more and more clear with the passage of time.

(9) People who have never lived under a fascist government have difficulty understanding how difficult - and how dangerous it is - to organize opposition to the government (10)  The Nazis in particular were organized right down to the street level and people were encouraged to inform on their parents, relatives, and friends to the Gestapo; in short, anyone who manifested disagreement with the Nazis could be in serious trouble. (11) Under its law, over 5,000 people were executed for such trivial offenses as making jokes about Hitler or listening to radio broadcasts from Britain.  (12) Most of the White Rose members were medical students, except for Sophie Scholl, who majored in biology and philosophy, and many had Jewish friends or classmates, who had been persecuted under the Nazis. (13) Their disillusionment became most pronounced as the brutality of the regime became more apparent and especially when the mass deportations of the Jews began.