english composition : Solution Essays

English

In which of the following situations would paraphrasing be useful and ethical?

A. You don’t fully understand what the author is saying.

B. You want to use an author’s idea but don’t wish to quote the author directly.

C. You wish to make it seem as if the author’s ideas are yours.

D. You want to change the author’s meaning.

2. Regarding the punctuation of quotations, which of the following sentences is correct?

A. Grant and Farrell argue that “charges of Wall Street corruption are nothing new. (43)”

B. As Longstreet and Smyth report “There is no exception to the rule” (136).

C. The decision was unequivocal: “The Constitution permits legislative review” (Quayle 128).

D. Leslie and Farmer, declared, “Life among the Lakota is in accord with nature (68).”

3. Why should academic writers use the third-person point of view for a research paper?

A. This point of view limits your credibility.

B. When using this point of view, you can easily switch to a different point of view.

C. This point of view allows you to be more objective in your writing.

D. This point of view keeps your writing simple.

4. What should you include in a keyword search when you wish to broaden the search and find any

documents containing at least one of a list of two or more terms?

A. AND

B. NOT

C. *

D. OR

5. Why is it helpful to search for a bibliography on a topic?

A. A bibliography provides only books you can use as sources.

B. Once you complete the basic bibliography search, you’re finished finding sources.

C. A bibliography can provide you with a list of various sources on your topic.

D. A bibliography search normally isn’t helpful.

6. When skimming a source, one helpful guideline to follow is to

A. pay no attention to any pictures, maps, or charts.

B. read the first sentence of each paragraph.

C. skip the first and last paragraphs.

D. read the entire source.

7. Advocates, contends, points out, and states are all examples of

A. predicates.

B. attributions.

C. citations.

D. helping verbs.

8. Which type of Internet resource would be the most reliable in providing accurate information?

A. An email you received from your instructor

B. An online forum dedicated to the your topic

C. A news site such as MSNBC

D. A general reference site such as Encyclopedia.com

9. Interviewing, surveying, and observing are all methods of

A. analyzing sources.

B. MLA formatting.

C. conducting field research.

D. patterns of development.

10. Which of the following is an example of a secondary source?

A. Stephen King’s letters to his editor

B. A biography of Stephen King

C. An interview with Stephen King

D. A novel by Stephen King

11. Which of the following sentences containing a quotation is punctuated correctly?

A. The mechanics asked me, “have you had the oil changed in your car this year”?

B. The mechanic asked, “Have you had the oil changed in your car this year?”

C. The mechanic asked me “Have you had the oil changed in your car this year”?

D. The mechanic asked “have you had the oil changed in your car this year?”

12. Which of the following is a true statement about an MLA Works Cited page?

A. The Works Cited page should be alphabetized.

B. The Works Cited page should contain any information you found when completing research.

C. The Works Cited page should immediately follow the conclusion and be on the same page.

D. The Works Cited page requires no special formatting.

13. Which of the following is not a tip that can help you find good sources for a topic?

A. Have a narrowed topic and working thesis.

B. Limit yourself to one source in the beginning.

C. Keep track of citation information for each source.

D. Have a clear system of notetaking.

14. What is the best reason for developing an annotated bibliography for your essay?

A. If you need more information, your annotated bibliography can lead you to it quicker.

B. You won’t have to worry about plagiarism.

C. If your essay isn’t completed on time, you can submit your annotated bibliography.

D. It takes the place of your Works Cited page.

15. Which of the following is not a good technique for learning your way around a library?

A. Consulting with the librarians.

B. Wandering around without a purpose the first time you visit

C. Taking a formal or guided tour of the library.

D. Reviewing the library website.

16. You’re working to come up with an interesting topic. Which of the following terms would not apply to

that effort?

A. Manageable

B. Novel

C. Breaking

D. Practical

17. Which of the following do you not normally need to take into consideration when determining if an

author is biased?

A. The tone of the writing

B. Your age as a reader

C. The descriptive and connotative language used in the writing

D. The author’s background and its effects on the writing

18. A type of plagiarism where information is cut and pasted from an Internet source without giving credit

to that source is called

A. cyberplagiarism.

B. technoplagiarism.

C. intentional plagiarism.

D. Internet theft.

19. Prewriting can be helpful when trying to narrow a topic because it

A. sorts good ideas from bad.

B. helps you eliminate ideas that would support your thesis.

C. can usually be submitted as the final essay.

D. can reveal an idea that may become your thesis.

20. Suppose that you’re going to interview someone in preparation for writing a research paper on teaching

techniques for macroeconomics. For this topic, who would be the best person to interview?

A. The president of a university

B. A professor of macroeconomics

C. An economist

D. A student in a macroeconomics course

21. Which of the following is a false statement about an APA References page?

A. You should put the list on a separate page at the end of your paper.

B. You should organize the list according to publication date, with the oldest date first.

C. You should italicize titles of books and names of journals.

D. You should double-space the entire list.

22. Which of the following would require documentation in an academic research paper?

A. A map of Brooklyn, NY, found in an atlas

B. A photograph from your family reunion

C. A statement regarding Thomas Jefferson being the third President of the United States

D. An observation you made while on a field trip to a zoo

23. You’re preparing an essay on working conditions in a shirt factory. Which of the following tips does

your text offer for doing that effectively?

A. Evaluate your dominant first impressions.

B. Finalize your thesis before beginning your research.

C. Visit a different factory first so you can compare the two.

D. Skip taking notes since they can influence your opinion.

24. Why is it better to rely on information from scholarly journals, not magazines, in academic writing?

A. Scholarly journals are more difficult to find.

B. Authors in scholarly journals are generally specialists in their field.

C. Scholarly journals are more entertaining, magazines are more reliable

D. Magazines are entertaining, which means they can’t be educational.

25. Which of the following is an example of opinion?

A. The color blue sometimes signifies sadness or depression.

B. Organic food should be made more affordable.

C. Abraham Lincoln presented the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.

D. The Canadian men’s hockey team won the gold medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

26. Which of the following statements is true about choosing sources?

A. It’s most important to determine whether or not a source is reliable before using it.

B. Books and articles written prior to the year 2000 are the most accurate.

C. If something is on the Internet, it must be true.

End of exam

D. A person’s opinion makes the best source when you hear it yourself.

27. Your instructor assigned the class to write an essay about a famous artist. What is the first steps you

should take to begin this project?

A. Devise a title for your essay

B. Construct your thesis statement

C. Do some reading and prewriting about the topic to focus your view

D. Decide the exact number of sources you will use

28. The MLA format for citing a book has six parts, beginning with the author’s name. What appears in the

fifth position?

A. Publisher

B. Place of publication

C. Medium

D. Date

29. Of the following, which is the most important to consider when analyzing and revising an academic

paper?

A. That the opinion is clearly highlighted with emphatic, emotional statements

B. That the paper contains many large words

C. That the thesis is clear and that the main points support that thesis

D. That the paper will be entertaining for the instructor to read

30. Which of the following would not be considered plagiarism?

A. Summarizing source information and including a citation on the Works Cited page

B. Using graphs, tables, diagrams that someone else created, without citing them

C. Submitting an essay that a friend submitted several years ago

D. Acknowledging a source when directly quoting but not including quotation marks

1. What is the sequence of components in the following sentence?

Listless and depressed by vistas of snow and gray skies, Dieter left the cabin and walked toward the frozen

pond.

A. Modifier, subject, modifier, verb

B. Subject, modifier, verb

C. Modifier, subject, verb

D. Subject, verb, modifier

2. Which punctuation mark should you use in a compound sentence that includes a conjunction?

A. Period

B. Colon

C. Semi-colon

D. Comma

3. A passive verb is the better choice if you wish to

A. emphasize the subject.

B. establish a casual tone.

C. establish a formal tone.

D. deemphasize the subject.

4. Which of the following techniques would be best used to present constructive feedback on a draft of an

essay to a peer?

A. Rewrite sections for your peer

B. Concentrate on content and the message of the paper

C. Only write notes on the things you like about it

D. Point out the negative aspects so your peer can improve

5. Which statement about sentence lengths in a written piece is true?

A. In spite of their name, compound-complex sentences are usually shorter than compound or complex sentences.

B. Regardless of the sentence type, the audience tends to read at its own pace.

C. Varying sentence type has no appreciable effect on relative sentence length.

D. Short sentences tend to move ideas quickly.

6. Which of the following sentences contains a redundancy?

A. Steve admired the partially completed stadium.

B. Emily’s sister gave birth to a pair of twins.

C. At no time did Tony indicate a willingness to admit defeat.

D. Chris had trouble working up even mild enthusiasm for Mike’s plan.

7. Spotting errors as you proofread is easier if you

A. read your work from the computer screen.

B. handwrite your essay.

C. reassess your marked-up copy.

D. use a clean printed copy each time.

8. Rational, concrete, emotional, and spatial are all examples of

A. learning styles.

B. helping verbs.

C. patterns of development.

D. predicates.

9. 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. I got to the airport late because the traffic was so terrible.

D. When I realized I was too late, I called David’s cell phone and made arrangements to meet them in town.

10. Which of the following sentences uses concrete language?

A. I met Cathy at a store on a street near the bridge.

B. Danny’s Labrador retriever eagerly chases tennis balls.

C. Jerry saw that the glass was really dirty.

D. When I saw Susan, she was reading a book.

11. Which of the following is a compound sentence?

A. Corporate fraud is becoming more common in the United States, and the civil courts are being stretched to their limits.

B. Butterflies and hummingbirds feed on the nectar of flowering plants.

C. Because fraud is so common in some corporations, regulatory agencies are overworked.

D. Because Viceroy butterflies migrate over very great distances, tracking them is a challenge to entomologists.

12. The following is an example of what kind of sentence?

Because it had rained earlier in the week, the game was cancelled.

A. Simple

B. Compound-complex

C. Complex

D. Compound

13. Which of the following sentences shows an example of parallel verbs?

A. Once the game was over, Jim had to run home and dinner was ready.

B. Once the game was over, Jim had to be running home and eat dinner.

C. Once the game was over, Jim had to run home and then eat his dinner.

D. Once the game was over, Jim had to run home and eat dinner.

14. During revision, you should scan your paper for _______ words and replace them with concrete words

or phrases.

A. formal

B. figurative

C. informal

D. general

15. Reading your draft aloud, using peer review, and using a typed and printed copy are all examples of

A. patterns of development.

B. useful techniques for revision.

C. graphic organizers.

D. points of view.

16. In the process of revision, your main objective should be to

A. demonstrate correct grammar.

B. clarify your ideas.

C. establish proper tone.

D. explain your essay’s purposes.

17. Which of the following sentences uses parallelism effectively?

A. The report was good because it was factual and offered many details.

B. The Red Sox fans screamed, yelled, and were applauding wildly.

C. Laura spent all her time gardening and arranging flowers, when she wasn’t in a shoe store to shop.

D. The large plant-eating dinosaurs were quite slow, rather stupid, and extremely hungry.

18. As you’re revising an essay, you write down several sentences to describe your intended readers. Why

should you do this?

A. To make sure you’re writing what you know, not what you believe

B. To ensure that you’re instructing your audience adequately

C. To ensure that your essay will entertain the audience

D. To see if your essay is directed toward its intended audience

19. To compose strong, compelling sentences, avoid using

A. forms of the verb to be.

B. short, simple sentences.

C. clauses as modifiers.

D. dependent clauses.

20. Which of the following sentences contains a dependent clause?

A. Please clear the table and wash the dishes.

B. Kicking and leaping, the three deer behaved like rambunctious rabbits.

C. The red sports car that was parked under the tree belongs to Alan.

D. Jared eagerly climbed into the boxing ring; he was on his back and out for the count in less than ten seconds.

21. Which of the following correctly uses a transitional word or phrase?

A. Sadly, Mark broke his leg during the performance. The director regretted casting him in the part.

B. First impressions are so important in both personal and professional life. Addison shaved off his beard.

C. The floodwaters receded. The bridge could be inspected.

D. Kara has been happily trying lots of new activities lately. For example, she took up needlepoint on the advice of her

counselor.

22. Which of the following sentences contains one or more strong, active verbs?

A. The phone directory was hastily searched by Conrad.

B. Having been away in London for two years, Conrad was happy to see Denise.

C. It was believed by some that Conrad’s father had been a war hero.

D. Conrad trembled with anxiety and anticipation as he pressed Denise’s doorbell.

23. Which of the following sentences uses a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?

A. My aunt, who usually behaves like a queen, was suddenly asking–no, begging–for help.

B. Out in the yard, the children shouted loudly and threw silly insults at each other.

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.

24. A student who regularly tracks mistakes in spelling, verb forms, and parallelism is probably

A. focusing on learning style.

B. analyzing the essays’ organization.

C. using a flowchart.

D. keeping an error log.

25. Choosing a good reviewer for your writing means finding someone who

A. will concentrate on your ideas and how well you support them.

B. concentrates on correcting your spelling and grammar errors.

C. knows everything about writing and will find every mistake.

D. is a close friend and will give you a positive review.

26. Which of the following is a good rule to follow when proofreading an essay?

A. Use the computer’s spell-check and grammar-check functions to be sure you catch any errors.

B. Read the essay aloud to hear where words are missing or awkward phrasings or grammatical errors occur.

C. Ask your best friend to critique your essay.

End of exam

D. Scan the essay twice, once for organization and once for surface errors.

27. Which of the following is not a type of sentence?

A. Complex

B. Simple

C. Simple-compound

D. Compound-complex

28. Which of the following statements is true about an independent clause?

A. It can stand alone as a complete sentence.

B. It contains only a verb, not a subject.

C. It can’t stand alone.

D. It begins with a subordinating conjunction.

29. Which of the following sentences is without any surface errors?

A. The town is located near just a few miles from lake Ontario.

B. I reluctantly gave the hamster to my cousin because I was afraid Teddy, my cat, would attack it.

C. Mr. Campbell gave copies of his novel to Ruth and me.

D. It’s up to Georgia and I who drives the car, whether Celine likes it or not.

30. Which of the following is an evaluation tool using questions and answers that lead to effective

strategies?

A. Thesis

B. Graphic organizer

C. Flowchart

D. Outline

Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows.

I’ve never actually met a real live humorist. Well, not in person at any rate. However, one summer, having

a lot of time on my hands, I discovered unexpected treasures lurking in the local public library. Among the

nuggets I unearthed in those musty stacks was a book by humorist Robert Benchley. To this day I

remember one of his quips. He wrote, “There are two kinds of people in this world; those who divide the

world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.” After laughing out loud, I became pensive. I

wondered why the quip was so funny. A year or so later, I formed a theory. Humor is based on the

unexpected.(br)In the passage above, the topic sentence and the thesis are one and the same.

What makes the last sentence effective as a thesis statement?

A. Simplicity

B. Humor

C. Specific detail

D. Assertion

2. A _____________ should make clear what the paragraph is about and express a view about the subject

matter.

A. topic sentence

B. thesis statement

C. conclusion

D. title

3. Which of the following methods is used to narrow a broad essay topic?

A. Wikipedia

B. Brainstorming

C. Branching and questioning

D. Polling classmates

4. Suppose you’re writing an essay about the process of changing a tire on your car. Which of the following

is the best example of evidence to support your thesis?

A. Sometimes a flat tire is just a tire that has run over a nail.

B. The first rubber tires appeared in the mid-1800s.

C. The first tires were bands of iron that were fitted by wheelwrights onto the rims of wooden cart and wagon wheels.

D. Remove the hub cap and loosen the nuts by turning counterclockwise.

5. What type of information do you need to support your thesis statement?

A. Back-up

B. Reports

C. Evidence

D. Theory

6. If you’re creating an opening paragraph and you present supporting details in the beginning, where in the

paragraph is your topic sentence, most likely?

A. At the end of the paragraph

B. In the next paragraph

C. In the first sentence

D. In the second sentence

7. What type of expression would you use in an essay if you wanted to connect a new sentence to one that

precedes it?

A. Transitional

B. Expressive

C. Tracking

D. Effective

8. What is the most likely purpose of the essay from which the following passage was taken?

Having been raised on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, Lorie Ann Kline was having trouble adjusting to life

in the city and to Central High School. In a conference with her parents, the school guidance counselor

explained that Lorie Ann avoided talking to her fellow students and sat by herself in the lunchroom.

Perhaps most disturbing, her grades were not what one would expect given her high scholastic aptitude

scores. Mrs. Kline agreed that Lorie Ann was often shy around strangers. A solemn Mr. Kline explained

that his daughter had been severely bullied by two older children who had lived at the farm for a short time.

The guidance counselor nodded in understanding.

A. To point out the harm done by bullies

B. To argue for urban over rural life

C. To inform people about the work of guidance counselors

D. To tell the life story of Lorie Ann Kline

9. When using pronouns such as you, your, and yours, you’re writing in which point of view?

A. First-person

B. Compound-person

C. Second-person

D. Third-person

10. Please read the following excerpt from an essay. The sentences are numbered to help you

respond to the question that follows.

(1) After Sean was arrested for breaking into a pawnshop, I began to wonder. (2) Why did some kids from

my neighborhood end up in trouble while most of us didn’t? (3) I started out with a question: What causes

young people to make bad choices? (4) Now, after two years of research, I’ve arrived at the conclusion

that there is no simple answer. (5) There is no one reason why good kids go bad, but there are typical

reasons.

(6) According to my research, teenagers are most likely to get into trouble if they hang out with a bad

crowd. (7) That’s because people learn their values from the people they associate with. (8) So a very big

reason for bad behavior is imitating one’s peers. (9) But there are other important factors as well. (10) Kids

who get in trouble are often school dropouts. (11) Also, kids being raised by a single mother are more likely

to get in trouble than kids raised in an intact family. (12) Substance abuse also plays a role, especially when

it comes to alcohol and legal or illegal drugs.

In which sentence or sentences do you find the thesis statement in this excerpt?

A. 3

B. 5

C. 4 and 5

D. 2

11. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows. In the

passage, the sentences are numbered to help you respond to the question.

(1) Biologically, adolescence is marked by hormonal changes that produce secondary sexual characteristics.

(2) These include breast development in females and beard growth in males. (3) Psychologically, however,

adolescence is a concept that applies only to modern industrial societies. (4) In fact, in most preliterate or

tribal societies, the modern American idea of adolescence simply does not exist. (5) In such societies, the

social roles of adulthood are to be learned during childhood. (6) Then, around the time of biological

puberty, a child becomes an adult through a ritual anthropologists call a rite of passage. (7) By contrast, in

American society, adolescence amounts to a sort of social and cultural limbo. (8) Informally, the end of

childhood is often marked by one’s thirteenth birthday. The child is now a “teenager.” (9) More formally,

the end of adolescence is marked by legal strictures that vary irrationally. (10) In a given state the age of

sexual consent may be 16 for girls and 18 for boys. (11) An 18-year-old may vote or enlist to die for his

country, but, until he reaches age 21, he may not legally purchase alcoholic beverages.

In the paragraph, the thesis is best suggested

A. by what the reader decides about the actual nature of adolescence.

B. in sentences 1 and 3.

C. through an implied topic sentence.

D. in sentences 3 and 4.

12. Karen asserts that a thesis statement is best developed as part of the prewriting process. Kyle claims

that a thesis statement should be completely developed before the writer is sure of the topic. Who is

correct?

A. Both Karen and Kyle are correct.

B. Only Karen is correct.

C. Neither Karen nor Kyle is correct.

D. Only Kyle is correct.

13. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows.

I’ve never actually met a real live humorist. Well, not in person at any rate. However, one summer, having

a lot of time on my hands, I discovered unexpected treasures lurking in the local public library. Among the

nuggets I unearthed in those musty stacks was a book by humorist Robert Benchley. To this day I

remember one of his quips. He wrote, “There are two kinds of people in this world; those who divide the

world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.” After laughing out loud, I became pensive. I

wondered why the quip was so funny. A year or so later, I formed a theory. Humor is based on the

unexpected.(br)In the passage above, the topic sentence and the thesis are one and the same.

In the paragraph about Robert Benchley, what types of evidence does the writer use to support his thesis,

other than narration?

A. Classification

B. Comparison and contrast

C. Example

D. Historical background

14. The usual point of view when writing a formal academic essay is

A. subjective.

B. third person.

C. personal.

D. second person.

15. Carmen asserts that a strong conclusion to an essay should look ahead and present a call for action.

Carl agrees, except he insists that a strong conclusion should restate the thesis verbatim. Who is correct?

A. Neither Carmen nor Carl is correct.

B. Both Carmen and Carl are correct.

C. Only Carmen is correct.

D. Only Carl is correct.

16. Which of the following is not an example of a transition word or phrase?

A. Beyond

B. Consequently

C. Or

D. For instance

17. Ron and Quincy are organizing the facts in their essays. Ron says putting details in spatial order means

to organize them according to the order in which they happened. Quincy says it means putting the details in

order according to their location. Who is correct?

A. Both are correct.

B. Neither is correct.

C. Only Quincy is correct.

D. Only Ron is correct.

18. Which of the following titles is made more effective by alliteration?

A. What’s in a Name?

B. Guns: Our Lethal Heritage

C. Now You See It; Now You Don’t

D. Ruby, the Rose of Roslyn

19. Terri and Jose are preparing outlines. In preparing an informal outline, Terri will use key words and

phrases to list her main points. In preparing a formal outline, Jose will use capital letters and Roman

numerals to list the important points. Who is using the correct outline for the purpose?

A. Both Terri and Jose

B. Only Terri

C. Only Jose

D. Neither Terri nor Jose

20. Please read the following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows. In the