Writing and Language Practice: 35 Minutes, 44 Questions
Writing and Language Practice: 35 Minutes, 44 Questions
Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.D
DIRECTIONS
Each passage below is accompanied by a number of questions. For some questions, you
will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For
other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in
sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied by
one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make revising
and editing decisions.
Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will
direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.
After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively
improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the
conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option.
Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the
passage as it is.
6
A) NO CHANGE
B) who’s liked and
C) whose likeness
D) whose likely
7
A) NO CHANGE
B) remainders.
C) parts.
D) things.
11
A) NO CHANGE
B) because of the construction methods.
C) to make a comparison.
D) DELETE the underlined portion and end the
sentence with a period.
the similarities of the building process is already explained
12
A) NO CHANGE
B) Min, to test,
C) Min; to test
D) Min to test
14
The writer wants to add the following sentence to the
essay:
The crew occasionally used the oars, but a single
sail was generally sufficient to propel the ship.
This sentence would most logically be placed at:
A) Point A in Paragraph 1.
B) Point B in Paragraph 2.
C) Point C in Paragraph 4.
D) Point D in Paragraph 5.
15
Suppose the writer’s primary purpose had been
to instruct the reader how to build a replica of an
ancient ship. Would this essay accomplish that
purpose?
A) Yes; the writer describes the use of mortise-and-
tenon joints in detail.
B) Yes; the writer provides the measurements of the
Min.
C) No; the writer instead emphasizes the inspiration
for and significance of a particular replica.
D) No; the writer instead focuses on providing
details about how and why Wadi Gawasis was
excavated.
19
If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence,
this paragraph would primarily lose a statement that:
A) explains why the appearance of the garden
puzzled the narrator.
B) illustrates why the garden appeared wild and
overgrown.
C) establishes that the grandfather resented the
amount of work that the garden required.
D) describes the varieties of plants and flowers and
grew in the garden.
23
A) NO CHANGE
B) not only the seasons, the sun, but also
C) either the seasons, the sun, and
D) both the seansons, the sun, and
24
A) NO CHANGE
B) yard, I noticed that
C) yard;
D) yard
28
A) NO CHANGE
B) herbs—such as arugula, Swiss chard, black kale,
rapini, sage, and oregano
C) herbs, such as arugula, Swiss chard, black kale,
rapini, sage, and oregano
D) herbs; such as arugula, Swiss chard, black kale,
rapini, sage, and oregano
29 Meanwhile, I learned that my grandpa’s garden, Which choice most effectively suggests that as
an adult the narrator continued to discover new
his orto, was much like the orto his own grandfather had information about the grandfather’s garden?
cultivated in southern Italy. [D] When I plant a garden, I A) NO CHANGE
might start with my favorite tomato, the sweet Datterini, a B) Years later,
classic cherry tomato variety from southern Italy that my C) However,
D) In short,
grandfather grew so well.
30
The writer wants to add the following sentence to the
essay:
My parents’ tidy rows of flowers required more
watering and chemicals than his garden did, he
said.
This sentence would most logically be placed at:
A) Point A in Paragraph 1.
B) Point B in Paragraph 2.
C) Point C in Paragraph 3.
D) Point D in Paragraph 4.
34
A) NO CHANGE
B) here—as we’ve done at Malibu Beach on the West
Coast—
C) here, as we’ve done at Malibu Beach on the West
Coast—
D) here as we’ve done at Malibu Beach on the West
Coast
created by local weather systems, are choppy and quick- I have heard about occasional shark attacks on
surfers in the ocean.
moving. This makes them more fun and more challenging
Should the writer make this addition here?
to surf. Ocean waves, on the other hand, are created by A) Yes, because it expresses the essay’s main
tides and storms a thousand miles offshore. 36 They are argument about why people prefer lake surfing to
ocean surfing.
usually bigger than lake waves and smoother and more
B) Yes, because it provides support for the author’s
predictable. claim that lake surfing isn’t dangerous.
37 The Great Lakes region is also referred to as the C) No, because it interrupts the description of the
different heights of ocean and lake waves.
“Fresh Coast” because of its fresh water. It doesn’t feel
D) No, because it identifies and advantage of lake
surfing that is discussed in detail later in the
essay.
36
If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence,
this paragraph would primarily lose a statement that:
A) explains the effects of weather on the formation
of both lake and ocean waves.
B) contrasts with the earlier description of how lake
waves are formed.
C) clarifies why ocean waves are choppy and
quick-moving.
D) reiterates the main idea of the paragraph.
37
Given that all the choices are true, which one most
effectively introduces the paragraph and provides a
transition into the rest of the essay?
A) NO CHANGE
B) Unlike the Pacific Ocean, with 63.8 million
square surface miles, Lake Michigan has only
22,400 square surface miles.
C) Michigan has 3,288 miles of Great Lakes
coastline, more coastline than any state other
than Alaska.
D) With 22,400 square surface miles, Lake Michigan
looks like an ocean.
40
A) NO CHANGE
B) we wore
C) we wear
D) if we wore
41
A) NO CHANGE
B) completely accompanied
C) in completion
D) complete
44
Which of the following most effectively concludes the
sentence and reinforces the primary comparison in
the essay?
A) NO CHANGE
B) show us, again, that we don’t need an ocean to
ride the waves.
C) buy new wet suits since they go on sale.
D) drive away the sunbathers and give us back our
surfing terrain.
49
A) NO CHANGE
B) Both at home and abroad, critics
C) Globally, critics
D) Critics
50
A) NO CHANGE
B) woman, whom
C) woman whose
D) woman
52
A) NO CHANGE
B) their performances,
C) her performances,
D) her performances
53
At this point, the writer is considering adding the
following true statement:
On February 8, 1960, a terrazzo and brass star
commemorating Anna May Wong’s contributions
to film was added to Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk
of Fame.
Should the writer make this addition here?
A) Yes, because it emphasizes the correlation
between Wong’s early struggles in the 1920s and
her success decades later.
B) Yes, because it supports the paragraph’s main
point that Wong frequently upstaged her peers.
C) No, because it interrupts the paragraph’s
discussion of how Wong’s inability to secure
starring roles led to her leaving for Europe.
D) No, because it contradicts an earlier claim that
Wong had difficulty finding starring roles.
56
A) NO CHANGE
B) once each in a litany of three separate languages
that included German, French, and
C) in a list of three languages—German, and also
French, and
D) once in each of three ways—German, French,
and
57
If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence,
the paragraph would primarily lose:
A) a contrast between the ease with which Wong
learned German and French and the difficulty
Wong experienced in shooting a film three times.
B) an example of how Wong’s ability to speak
multiple languages enhanced her opportunities in
a changing film industry.
C) an explanation of how critics responded to
Wong’s ability to speak both German and French.
D) an indication that Wong struggled futilely to
maintain her popularity in the era of sound in
film.
60
The writer wants to add the following sentence to the
essay:
There, Wong’s popularity soared.
This sentence would most logically be placed at:
A) Point A in Paragraph 2.
B) Point B in Paragraph 4.
C) Point C in Paragraph 4.
D) Point D in Paragraph 5.
65
A) NO CHANGE
B) choreographed, On the Town (1944),
C) choreographed; On the Town (1944)
D) choreographed On the Town (1944),
69
If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence,
the paragraph would primarily lose a statement that:
A) suggests that the performers were excited about
developing their skills in both dancing and
acting.
B) illustrates how Robbins attempted to use
choreography in a new way in On the Town.
C) explains that expressing emotion was originally
considered a key element in On the Town.
D) provides evidence that Robbins trained dancers
to act out complicated stories.
70
A) NO CHANGE
B) The performance of
C) Here were
D) This was
74
A) NO CHANGE
B) an integration role
C) an integrity role
D) an integral role
75
Given that all the choices are accurate, which one
most effectively concludes the sentence and the essay?
A) NO CHANGE
B) Robbins helped dance reach its present status in
Broadway musicals through his innovative
choreography.
C) Robbins has played minor parts as a dancer in the
chorus as well as leading parts in classical ballets.
D) about ten million tickets to Broadway musicals
are now sold each year.
STOP
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Do not turn to any other section.