Writing Skills

1. To put abstract ideas into close-up words, use _______ descriptions.
A. faraway
B. impersonal
C. general
*D. concrete

2. Which one of the following sentences is written in the active voice?
A. Accidents are considered by most people as unavoidable.
B. It is said that definite steps can be taken to prevent many accidents.
C. Few people think seriously of doing something about accidents.
D. Accidents are witnessed every day.

3. Read the word in parentheses; then decide which of these sentences most effectively translates an abstract concept into a mental picture.
A. (Freedom) On her twenty-first birthday, Lola declared herself a woman. B. (Studious) Lucy lay on her bed reading a back issue of National Geographic. C. (Sunrise) The rising sun transformed the canyon into bright stone and deep shadow. *D. (Rumors) Whispers of doubt filled the empty halls like the reek of boiled cabbage.

4. Which statement is most accurate regarding the speaking-writing connection?
*A. To own a word, speak it.
B. Written words seldom reflect the words people use when they speak.
C. To own a word, write it over and over again.
D. The words used by writers are not normally used in speaking.

5. Which is the best strategy to follow when you write a report or an essay?
A. Get it right the first time and put it aside until it’s due.
B. Work on it over a seven-day period and rewrite it at least twice.
C. Write it in one sitting and revise it only once.
D. Revise it over and over for at least three or four years.

6. Which of the following direct quotations is punctuated properly?
A. “Way to go, Sean,” the coach shouted. “That was a great run”! B. “Way to go, Sean”, the coach shouted. “That was a great run!” C. “Way to go, Sean”, the coach shouted. “That was a great run”! *D. “Way to go, Sean,” the coach shouted. “That was a great run!”

7. A thesaurus is a book that’s useful for finding

*A. synonyms.
B. famous persons.
C. frequently misspelled words.
D. definitions.

8. Which one of the following sentences or phrases is most likely to be considered a cliché?
A. When in doubt, pout.
*B. Look before you leap.
C. How dead is a dead doornail?
D. Are you a man or a moose?

9. Anna is an exceptional young girl. _______ Anna does any job that needs to be done.

To vary the sentence structure, which one of the following sentences should you insert in the blank?
A. Anna is always working hard at home.
*B. Have you noticed how hard she works?
C. Anna is a hardworking and versatile person.
D. Anna works hard every day of her life.

10. A cliché is a _______ expression.

*A. worn-out
B. foreign
C. new
D. wordy

11. Which of the following sentences uses the best close-up words?
A. Sara is studying languages.
*B. Sara is studying French and German.
C. Sara is pursuing a non-science degree.
D. Sara is pursuing a degree.

12. An antonym is a word that’s

A. the same in meaning.
B. pronounced the same.
C. defined in a thesaurus.
*D. opposite in meaning.

13. Find the sentence with the active voice.

A. It was voted by the legislature to pass.
B. The bill was passed by the legislature.
C. I was told by the chairman that the bill was passed by the legislature. *D. The chairman told me that the legislature passed the bill

14. Which of the following statements about vocabulary building is not correct?
*A. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to memorize lists of vocabulary words. B. Using the dictionary is only one step in the process of vocabulary building. C. Reading on a daily basis is very important for building your vocabulary. D. Pronunciation is an important part of adding new words to your vocabulary.

15. Increasing your vocabulary means

A. you’ll spend less time on revision.
B. you’ll write longer sentences.
*C. you’ll write more lively sentences.
D. you’ll be able to spend more time reading.

16. Nelson’s hobby is tinkering with small appliances.

Tinkering with implies that Nelson is unskilled at his hobby. You want to change the flavor of this sentence to show that Nelson is, in fact, quite skilled at his hobby. Which of the following should you choose to replace tinkering with so that the reader gets the right idea?

A. Messing with
*B. Repairing
C. Selling
D. Fiddling with

17. Which one of the following statements about making your writing fun to read is not correct?
A. The conversation you write must sound natural for the characters. B. Give your writing a personal touch by showing that you’re interested in your subject. C. An anecdote or humorous quotation is often more convincing than a strong argument. *D. Direct quotations should be reserved for characters in stories.

18. When writing, you can most effectively use a dash

A. to add a formal touch to a sentence.
*B. to get the reader’s attention.
C. in place of an exclamation point.
D. in place of a semicolon.

19. When we speak of the flavor of a word, we’re talking about the extra understood meanings that it carries in addition to its main meaning. These extra meanings are called
*A. connotations.
B. shadings.
C. definitions.
D. denotations.

20. Which sentence best describes clustering?

A. You’re generating words that suggest possible themes for an essay. B. You write down words or ideas that occur to you in no particular order. *C. You’re generating words that suggest possible sentences or paragraphs. D. You write down words or ideas in chronological order.