Editing Exercise
Editing Exercise
Editing Exercise
1. Which of the following is a complete 5. Which of the underlined words in the follow-
sentence? ing sentence is an unnecessary qualifier or
a. Because night fell. intensifier?
b. Jim ate the sandwich. Many experts consider the stained glass in
c. On a tree-lined path. that church to be the very best.
d. In our neck of the woods. a. experts
b. stained
2. Which of the following sentences is correctly c. that
punctuated? d. very
a. In the dead of night. The van pulled up.
b. Chuck would not, give Jaime the seat. 6. Determine whether the italicized phrase in the
c. Over coffee and toast, Kelly told me about following sentence is a participial phrase, a
her new job. gerund phrase, an infinitive phrase, or an
d. Lemonade. My favorite drink. appositive phrase.
Having missed the bus, Allen knew he
3. Which of the following sentences correctly would be late for work.
uses a conjunction? a. participial phrase
a. I cannot play in the game until I practice b. gerund phrase
more. c. infinitive phrase
b. I hid in the basement my brother was mad d. appositive phrase
at me.
c. Victor erased the answering machine mes- 7. Choose the best conjunction to combine this
sage Nora would not find out. sentence pair.
d. She scored a goal won the game. We can ask directions. We can use a map.
a. and
4. Which of the underlined words or phrases in b. but
the following sentence could be deleted with- c. or
out changing the meaning? d. because
Various different companies offer incentive
plans to their employees. 8. The following sentence pair can be revised
a. different into one better sentence. Choose the sentence
b. incentive that is the best revision.
c. plans The bicycle tire is flat. The bicycle tire is on
d. employees the bike.
a. The bicycle tire is on the bike and the bicy-
cle tire is flat.
b. The flat bicycle tire is on the bike.
c. On the bike, the bicycle tire there is flat.
d. The bicycle tire on the bike is flat.
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9. Choose the sentence that begins with a phrase 12. Which of the underlined words in the follow-
modifier. ing sentence is considered transitional?
a. He kept his bottle cap collection in a shoe- We did not catch any fish; as a result, we ate
box. macaroni and cheese.
b. In the event of an emergency, do not panic. a. did not
c. I was pleased to see that my coworker had b. any
been promoted. c. as a result
d. The octopus has been at the zoo for 20 d. and
years.
13. Which of the underlined words in the follow-
10. Select the letter for the topic sentence in the ing paragraph is a transition word?
following paragraph. A National Park Service employee annually
a. He was born in 1818. b. He was educated inspects the famous Mount Rushmore
in the universities of Moscow and St. Peters- National Memorial near Keystone, South
burg. c. In 1852, he abandoned poetry and Dakota. He uses ropes and harnesses to take a
drama and devoted himself to fiction. d. Ivan close look at the 60-foot granite heads of
Turgenev was a critically acclaimed Russian George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt,
author. Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. If he
finds a crack, he coats it with a sealant,
11. Identify the type of organizational structure thereby preventing moisture from cracking it
used in the following paragraph: chronologi- further.
cal order, order of importance, spatial order, a. annually
or order of familiarity. b. near
When you enter the mansion, the great hall c. and
has three ornate doorways and a grand stair- d. thereby
case. The doorway to the left leads to the
kitchen area, the doorway to the right leads to 14. Identify the purpose of a composition with
the library, and the doorway straight ahead the following title:
leads to the formal dining room. The staircase “Good Reasons to Always Drive Safely”
curves up to the second floor. Directly above a. persuasive
you will see the famous “Chandelier de Grou- b. expository
ton,” with over 4,000 crystals shaped like c. narrative
teardrops. d. descriptive
a. chronological order
b. order of importance 15. Identify whether the following sentence is fact
c. spatial order or opinion.
d. order of familiarity The voting age should be raised to 21.
a. fact
b. opinion
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16. Which of the following sentences does NOT 20. Which of the following sentences does NOT
use informal language? use passive voice?
a. Everybody said his new car was a “sweet a. She is known by the whole town as the best
ride.” goalie on the hockey team.
b. Susanne totally couldn’t believe that she b. The puck was hurled across the ice by the
had won the lottery. star forward.
c. The letter arrived in the morning, and he c. She won the Best Player Award last winter.
opened it immediately. d. The women’s ice hockey team was founded
d. I always feel cooped up in my cubicle at five years ago.
work.
21. Identify the correct verb for the blank in the
17. Identify the appropriate type of language to following sentence.
use in a letter requesting information from a Laura and her friend ____ for their trip to
government agency. Peru in an hour.
a. formal a. leaves
b. informal b. leave
18. Which of the following sentences uses the 22. Identify the correct contraction for the blank
active voice? in the following sentence.
a. Peter was given a laptop to use when he ____ Jake and Mariela have to work
worked at home. tonight?
b. The mountain was climbed by several of a. Don’t
the bravest hikers in the group. b. Doesn’t
c. The favors for the birthday party were pro-
vided by the restaurant. 23. Identify the correct verb for the blank in the
d. Randy and Thien won the egg toss at the following sentence.
state fair. We, the entire student body, including one
student who graduated mid-year, ____ the
19. Which of the following sentences uses the school colors to remain green and black.
active voice? a. wants
a. Several ingredients were used by the chef to b. want
make the stew.
b. The chef used several ingredients to make 24. Identify the correct verb for the blank in the
the stew. following sentence.
b. To make the stew, several ingredients were A committee ____ policy in all matters of
used. evaluation.
b. The stew was made by the chef using sev- a. determines
eral ingredients. b. determine
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25. Identify the correct verb for the blank in the 31. Identify the correct word for the blank in the
following sentence. following sentence.
Neither the bus driver nor the passengers The boy told his teacher that he did not
____ the new route. perform ____ in the concert because he
a. likes was sick.
b. like a. good
b. well
26. Identify the correct pronoun(s) for the blank
in the following sentence. 32. Identify the correct word for the blank in the
Anybody can learn to make ____ own web following sentence.
site. That was a ____ good milkshake.
a. his or her a. real
b. their b. really
27. Identify the correct pronoun for the blank in 33. Identify the correct word for the blank in the
the following sentence. following sentence.
I often think of Andra and ____. Of the three sweaters, I like the red one
a. she ____.
b. her a. better
b. best
28. Identify the correct pronoun for the blank in
the following sentence. 34. Identify the sentence that uses capitalization
My brother and ____ used to play ping- correctly.
pong together every day. a. In the movie, David had a difficult time in
a. I cuba.
b. me b. in the movie, David had a difficult time in
Cuba.
29. Identify the correct word for the blank in the c. In the Movie, David had a difficult time in
following sentence. Cuba.
Tirso made the basket ____. d. In the movie, David had a difficult time in
a. easy Cuba.
b. easily
35. Identify the sentence that uses capitalization
30. Identify the correct word for the blank in the correctly.
following sentence. a. The whole family appreciated the letter
His black eye looked ____. Senator Clinton sent to Uncle Jeff.
a. bad b. The whole Family appreciated the letter
b. badly senator Clinton sent to Uncle Jeff.
c. The whole family appreciated the letter
Senator Clinton sent to uncle Jeff.
d. The whole family appreciated the letter
senator Clinton sent to uncle Jeff.
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36. Identify the sentence that uses capitalization 41. Which of the following sentences is punctu-
correctly. ated correctly?
a. On Friday, it was Chinese New Year, so we a. Sadly, I walked home.
went to Yien’s restaurant to celebrate. b. Sadly I walked home.
b. On friday, it was Chinese new year, so we c. Sadly I walked, home.
went to Yien’s Restaurant to celebrate. d. Sadly, I walked, home.
c. On Friday, it was Chinese New Year, so we
went to Yien’s Restaurant to celebrate. 42. Which of the following sentences is punctu-
d. On Friday, it was Chinese new year, so we ated correctly?
went to Yien’s restaurant to celebrate. a. When Yoshiro saw the beautiful cabin; by
the lake, he was happy too.
37. Identify the sentence that uses capitalization b. When Yoshiro saw the beautiful, cabin by
correctly. the lake he was happy, too.
a. I plan to go to Canada this summer to c. When Yoshiro saw the beautiful cabin, by
watch the Calgary stampede. the lake, he was happy, too.
b. I plan to go to canada this Summer to d. When Yoshiro saw the beautiful cabin by
watch the Calgary Stampede. the lake, he was happy, too.
c. I plan to go to Canada this summer to
watch the Calgary Stampede. 43. Which of the following sentences is punctu-
d. I plan to go to Canada this Summer to ated correctly?
watch the Calgary Stampede. a. Ms. Lundquist my second grade teacher has
written a very helpful book.
38. Identify the correct word for the blank in the b. Ms. Lundquist my second grade teacher,
following sentence. has written a very helpful book.
We parked ____, but we still received a c. Ms. Lundquist, my second grade teacher,
ticket. has written a very helpful book.
a. Legally d. Ms. Lundquist, my second grade teacher
b. legally has written a very helpful book.
39. Which of the following sentences is punctu- 44. Which of the following sentences is punctu-
ated correctly? ated correctly?
a. My appt. with Dr. Nayel is at 5:15 P.M. a. The Little League baseball fields near San
b. My appt. with Dr Nayel is at 5:15 P.M. Diego California are clean and well-lit.
c. My appt. with Dr. Nayel is at 5:15 PM. b. The Little League baseball fields near San
d. My appt with Dr. Nayel is at 5:15 PM Diego, California, are clean and well-lit.
c. The Little League baseball fields near San
40. Which of the following sentences is punctu- Diego, California are clean and well-lit.
ated correctly? d. The Little League baseball fields near San
a. Have the paychecks arrived yet. Diego, California are clean, and well-lit.
b. Have the paychecks arrived yet?
b. Have the paychecks arrived yet!
b. Have the paychecks, arrived yet?
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45. Which of the following sentences is punctu- 48. Which of the following sentences is punctu-
ated correctly? ated correctly?
a. At 3:45 P.M., Freddy will umpire the varsity a. All thirty two nine year old students carried
game, Tomas, the junior varsity game, and twenty pound backpacks.
Federico, the freshman game. b. All thirty-two nine year old students car-
b. At 345 PM, Freddy will umpire the varsity ried twenty-pound backpacks.
game; Tomas, the junior varsity game; and c. All thirty two nine-year-old students car-
Federico, the freshman game. ried twenty-pound-backpacks.
c. At 3:45 P.M. Freddy, will umpire the varsity d. All thirty-two nine-year-old students car-
game, Tomas, the junior varsity game, and ried twenty-pound backpacks.
Federico, the freshman game.
d. At 3:45 P.M., Freddy will umpire the varsity 49. Identify the correct words for the blank in the
game; Tomas, the junior varsity game; and following sentence.
Federico, the freshman game. I would like to have the party ____ more
____ at a restaurant.
46. Which of the following sentences is punctu- a. hear, than
ated correctly? b. hear, then
a. The bookstore had to move its collection of c. here, than
children’s books. d. here, then
b. The bookstore had to move it’s collection
of childrens’ books. 50. Identify the correct words for the blanks in
c. The bookstore had to move its’ collection the following sentence.
of children’s books. We ____ put on our uniforms, but we still
d. The bookstore had to move its’ collection ____ late for the game.
of childrens’ books. a. already, maybe
b. already, may be
47. Which of the following sentences is punctu- c. all ready, maybe
ated correctly? d. all ready, may be
a. The professor asked, “Has anybody read ‘A
Good Man Is Hard to Find’?”
b. The professor asked “has anybody read ‘A
Good Man Is Hard to Find’?”
c. The professor asked, “Has anybody read “A
Good Man Is Hard to Find”?”
d. The professor asked, “has anybody read ‘A
Good Man Is Hard to Find?’ ”
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