VCLA writing answers
when quotation marks are involved, which of the following demonstrates the correct usage of a comma?
"it's going to be a gorgeous weather outside today," the teacher said.
how would you express the plural possessive of the word 'child'?
Children's
Directions provided to students in a communications class asked them to avoid 'extemporaneous preparations when planning required speeches'. The professor could avoid confusion by rewriting his directions incorporating which of the following strategies
Choosing recognizable words
which title of the following novel is capitalized correctly?
Pride and Prejudice
what is the first thing you must do to choose a well-eloped topic for an essay?
analyze the prompt
the process of generating potential for writing or generating ideas that you might use in your paper is called about?
brainstorming
Sharing of characteristics or feature with the reader is referred to as___
commonality
which of the following words should be capitalized?
england
which sentence correctly uses their, there, or they're ?
let's go there this afternoon
why is the thesis statement such an important element of an essay?
the thesis identifies the writer's argument and particular take on the subject of the essay?
what are pronouns?
words that replace nouns or other pronouns
which sentence uses your, yore, or you're ?
your test had the best score in the class!
why is the word 'who' important to the following dependent clause? "the man who had it all eventually lost everything".
because it is a relative pronoun that connects the dependent clause 'who had it all'
Choose the best replacement for the underlined portion of the sentence: Even though Chelsea wanted the green earrings her mother insisted on buying the blue ones.
earrings, her mother
which of the following is a justified claim?
none of the answers are correct
which of the following is NOT an example of an introductory word?
that
which of the following is the correct use of the apostrophe?
the Sampson's dog barked at us
correctly place the commas around the non-essential clause:
the dragon even though the villagers denied it, was actually a nice guy.
which of the following demonstrates correct comma usage with adjectives?
he had a large, densely packed, highly organized bookshelf in his office.
what is the significance of an Oxford comma?
it is the final comma in a listing of items
what are the redundant parts of they sentence? the reason tom is suspicious of the city council is because he worked in city government for years and saw the corruption firsthand
the reason... is because
which pronoun would correctly fill in the blank in the following sentence? either folk songs or country sound are my favorite types of music because of__ good rhythms
their
which of the following is an example where a comma is correctly used despite there NOT being an conjunction?
he was angry with you, not playing a joke
Why would you use an explanation for supporting details?
if you topic sentence focuses on something readers are unfamiliar with
what is a thesis?
the sentence outlining the main idea of the essay
which pronoun would correctly fill in the blank in the following sentence? i think that either your husband or my cousins will bring__sound system to the party
their
what do all pronouns have to agree with?
their antecedents
which is not an example of a graphic organizer?
thesis
why is capitalization important?
to show readers the importance of specific words and to indicate a change in meanings
what is the purpose of comparing and contrasting two items
to show similarities and differences between two subjects or items
why is the 'bridge' used?
to transition from the attention getter to the thesis
which of the following is NOT an example of a reliable source for an academic essay?
user-generated websites like Wikipedia
consider the following sentence: I was jolted back to life by electrocuting myself with a car battery. Other than the fact you would not want to try it, how is this thought best expressed using an active voice?
Electrocuting myself with a car battery jolted me back to life.
which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
I survived the shipwreck; incidentally, i am en excellent swimmer
what is the proper way to contract the possessive form of 'it'?
Its
Which of the following is NOT an example of a cliche?
Total quality management
what element do sentences written in passive voice usually contain?
a past participle which is a verb written in the past tense
why is the attention getter such an important element of the introductory paragraph?
because if the essay writer cannot engage the reader, their message will most likely be lost.
which sentence shows an incorrect shift in person?
bob threw me the baseball. you threw it too hard
if you research the age, race, income, and lifestyle factors of your potential audience, what are you attempting to do?
collect demographic date to better tailor your message to audience needs and interests
which of the following is a benefit of group brainstorming?
debating ideas as a group can lead to additional ideas
the part of the writing process in which actually write the paper for the first time is known as what?
drafting
which of the following is considered most effective by those who value critical thinking when making arguments?
evidence
if you're writing an argumentation essay, what kind of supporting details are especially important
facts and evidence
which of the following correctly lists the coordinating conjunctions?
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
which sentence correctly uses to, too, or two?
i would love some cake, too.
choose the redundant expression is this sentence: looking back in retrospect, i can't remember a summer of my childhood when i didn't spend most of the day outdoors getting into trouble
looking back in retrospect
which of the following should NOT be included in the conclusion paragraph of a 5 paragraph essay?
new information
what changes, if any, should be made to the following sentence to make it active voice? "if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it"
no change because it is already in active voice
which of the following is NOT a way to connect with your audience through writing?
offer many details and a long response
which of the following should NOT be included in a formal essay?
personal Statement
what does "agreement in number" mean in regard to pronoun use?
the pronoun must have the same count distinction as the antecedent
what should all the supporting details relate to?
the topic sentence in the paragraph
what changes, is any, should be made to the following sentences to make it active voice? "the winning home run was hit by the worst player on the team"
the worst player on the team hit the winning home run
what changes, if any, should be made to the following sentences to make it active voice? " the winning home run was hit by the worst player on the team"
the worst player on the team hit the winning worst player
Colin has to demonstrate credibility in the information he provides about the company Mostess. In order for the investors to want to invest they have to believe in the company's claims, !nancial promise and overall reputation. What type of information should Colin include in his appeal?
Con!dential information about new product development plans and projected sales revenue for the !rst !ve years.
how would you prepare to write a synthesis paper about 'the effect of texting on student language skills'?
read literature on the topic, determine your position, and find examples from your sources that support it
what part of the writing process includes looking at your essay that you have written in order to check and improve upon the organization, ideas, grammar, and mechanics?
revising / editing
when brainstorming on tour own, which of the following should you do?
write down all of your ideas, even the ones that do not make sense
what is the best example of focused language that you would write to connect with an audience?
you alone can reap the benefits by investing in Mostess and achieving a 40% return on your money
which of the following sentences is NOT grammatically correct?
you insult my honor I am challenging you to a duel
Steve has been asked to provide his sta! an update on planned training activities for the next six months. In the past, he has received requests for clari"cation because his messages were excessively detailed and included glowing adjectives describing how great the sessions would be for employees. What should he do when writing the next message to provide more clarity and eliminate unnecessary questions?
Choose robust/speci!c words including strong nouns and verbs
which of the following demonstrates proper capitalization?
Rachel went to the store and bought milk. she returned to the store later in the day because she forgot to purchase cheese
how does a dependent clause differ from an independent clause?
a dependent clause isn't a complete sentence on its own, while an independent clause can be a stand-alone sentence.
when do you capitalize the pronoun "I"?
always
What is CADD or computer aided drafting and design an example of?
corporate jargon
what is the last thing you will do before you have a well-developed essay topic?
create a strong thesis
if you are trying to determine wether a sentence has been written in passive or active voice, what should you consider first?
what is the action happening in the sentence
how could the following sentence be altered to be clearer? without help i would not finish this assignment?
add a comma after 'help'
which sentence uses the word 'accept' correctly?q
i will accept his homework late
which of the following is a DEPENDENT clause?
when he returned to New York after the war
what is another way to describe intuition?
a sense of knowing something without being sure what your logical reasons are for feeling that way
what is the difference between a weak thesis and a strong one?
a weak thesis will not include supporting details
which of the following is the correct way to show possession with a plural noun ending in 's?
add an apostrophe at the end
what are supporting details
all answers are correct
which of the following identifies the proper order for the introductory paragraph?
attention getter-bridge-thesis
when you consider the age, education level, or experience level of the people that might read your paper, you are trying to define your__
audience
which of the following best describes the 100 rule?
brainstorming 100 different ideas for the essay topic you have been assigned
when you only have fifteen minutes, how would you go about brainstorming ideas for a position paper on a controversial topic?
break down the argument into columns and use a modified version of the 100 rule
Executive Director Tim enjoys sending out lengthy emails to his sta! summarizing articles he reads on educational topics. Lately, he has been seeing software reviews that promise seamless integration with other software. His messages constantly reference how great it would be to purchase new software that o!ers seamless integration with current products. The use of seamless is an example of what type of communication mistake?
buzzwords
all of the following are examples of nonword EXCEPT
can't
which pronoun would correctly fill in the blank in the following sentence? either my husband or my brother will volunteer__help for the project
his
which pronoun would correctly fill in the blank in the following sentence? i think that either my cousins or your husband will bring__ sound system to the party
his
identify the most appropriate conjunction and the correct comma placement for the following sentence
i don't always use commas, but when i do, i use them correctly.
when you have generated ideas and details for your paper, you must organize them so that you know which order you will write about them in your paper. what is the process known as?
outlining
Which of the following is the best example of a subjective opinion, based on the information provided in the lesson?
people worry too much about the impact of distracting driving
choose the best replacement for the underlined part of the sentence: because our treasury officer was stuck at the airport, we postponed the meeting until later
postponed the meeting
identify the grammatically correct version of this sentence: she was not nice she did not share her twinkle with me
she was not nice, for she did not share her twinkie with me
choose the best replacement for the underlined portion: marc wanted to adopt a small dog, his roommate insisted that they get a big one to defend the apartment in case someone broke in.
small dog, but his roommate
The following quote from a teenage girl, about her experience with cyberbullying, was reported by professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin. 'It makes me hurt both physically and mentally. It scares me and takes away all my con!dence. It makes me feel sick and worthless' (Hinduja and Patchin 2010) Why is the quote an e"ective attention getter?
the pain expressed in her quote allows readers to empathize with her, even if they haven't experienced something similar
which of the following demonstrates correct comma usage when separating elements in a series?
the rock flew from his hand, skipped across the pong, and sank from sight.
Robert is writing an essay and in the last sentence of his introductory paragraph, he presented this as his thesis: 'My paper is about dating and social media.' Why is this thesis NOT appropriate?
the thesis lacks direction without identifying the specific elements of the essay
which pronoun would correctly fill in the blank in the following sentence? i have talked to your teachers and your bosses, and__think that you've been doing a great job.
they
spot the redundancy: with today's modern technology, we can send emails online across the world without ever getting up from out chairs
today's modern AND emails online
how does a topic sentences differ from a thesis statement?
topic sentences help preview the content of a paragraph, while a thesis statement determines the purpose of the entire essay
what does agreement in person mean in regard to pronoun use?
the pronoun must show the same relationship between participants (1,2,3,) as the antecedent
which of the following is an INDEPENDENT clause?
I wanted to take the test
fill in the blank: thee men wrote the essays in the federalist papers. john jay wrote 5, james madison wrote 26, and__
alexander Hamilton wrote 51
what are the ways apostrophes are used?
all of the answers are correct
what is a risk in relying only on opinions and intuition?
all of the answers are correct