1. Which of the following words is the best close-up word?
A. Plant
B. Zucchini
C. Food
D. Vegetable
2. An antonym is a word that’s
A. defined in a thesaurus.
B. the same in meaning.
C. pronounced the same.
D. opposite in meaning.
3. Which one of the following sentences is written in the active voice?
A. Accidents are witnessed every day.
B. However, few people think seriously of doing something about them.
C. Accidents are considered by most people as unavoidable.
D. But it is said that definite steps can be taken to prevent many accidents.
4. To put abstract ideas into close-up words, use _______ descriptions.
A. faraway
B. impersonal
C. general
D. concrete
5. A synonym is a word that’s
A. defined in a thesaurus.
B. similar in meaning.
C. pronounced the same.
D. opposite in meaning.
6. 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. Have you noticed how hard she works?
B. Anna is always working hard at home.
C. Anna works hard every day of her life.
D. Anna is a hardworking and versatile person.
7. 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. definitions.
B. denotations.
C. connotations.
D. shadings.
8. 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. Revise it over and over for at least three or four years.
C. Write it in one sitting and revise it only once.
D. Work on it over a seven-day period and rewrite it at least twice.
9. 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. Reading on a daily basis is very important for building your vocabulary.
C. Using the dictionary is only one step in the process of vocabulary building.
D. Pronunciation is an important part of adding new words to your vocabulary.
10. What is the most important point in the following sentence?
My sister, Emily, the tallest girl in her class, has many friends.
A. Emily is my sister.
B. Emily is the tallest girl in her class.
C. Emily has many friends.
D. My sister’s name is Emily.
11. 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!
12. Increasing your vocabulary means
A. you’ll write longer sentences.
B. you’ll write more lively sentences.
C. you’ll spend less time on revision.
D. you’ll be able to spend more time reading.
13. A cliché is a _______ expression.
A. new
B. foreign
C. worn-out
D. wordy
14. Of the following methods, the best way to increase your reading is by
A. reading a new book every day.
B. forcing yourself to read subjects you dislike.
C. setting a goal to read five new pages every night.
D. joining a mail-order book club.
15. Freewriting is an exercise in which you
A. revise and polish an essay.
B. write whatever your thoughts are in no particular order.
C. rewrite an article in a magazine or newspaper.
D. write only grammatically correct sentences.
16. A thesaurus is a book that’s useful for finding
A. frequently misspelled words.
B. synonyms.
C. famous persons.
D. definitions.
17. Find the sentence with the active voice.
A. The chairman told me that the legislature passed the bill.
B. It was voted by the legislature to pass.
C. The bill was passed by the legislature.
D. I was told by the chairman that the bill was passed by the legislature.
18. 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. Repairing
B. Messing with
C. Fiddling with
D. Selling
19. 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. Direct quotations should be reserved for characters in stories.
D. An anecdote or humorous quotation is often more convincing than a strong argument.
20. Which of the following sentences uses the best close-up words?
A. Sara is pursuing a degree.
B. Sara is pursuing a non-science degree.
C. Sara is studying languages.
D. Sara is studying French and German.
Megan
Cooper
wow for all the time you took writing this – you could have just figured out the answers yourself!