Question 1

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Rulers and governments have a long history of censoring or destroying books and other forms of expression that they find objectionable. (2) A book dictated by the prophet Jeremiah was burned by King Jehoiakim of Judah in 603 B.C.; and in the third century B.C., the Chinese emperor Shih Hwang-ti, who did things in a big way (he built the Great Wall), ordered the burning of all books, with the exception of those dealing with science, medicine, or agriculture. (3) Even philosophers have been in favor of censorship. (4) In the Republic , for example, Plato proposed to censor "the writers of fiction" in order to keep "bad" works away from children.
⎯ Arthur Miller, Miller's Court ,
Published April 1, 1983 by Plume, p. 71
Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Accepted Answer

The topic sentence is the sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. Sentence 1 clearly introduces the topic of censorship throughout history, making it the topic sentence. Sentence 2 and 4 provide examples of historical censorship, but they are not the main focus of the paragraph.

Question 2

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. They used this soap for bathing and also to cleanse wounds.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is not parallel because the verb used for bathing is in the past tense while the verb used for cleansing wounds is in the infinitive form. To make it parallel, we can change the second verb to past tense or add "to" and make it an infinitive phrase. For example: "They used this soap for bathing and for cleansing wounds" or "They used this soap to bathe and to cleanse wounds."

Question 3

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Rulers and governments have a long history of censoring or destroying books and other forms of expression that they find objectionable. (2) A book dictated by the prophet Jeremiah was burned by King Jehoiakim of Judah in 603 B.C.; and in the third century B.C., the Chinese emperor Shih Hwang-ti, who did things in a big way (he built the Great Wall), ordered the burning of all books, with the exception of those dealing with science, medicine, or agriculture. (3) Even philosophers have been in favor of censorship. (4) In the Republic , for example, Plato proposed to censor "the writers of fiction" in order to keep "bad" works away from children.
⎯ Arthur Miller, Miller's Court ,
Published April 1, 1983 by Plume, p. 71
How many examples does the writer use to develop the topic sentence?

Accepted Answer

The writer uses three examples: King Jehoiakim burning a book, the Chinese emperor Shih Hwang-ti ordering the burning of books, and Plato proposing censorship in "The Republic."

Question 4

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Beginning in 600 B.C., the Phoenicians manufactured soap by boiling goat fat and added wood ash until the mixture hardened.

Accepted Answer

The sentence lacks parallelism because the first part of the sentence is in past tense ("manufactured") while the second part is in present tense ("added"). To make it parallel, it should be "manufactured soap by boiling goat fat and adding wood ash until the mixture hardened."

Question 5

Each of the following general statements is followed by several examples. For each of the statements, select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. Lately, several animals have made news by saving lives and proving that they truly are "man's best friends."

Accepted Answer

The statement is about animals saving lives and being "man's best friends." The example about a dog show does not illustrate this point.

Question 6

Each general statement is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. The United States is actually behind the times when it comes to electing a woman for president, for several other countries have had at least one female leader.

Accepted Answer

The example of actresses playing the president on TV shows does not illustrate a woman being elected as president in real life.

Question 7

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Some seemingly harmless substances can interfere with the way medicines work inside the body. (2) Take grapefruit juice, for example. (3) It disrupts the action of enzymes that break down drugs in the small intestine before they are absorbed into the bloodstream. (4) Therefore, taking a medication with grapefruit juice may cause the drug to enter the blood in dangerously high concentrations. (5) If this happens, not only is the drug less effective, but serious side effects can result. (6) Many common medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and cholesterol drugs, are negatively affected by grapefruit juice.
How many examples does the writer use to develop the topic sentence?

Accepted Answer

The writer only uses grapefruit juice as an example to develop the topic sentence.

Question 8

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Soap has existed since ancient times long ago.

Accepted Answer

"Since ancient times" and "long ago" both convey the same meaning, so using both is redundant and not concise. Removing "long ago" would make the sentence more concise.

Question 9

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. However, even as late as 1550, soap had not won over everyone. For instance, a German duchess gets angry when she receives a box of soap as a gift; she threw the messenger out of the palace.

Accepted Answer

The sentence does not maintain consistency in verb tense. "Had not won" is in past perfect tense, while "gets angry" is in present tense. It should be revised to "even as late as 1550, soap had not won over everyone. For instance, a German duchess got angry when she received a box of soap as a gift and threw the messenger out of the palace."

Question 10

Each general statement is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. In 1900, about 1.8 million children under the age of 16 were employed full time in the United States.

Accepted Answer

The example provided in option D is not related to child labor in the United States in 1900, which is the focus of the general statement. Instead, it provides information about child labor in South America, which is not relevant to the given generalization.

Question 11

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Others in the ancient world would not go near soap with a ten-foot pole.

Accepted Answer

The phrase "with a ten-foot pole" is an idiom that could be simplified to "avoided." This would make the sentence more concise without changing the meaning.

Question 12

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Some seemingly harmless substances can interfere with the way medicines work inside the body. (2) Take grapefruit juice, for example. (3) It disrupts the action of enzymes that break down drugs in the small intestine before they are absorbed into the bloodstream. (4) Therefore, taking a medication with grapefruit juice may cause the drug to enter the blood in dangerously high concentrations. (5) If this happens, not only is the drug less effective, but serious side effects can result. (6) Many common medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and cholesterol drugs, are negatively affected by grapefruit juice.
Select the transitional expression in the paragraph that introduces an illustration:

Accepted Answer

The transitional expression "for example" introduces the illustration of grapefruit juice and its interference with medicines.

Question 13

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. It has not always been as obtainable and easy to get as it is today.

Accepted Answer

The sentence can be simplified and made more concise by replacing "as obtainable and easy to get" with "accessible."

Question 14

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. They often sold this crude soap to the Greeks, Romans, and the Gauls bought it too.

Accepted Answer

The sentence lacks parallelism because the verb tense shifts from past tense to present tense. It should read "They often sold this crude soap to the Greeks, Romans, and Gauls."

Question 15

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Some seemingly harmless substances can interfere with the way medicines work inside the body. (2) Take grapefruit juice, for example. (3) It disrupts the action of enzymes that break down drugs in the small intestine before they are absorbed into the bloodstream. (4) Therefore, taking a medication with grapefruit juice may cause the drug to enter the blood in dangerously high concentrations. (5) If this happens, not only is the drug less effective, but serious side effects can result. (6) Many common medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and cholesterol drugs, are negatively affected by grapefruit juice.
Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph above.

Accepted Answer

The topic sentence is the sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. In this case, sentence 1 introduces the idea that some seemingly harmless substances can interfere with the way medicines work inside the body. Therefore, sentence 1 is the topic sentence of the paragraph. Sentence 2, on the other hand, is an example of a substance that can interfere with medicines. Sentence 6 is a supporting detail that provides more information about the types of medications that are affected by grapefruit juice.

Question 16

Each of the following general statements is followed by several examples. For each of the statements, select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. My boss seems to go out of his way to make me miserable.

Accepted Answer

The fact that the boss wears a business suit is not necessarily relevant or indicative of whether he goes out of his way to make the speaker miserable.

Question 17

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Soap is used more and more. In the eleventh century, soap production in Italy and France rose dramatically.

Accepted Answer

The sentences lack consistency in tense, starting with present tense ("is used") and then shifting to past tense ("rose dramatically").

Question 18

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. They thought it was a strange, odd, and a mystery.

Accepted Answer

The list of descriptors, "strange," "odd," and "a mystery," is not parallel in structure. It should be revised to something like "strange, unusual, and mysterious" to maintain parallelism.

Question 19

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Gradually, attitudes toward soap began to change and did not stay the same.

Accepted Answer

The phrase "began to change and did not stay the same" is repetitive and can be condensed into "changed." This improves the clarity and conciseness of the sentence.

Question 20

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Rulers and governments have a long history of censoring or destroying books and other forms of expression that they find objectionable. (2) A book dictated by the prophet Jeremiah was burned by King Jehoiakim of Judah in 603 B.C.; and in the third century B.C., the Chinese emperor Shih Hwang-ti, who did things in a big way (he built the Great Wall), ordered the burning of all books, with the exception of those dealing with science, medicine, or agriculture. (3) Even philosophers have been in favor of censorship. (4) In the Republic , for example, Plato proposed to censor "the writers of fiction" in order to keep "bad" works away from children.
⎯ Arthur Miller, Miller's Court ,
Published April 1, 1983 by Plume, p. 71
Select the transitional expression in the paragraph that introduces an illustration:

Accepted Answer

The transitional expression "for example" introduces an illustration of censorship proposed by Plato in the Republic.

Quiz 5: Illustration