Question 1

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Perhaps someday soon, researchers will have conclusive answers. For now, keeping sodium levels down is probably a good idea, particularly since there is no evidence that a low-sodium diet was harmful.

Accepted Answer

The sentence lacks consistency because it shifts from discussing future possibilities to present advice without a clear transition. Additionally, the phrase "was harmful" should be "is harmful" to maintain tense consistency.

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. Decades ago, researchers realized that high blood pressure is a cardiovascular danger signal and that it is a risk to the health of one's heart.

Accepted Answer

The sentence can be made more concise by eliminating redundancy. "Cardiovascular danger signal" can be replaced with "risk factor for cardiovascular disease" and "risk to the health of one's heart" can be shortened to "cardiac risk." The revised sentence would read: "Decades ago, researchers realized that high blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cardiac risk."

Question 3

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. High blood pressure can also force small blood vessels to burst like an overstressed garden hose. If that happens in the brain, that malfunction is called a stroke ⎯ the other major cardiovascular killer besides heart attacks, which many people die from as well.

Accepted Answer

The sentence could be made more concise by eliminating unnecessary words or phrases, such as "as well" at the end, which is redundant given the context.

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. It may be, but results from two recent studies differ on this point and do not agree.

Accepted Answer

The sentence could be made more concise by eliminating redundant phrases such as "differ on this point and do not agree," which essentially convey the same idea.

Question 5

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Unfortunately, it was so expensive in price that only royalty like kings and queens could afford it.

Accepted Answer

The sentence can be made more concise by replacing "expensive in price" with simply "expensive."

Question 6

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Medication can help with the most severe cases of hypertension, but the first line of defense, physicians agree, was to cut back on sodium.

Accepted Answer

The first part of the sentence presents medication as a potential solution for severe cases of hypertension, while the second part introduces a different approach, which is to reduce sodium intake. To ensure consistency, the sentence could be revised to state, "While medication can be helpful in severe cases, physicians agree that the first line of defense against hypertension is reducing sodium." This way, both parts of the sentence are linked and focused on the same topic.

Question 7

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. By the middle of the nineteenth century, however, soap became the inexpensive common item that we use daily every day.

Accepted Answer

"daily" and "every day" mean the same thing, so using both is redundant. A more concise sentence would be: "By the middle of the nineteenth century, soap became an inexpensive and common item that we use daily."

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. One study concluded that reducing salt intake reduces high blood pressure in all people. But a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association argued that people with normal blood pressure got no significant benefit from salt reduction. It didn't help them at all.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The following sentences form an essay. Proofread...

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. If cutting back on salt is good for people with hypertension, the good is for everyone else, too.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The following sentences form an essay. Proofread...

Question 10

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. In general, though, soap was sought after and many people wanted to get it.

Accepted Answer

The sentence could be made more concise by removing redundant elements, such as "though" or rephrasing to eliminate the repetition of "wanted" and "sought after," which convey similar meanings.

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. Doctors don't completely understand yet, but they think that high blood pressure puts a strain on blood vessels, causing them to tear and developing weak areas where plaque can gain an easy foothold.

Accepted Answer

The sentence should be rephrased to maintain parallelism in verb tense. For example: "Doctors don't completely understand yet, but they think that high blood pressure puts a strain on blood vessels, causing them to tear and develop weak areas where plaque can gain an easy foothold."

Quiz 5: Illustration