Beat the Teacher #2

"(1) Skilled musicians know that the keys to success are, practicing often, listening to advice, and relaxing. (2) Many new musicians get too little practice, they have a hard time accepting feedback, or they forget that making music should be fun. (3) These new musicians would do well to, establish a routine, set clear goals, and reward themselves for their hard work. (4) Musicians, learn, refine, and finally master, their craft by forming goo habits."

Which sentence uses commas correctly?

• Sentence 1

• Sentence 2

• Sentence 3

• Sentence 4

"Our teacher always reminds us to read stories carefully because she keeps telling us to pay close attention to detailed information about the characters, setting, and plot of the stories that we read."

What is the best way to revise the sentence to remove repetitive language?

• Our teacher keeps telling us to read carefully about character, setting, and plot.

• Our teacher keeps telling us to pay close attention to details in stories we read and to read them carefully.

• Our teacher always reminds us to read stories carefully by paying close attention to details about character, setting, and plot.

• Our teacher always reminds us, because she keeps telling us, to read stories carefully and to pay close attention to the characters, setting, and plot

"George is a dedicated player who participates on the soccer team and who always joins together with his fellow teammates for a snack after practice."

Which is the best way to revise the sentence to remove the unnecessary word or words?

• George is on the soccer team and joins together with his fellow teammates for a snack after practice.

• George is a dedicated player on the soccer team who always joins his teammates for a snack after practice.

• Being a player on the soccer team, George always joins together with his teammates for a snack after practice.

• A dedicated player participating on the soccer team, George joins with his teammates for a snack after practice.

"(1) Traveling through the West, you just might see the old pioneer trails. (2) These trails are across states such as Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah. (3) Not only can you see these trails, but you can also walk along them in some areas. (4) As you look at the grooves of the wagon nuts, you may imagine what it was like for the pioneers who traveled these routes."

Which revision that combines sentence 1 and 2 into one sentence best shows the logical relationship between the two sentences?

• Seeing the old trails, you will travel in the West in the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah.

• Traveling in the western states of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah, you just might see the old pioneer trails.

• When you travel in the West, you can go through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah, and then you just might see the old pioneer trails

• The western states of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah are states that are in the West, and when you visit them you might just see the old pioneer trails.

"Meeting someone new can be an exciting and important event in life. Any two people who have just met could become very close friends for many years."

Which sentence could be added best maintain consistency in style?

• Therefore, making a good first impression is always critical.

• However, getting uptight about meeting new people is dumb.

• After a while, the two people will feel like they've known each other forever.

• In the end, two people who become close friends won't sweat the small stuff.

"Janice Voss was just 16 years old and in her first year of college when she began working at NASA as a student intern. While studying such topics as engineering and physics, Janice worked full-time for NASA as an astronaut."

Which sentence could be added next that would best maintain consistency in style

• NASA recognized that Voss was a brainy astronaut and a leader

• Voss became really best friends with many of the people with whom she worked with.

• What had inspired Voss to become an astronaut was reading science fiction as a child.

• Because she had it all together at an early age, Voss was all set to complete several missions.

"(1) Suzanne and three of her best friends went on a morning hike at a nearby nature center last April. (2) The steep, rocky trails were coated with mud and slippery due to a brief thunderstorm that had rumbled through overnight. (3) After reaching the top of the highest hill, each of the hikers took some deep breaths and looked down at the nice view for a few minutes. (4) The group of friends knew that the way back down the slippery hill might be tricky, and they needed some rest before descending."

Which sentence is the most descriptive?

• Sentence 1

• Sentence 2

• Sentence 3

• Sentence 4

"(1) Mount Davis, located in Forbes State Forest, is the tallest mountain in Pennsylvania. (2) This fact would be interesting enough on its own, but the height of Mount Davis itself is only part of the attraction. (3) At the very top of Mount Davis at about 3,213 feet above sea level is a rock that is the highest point in Pennsylvania."

Which revision of sentence 3 best uses punctuation to emphasize how high the rock is?

• At the very top of Mount Davis; at about 3,213 feet above sea level; is a rock that is the highest point in Pennsylvania

• At the very top of Mount Davis, at about 3,213 feet above sea level, is a rock that is the highest point in Pennsylvania

• At the very top of Mount Davis (at about 3,213 feet above sea level) is a rock that is the highest point in Pennsylvania

• At the very top of Mount Davis - at about 3,213 feet above sea level - is a rock that is the highest point in Pennsylvania

"(1) Everybody (this includes sixth, seventh, and eighth graders) is going to hear Professor McGregor speak about his research. (2) Facts about Science for Non-Scientists is the book that he wrote. (3) Neither the science teachers nor their students have read the book yet. (4) By next week, someone from each of the three grades have to be prepared to ask an interesting question about the topic."

Which change would correct the mistake in the paragraph?

• Change is to are in sentence 1

• Change is to are in sentence 2

• Change have to has in sentence 3

• Change have to has in sentence 4

Which sentence is the most descriptive?

• Waiting backstage, John was nervous about having to perform a solo in front of so many people at the annual music night at his school.

• He had practiced for days on end, trying to play the music as perfectly as he could.

• In fact, he had memorized his solo weeks before the night of his performance because he had thought doing so would help.

• Feeling jittery, John stepped unsteadily onto the stage and into the glaring lights to brave a sea of faces in the audience.