Practice 1: Sent. Structure

Select the sentence that is a correctly-punctuated complex sentence.

• Before the pep rally, on the way to the gym, in front of the attendance office.

• Robert wept.

• There is no homework this week there hasn't been any homework this week.

• Because our kids don't get an allowance, they have part-time jobs to earn money.

Which of the following statements is the best example of a universal theme?

• Putting aside romantic ideals frees us to see reality.

• The protagonist is unrealistically optimistic.

• Look before you leap.

• this novel is about a teenage girl's coming of age.

Which of the following sentences is a fragment?

• Robert wept.

• There is no homework this week there hasn't been any homework this week.

• Because our kids don't get an allowance, they have part-time jobs to earn money.

• Before the pep rally, on the way to the gym, in front of the attendance office.

Which of the following is a complete sentence AND has an effective transition?

• Oranges are good for you; nevertheless, they are full of vitamin C.

• Oranges are good for you; instead, they are full of vitamin C.

• Oranges are good for you; for example, they are full of vitamin C.

• Oranges are good for you; because, they are full of vitamin C.

read the paragraph:

"Two days later, I leaned against the wall of our apartment building on McKibbin Street wondering where New York ended and the rest of the world began. It was hard to tell. There was no horizon in Brooklyn. Everywhere I looked my eyes met a vertical maze of gray and brown straight-edged buildings with sharp corners and deep shadows. Every few blocks there was a cement playground surrounded by chain link fence. And in between, weedy lots mounded with garbage and rusting cars."

The paragraph suggests that the narrator experienced Brooklyn as...

• orderly and appealing

• uniform and oppressive

• frightening and drab

• mysterious and unknowable

The author wants to use a more appropriate transition in the sentence 11. Which of the following can best replace Furthermore in this sentence?

(10) There are no musical cues for the students to use as they march in the changing formations. (11) Furthermore, they walk in perfect step by following the direction of an announcer."

• For example

• In conclusion

• Overall

• Instead

What is the most effective revision to make in sentence 15?

"A misstep by just one student creates a flaw in the perfectly coordinated display that is visible."

• A misstep by just one student and a flaw is created that is visible in the perfectly coordinated display.

• A misstep by just one student creates a visible flaw in the perfectly coordinated display.

• A misstep by just one student creates a flaw in the perfectly coordinated display, the flaw is visible.

• A misstep by just one student creates a visible flaw that can be seen in the perfectly coordinated display.

What is the most effective way to combine sentences 8 and 9?

"(8) Bottled water may be attractively packaged. (9) It is simply processed tap water."

• Bottled water may be attractively packaged, but it is simply processed tap water.

• Bottled water is simply processed tap water because it is attractively packaged.

• Bottled water may be attractively packaged, so it is simply processed tap water.

• Bottled water is attractively packaged, because it is simply processed tap water.

Read the introduction paragraph:

"(1) Sweating during a summer afternoon in Texas, people gaze into convenience-store refrigerators. (2) They select chilled bottles of water and stand in line at the register, where they might pay more than $2.00 per bottle. (3) After chugging the water, they toss the bottles into the trash. (4) What’s wrong with this picture? (5) Consumers pay far too much for a drink of water, and those same bottles clog oceans and contaminate the soil. (6) This needs to stop now!"

The essay does not have a strong position statement. Which of the following sentences should replace sentence 6 to serve as an effective position statement?

• It’s foolish to buy several bottles of water each day when there’s no good reason for doing this.

• People need to stop doing this now and protest against bottled-water companies.

• These problems can be solved, however, if people choose to drink water from reusable containers instead of plastic bottles.

• The list of problems that people are causing, such as increasing pollution, by buying bottled water is endless.

What is the most effective way to revise sentence 21?

"(21) Also consider that chemicals are released by these many bottles when they are discarded into landfills over hundreds of years and decompose."

• Also consider that many bottles are discarded into landfills, where the bottles release chemicals as they decompose over hundreds of years.

• Also consider that landfills are filled with released chemicals, where they decompose many discarded bottles over hundreds of years.

• These bottles, decomposing over hundreds of years, should also be considered to release chemicals where they have been discarded into landfills.

• Over hundreds of years, landfills are filled with many bottles, and it should also be considered that the bottles decompose and release chemicals.