Editing Skills Quiz

Which of the following should always be capitalized?

• The first letter of every word

• All letters in a sentence

• Every noun

• The first letter of a new sentence

What is the purpose of using apostrophes in writing?

• To join two words or show possession

• To separate items in a list

• To indicate a pause

• To end a sentence

What should you do if you're unsure about the spelling of a word?

• Guess the spelling

• Skip the word

• Use a synonym

• Use a dictionary

Which of the following sentences has a grammatical error?

• She quickly ran to the store before it closed.

• Him and his brother are going to the concert tonight.

Answer explanation

The sentence 'Him and his brother are going to the concert tonight.' has a grammatical error. It should be 'He and his brother are going to the concert tonight.'

Identify the sentence with the correct punctuation.

• "What time will you be arriving?" asked Sarah.

• "What time will you be arriving"? asked Sarah.

Answer explanation

The correct sentence is: "What time will you be arriving?" asked Sarah. The punctuation at the end of the sentence should be a question mark since it is a question being asked.

Choose the option that applies correct capitalization rules.

• The President will address Congress on Friday.

• The president will address congress on Friday.

Answer explanation

The correct choice follows the capitalization rule that only proper nouns like 'President' are capitalized, while common nouns like 'congress' are not capitalized.

Which of the following sentences is structured correctly?

• Because she was late to class, she missed the quiz.

• She missed the quiz, because she was late to class.

Answer explanation

The correct sentence structure is 'Because she was late to class, she missed the quiz.' This sentence correctly uses the subordinate clause before the main clause.

Identify the sentence with redundant information.

• She climbed up the ladder to reach the roof.

• He postponed the meeting to a later time.

Answer explanation

The sentence 'He postponed the meeting to a later time.' contains redundant information as 'postponed' already implies a delay to a later time.

Choose the sentence with an inappropriate word choice.

• The aroma of the freshly baked cookies filled the house.

• The smell of the freshly baked cookies invaded the house.

Answer explanation

The sentence 'The smell of the freshly baked cookies invaded the house' uses a negative connotation with 'invaded,' which is inappropriate for describing a pleasant smell like cookies.

Which sentence contains a grammatical error?

• They're going to the park later.

• Its a beautiful day outside.

Answer explanation

The sentence 'Its a beautiful day outside.' contains a grammatical error because 'Its' should be 'It's' with an apostrophe to indicate a contraction of 'It is'.