Conventions of Standard English

Read the sentence.

Since Erica wanted to go with us she had to get ready in a hurry.

Where should a comma be added to correct the error?

• after Since

• after wanted

• after us

• after ready

Tags

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1

Which title should have quotation marks?

• We read the poem Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in our history class.

• DynaMath magazine makes mathematics meaningful by connecting math concepts to real-world subjects.

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester is described by many children as “the best book ever.”

• In E. L. Konigsburg’s book The View from Saturday, four students use their brains to succeed in an academic contest.

Tags

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1

Read the paragraph. Students, who participate in the science activity, will need to wear safety goggles. The counter that is on the south side of the science classroom has a variety of safety goggles. The experiment, which has been used by teachers for years, shows how gases have volume. Baking soda and vinegar are put into a bottle, and then a balloon is attached to the bottle. The chemical reaction that occurs when baking soda and vinegar meet causes gas to inflate the balloon. Which revision corrects the punctuation error in the paragraph?

• Remove the commas after Students and activity in sentence 1.

• Add commas after counter and classroom in sentence 2.

• Remove the commas after experiment and years in sentence 3.

• Add commas after reaction and meet in sentence 5.

Answer explanation

The student is asked to identify the revision that corrects the punctuation error in a given paragraph. Option A is the correct answer; the commas need to be removed since the clause “who participate in the science activity” is restrictive. Option B is incorrect since the clause “that is on the south side of the classroom” is restrictive. Option C is incorrect since the commas are needed due to the clause “which has been used by teachers for years” being nonrestrictive. Option D is incorrect since the clause “that occurs when baking soda and gas meet” is restrictive.

Read the sentences. (1) North American hummingbirds like flower nectar, and they often drink from artificial feeders containing sugar water, which is an effective substitute for nectar. (2) Because these small, lightweight, delicate birds are highly active, they consume a lot of food often more than their own weight. Which revision of sentence 2 uses punctuation to most effectively emphasize the underlined information?

• Because these small, lightweight, delicate birds are highly active, they consume a lot of food—often more than their own weight.

• Because these small, lightweight, delicate birds are highly active, they consume a lot of food, often more than their own weight.

• Because these small, lightweight, delicate birds are highly active, they consume a lot of food (often more than their own weight).

• Because these small, lightweight, delicate birds are highly active, they consume a lot of food, “often more than their own weight.”

Answer explanation

The student is asked to identify the revision of a given sentence to most effectively emphasize the underlined information. Option A is the correct answer since the em dash is used to set off additional information within a sentence in order to emphasize it. Options B and D are incorrect since commas and quotation marks are not used to emphasize information. Option C is incorrect since parentheses are used to add incidental information, not to emphasize information.

Read the paragraph .

(1) As the head of postal services, Benjamin Franklin established a profitable mail delivery

system in colonial America . (2) The adventurous Franklin traveled some 1,600 miles

between postal offices to mark all possible direct routes . (3) He had riders transport mail

day and night for faster more productive delivery . (4) He also created a simpler and more

standard rating system so postmasters could consistently calculate the price of postage .

Where should a comma be added?

• after profitable in sentence 1

• after possible in sentence 2

• after faster in sentence 3

• after simpler in sentence 4

Answer explanation

The student is asked to determine where in the given paragraph a comma should be added . Option C is the correct answer, because a comma needs to be placed after “faster” in sentence 3 since “faster” and “more productive” are coordinate adjectives . Option A is not correct, because “profitable” and “mail delivery” do not function as coordinate adjectives in sentence 1 . Option B is not correct, because “possible” and “direct” do not function as coordinate adjectives in sentence 2 . Option D is not correct, because “simpler” and “more standard” do not function as coordinate adjectives in sentence 4.

Read the sentence . The International Space Station a large satellite in outer space, orbits Earth at speeds of about 17,500 miles per hour . Which revision should be made to the sentence?

• Add a comma after Station

• Add a dash before orbits

• Add a comma after speeds

• Add parentheses around miles per hour

Answer explanation

The student is asked to determine which revision should be made to correctly use punctuation to set off nonrestrictive elements . Option A is the correct answer, because “a large satellite in outer space” is a nonrestrictive clause, it should be set off with a comma after “Station .” Option B is not correct, because a dash is used to strongly emphasize a parenthetical element and often conveys a change in tone, which is not appropriate in this sentence . Option C is not correct, because no comma is needed after “speeds .” Option D is not correct, because parentheses should not be placed around “miles per hour” since this phrase is necessary for the completion of the sentence and is not additional or unneeded information

Read the paragraph. As part of Earth Day activities this year, we planted a new tree on the school lawn. A blue spruce, which all students agreed was the best choice of tree to plant. We first dug a hole, and then we filled the hole halfway with water. Once the water drained into the soil, we placed the tree in the hole. Which sentence should be revised to correct the inappropriate sentence fragment?

• sentence 1

• sentence 2

• sentence 3

• sentence 4

Answer explanation

The student is asked to identify which sentence should be revised to correct the inappropriate sentence fragment. Option B is the correct answer since this option shows a sentence fragment, which is an incomplete thought. Options A, C, and D are incorrect since they are complete sentences.

Read the sentence. Drivers should make sure every passenger in their car is buckled up before you start driving. Which change should be made to correct the error in pronoun usage?

• Change you to he.

• Change you to I.

• Change you to them.

• Change you to they.

Read the sentence. Victoria navigated through the aisles of the mall with a style that only her could pull off; her friends, on the other hand, were a different story. Which pronoun should be used to correct the error?

• Change her to I.

• Change her to it.

• Change her to she.

• Change she to me.

Select the correct pronoun to complete the sentence. Jonathan waved to Brad and ________ when he passed us on the trail.

• I

• me

• she

• we