Grammar Test Answers from Fall 08. - Professional Writing | ENGL 3104, Exams of Effective Business Report Writing

Download Grammar Test Answers from Fall 08. - Professional Writing | ENGL 3104 and more Exams Effective Business Report Writing in PDF only on Docsity! Grammar/style exam, Fall 08, Weathers, Page 1 of 6 Engl 3104, Weathers, Fall 2008 NAME____________________________________________ GRAMMAR AND STYLE EXAM YOU MAY USE YOUR BOOKS AND NOTES FOR THIS EXAM. THE EXAM IS WORTH 100 POINTS TOWARD YOUR FINAL GRADE. Part I. (25 points, one point subtracted for each error) Punctuate the following paragraphs so they make sense. Imagine they are part of a magazine article. Make your punctuation marks clear and unambiguous. (If you know copyediting marks, you may use them.) Unclear marks will be marked wrong. There may be more than one correct way to punctuate some sentences. Capital letters usually indicate the beginnings of sentences. Larry Laughlin loved to gamble. Back in the summer of 1999, he spent most of his time at the dog track. While he was at the track, he met a man named Tommy Johnson. Johnson was a graduate of Southwestern College, a high-ranking liberal-arts school in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson was also that rarest of birds: a dog-track gambler who won. “Johnson proved the theory wrong that you can’t win at gambling,” says Larry, “because he was like a prodigy. I wouldn’t have believed it’s possible how much he won.” Because he had bad eyesight, Johnson couldn’t drive, so he hired Larry to take him to the track, which had had its opening in 1997. He also taught Larry how to bet on the dogs, including some of the ways the track’s races could be fixed and the dogs tampered with. Larry learned this, for example: if a dog is given microwave-heated buttermilk in the afternoon and then made to sit in the hot sun, he will bloat up so much that he won’t be able to run that night; in fact, he will hardly be able to get out of the starting gate. In addition to that, Larry learned that a dog who has his toenails clipped too close will run slower. He also learned this: if the electric rabbit—also known as Rusty—is speeded up, the fast-at-the-start dogs have a better chance of winning; however, if it’s slowed down, the come-from-behind dogs do better. “There are so many ways to fix a race,” says Larry, grinning broadly, “that I think betting on the dogs is the worst bet in the world.” Grammar/style exam, Fall 08, Weathers, Page 2 of 6 TURN THE PAGE TO CONTINUE THE EXAM Part II. (20 points total; two points each) Answer in the space below each question. ALL YOUR SENTENCES MUST BE PROPERLY PUNCTUATED AND GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT. 1. Write a sentence that begins with a subordinate CLAUSE used as an adverb. Use the words “butter,” “refrigerator,” and “melt.” If I leave the butter in the refrigerator, it won’t melt. 2. Write a sentence that includes a prepositional phrase used as an adjective. Use the words “meadow,” “deer,” and “pranced.” The deer in the meadow pranced. 3. Write a single sentence with two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. The subject of the first clause should be “Chicago” and the subject of the second clause should be “Boston.” Chicago is a good town, but Boston is not. 4. Write a sentence with the main verb a form of “build” used in the passive voice and in the future tense. Also use the words “hotel” and “movie theater.” The hotel will be built next to the movie theater. 5. Write a sentence that has a nonrestrictive CLAUSE following the word “cheerleader.” My favorite cheerleader, who is in my study hall, is a tall brunette. 6. Write a sentence that has a gerund phrase used as the direct object. Include the words “hard candy” and “dentist.” My dentist recommends not eating hard candy. 7.Write a sentence that has an infinitive phrase used as the subject. Include the words “Hawaii,” “visit” and “vacation.” To visit Hawaii would be my dream vacation. 8. Write a sentence that has two independent clauses. The second clause must begin with the conjunctive adverb “however.” Include the words “iPod,” “text message,” and “best friend.” I often send text messages on my iPod; however, my best friend never pays attention to them. 9. Write a sentence that employs parallel structure in a series of three infinitive phrases. Use the words “hoe,” “weed,” and “mow.” I hate to hoe, to weed, and to mow. 10. Write a sentence that uses a linking verb. The subject of the sentence should be “Coach Beamer” and the subject complement should be a noun followed by a restrictive prepositional phrase. Coach Beamer is a leader of men. Grammar/style exam, Fall 08, Weathers, Page 5 of 6 Rewrite the following two sentences to make them as concise as possible, but do not eliminate any information or change the meaning: 6. At this point in time, our company is undergoing a restructuring process due to the fact that the economy has experienced a weakening, so we hope employees will utilize their best productivity skills in the foreseeable future. Ou company is restructuring as the economy weakens, so we hope employees will be as productive as possible. 7. The downsizing actions we were required to institute in the recent past were the consequence of our having brought about the reorganization of our factory workplace. We had to downsize because we reorganized our factory. Rewrite the following sentence to eliminate any stereotyping or discriminatory language, and to make the verbs more precise. Do not change the basic meaning. Be concise. 8. When a policeman comes into one of our diners, a waitress should interact with him in a friendly way, whether he is black, Oriental, or white. When police officers come into one of our diners, the servers should greet them in a friendly way. Rewrite the following sentences to eliminate clichés and unnecessary words such as intensifiers. Do not change the meaning. 9. Our new CEO is cold as ice, but she is an extremely interesting woman. In today’s fast-paced world, it is very, very unusual to meet someone who is first and foremost a woman, but also a tried-and-true high-powered business executive. Our new CEO is distant but interesting. These days, it is rare to meet a woman who is also a powerful executive. Rewrite the following sentence to replace “fancy” words with “plain” words, and to make it more concise. Do not change the meaning. If you are not sure of the meaning, you may guess at it, but make the sentence as clear as possible. 10. Endeavoring to minimize our labor-cost situation, we have come to the decision that we will terminate the current computer-training program and initiate a program that will bring about the education of our workforce personnel in a more timely manner. To lower our labor costs, we have decided to end the current computer-training program and begin a program that will educate our workers more quickly. TURN THE PAGE TO COMPLETE THE EXAM Grammar/style exam, Fall 08, Weathers, Page 6 of 6 Part VI. (9 points total, 3 points each) In each of the following sentences, CIRCLE the one GENERAL or ABSTRACT word or phrase. Under the sentence, write THREE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OR CONCRETE IMAGES that could illustrate the generality or abstraction. Examples: “The carpenter dropped his tools.” Specifics/concretes: hammer, screwdriver, wrench “John looked sick.” Specifics/concretes: turned pale, began to sweat, began panting 1. “Jane displayed great immaturity when Mr. Jones told her she would be laid off in January.” Specifics/Concretes_______________________________________________________________________ 2. “The floor of our Houston factory was littered with building fragments after Hurricane Ike blew through.” Specifics/Concretes_______________________________________________________________________ 3. “We expect more than 350 customers on Saturday, so please come to work dressed professionally.” Specifics/Concretes_______________________________________________________________________ Extra credit (3 points). Using principles of subordination, reduction, and emphasis, rewrite the following passage as ONE sentence, in three different ways: “Our company has invested in safe stocks. We will hold these stocks during the credit crisis. In the future, we may invest in bonds.” A. In your first rewrite, below this line, rewrite by fully emphasizing how safe the stocks are: During the credit crisis, although we may consider investing in bonds, the stocks we now hold are safe. B. In your second rewrite, below this line, rewrite by fully emphasizing what the company may do in the future : Although we are invested in safe stocks that we plan to hold during the credit crisis, in the future we may invest in bonds. C. In your third rewrite, below this line, rewrite by fully emphasizing that the company will keep current investments during the credit crunch: Although we may consider investing in bonds in the future, we will hold onto our current, safe stocks, during the credit crunch. END OF TEST