HiSET Language Arts Writing Practice Test 1
Pick the solution that best rephrases the paragraph in italics. Select option A if you believe the original phrase is the strongest.
She attended public schools in Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana at Missoula in 1902 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
Typically, in phrases with two separate clauses, commas are placed before coordinating clauses like "and." Semicolons and periods should not be used with this sentence as punctuation. No punctuation is required before the conjunction since the clause after "and" cannot be read as a sentence on its own.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Which sentence or paragraph in the passage below needs to be modified for spelling, punctuation, word choice, or length?
Making a bad condition much worse is the proper definition of the word "aggravate." In professional writing, it shouldn't be used to signify "to annoy."
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Pick the solution that best rephrases the paragraph in italics. Select option A if you believe the original phrase is the strongest.
Although nectar plants that monarch butterflies depend on for sustenance have dried up due to the terrible drought conditions.
Despite being a subordinating conjunction, "although" appears at the start of a dependent clause (a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence.) The dependent clause becomes an independent clause when the word "extreme" appears at the beginning of the sentence. "Have" agrees with the subject "conditions" as an auxiliary verb.
Which option makes the following sentence better?
The SEC sent an auditor to scrutinize the company's records after it became apparent that the hedge fund had been involved in some shady transactions.
The most effective change is from pour to pore. Pouring something means making it run; poring over anything means looking very attentively at it, as when seeking for accounting tricks, for example.
Which sentence or paragraph in the passage below needs to be modified for spelling, punctuation, word choice, or length?
There are multiple requirements, yet only one prerequisite—poor gas mileage—is mentioned. To meet the requirement, the plural form must be transformed to the singular form.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Which option makes the following sentence better?
He regretted abruptly canceling the appointment, but there was no way he could arrive on time.
The most effective change is from badly to awful. Because "badly" is an adverb, feeling badly is doing a lousy job of feeling. The notion suggested here is that to feel awful is to have unpleasant emotions.