ABLE Writing Skills 3

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?

Accepted Answer

She studied hard; she passed the exam.

Answer

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.

Question 2

Which option corrects the subject-verb agreement error: 'Neither the students nor the teacher are ready'?

Accepted Answer

Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.

Answer

With 'neither/nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; 'teacher' is singular, so use 'is.'

Question 3

Which sentence avoids wordiness?

Accepted Answer

Because it was raining, we stayed inside.

Answer

'Because' is a concise substitute for the wordy phrase 'due to the fact that.'

Question 4

A paragraph's topic sentence should:

Accepted Answer

State the main idea of the paragraph

Answer

The topic sentence introduces and controls the central idea of the paragraph.

Question 5

Which punctuation correctly ends an indirect question?

Accepted Answer

.

Answer

Indirect questions are statements reporting a question and end with a period, not a question mark.

(ABLE) Assessment Board for Language Examinations Practice Test