AWA Clarity & Language Usage 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An AWA writer uses 'affect' instead of 'effect' in this sentence: 'The new regulation will have a significant affect on emissions.' What type of error is this?
- A grammatical agreement error
- A diction error involving commonly confused words (Correct answer)
- A punctuation error
- A structural parallelism error
Correct answer: A diction error involving commonly confused words
After 'have a significant,' a noun is needed; 'effect' (noun) is correct, while 'affect' is typically a verb, making this a diction error.
Question 2: Which sentence best demonstrates the appropriate level of hedging for an unverified claim in an AWA essay?
- It is absolutely certain that automation will eliminate all manufacturing jobs.
- Automation may significantly reduce the number of manufacturing jobs over the coming decades. (Correct answer)
- Nobody knows if automation affects jobs at all.
- Automation definitely does not eliminate jobs in the manufacturing sector.
Correct answer: Automation may significantly reduce the number of manufacturing jobs over the coming decades.
Modal verbs like 'may' and qualified language like 'significantly' allow a writer to make a strong claim while acknowledging uncertainty.
Question 3: What is the clearest revision of this wordy sentence: 'It is important to note that there are many people who believe that...'?
- Importantly noting, many people are believers that...
- Many people believe that... (Correct answer)
- It should be noted by the reader that many believe that...
- Noting the importance, there exist many people who believe...
Correct answer: Many people believe that...
Expletive constructions like 'it is important to note that' add length without adding meaning; the direct subject 'many people' is clearer.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier that changes the intended meaning?
- The committee approved the plan after careful deliberation.
- She only eats vegetables on weekdays. (Correct answer)
- He presented the report clearly and concisely.
- Walking through the park, the children laughed loudly.
Correct answer: She only eats vegetables on weekdays.
'Only' should be placed immediately before what it modifies; 'She eats only vegetables on weekdays' would clarify that vegetables are the sole food eaten.
Question 5: In the AWA, using nominalization (turning verbs into nouns) excessively is discouraged because it:
- Makes writing too informal and conversational
- Creates unnecessarily long, abstract, and weak sentences (Correct answer)
- Violates subject-verb agreement rules
- Introduces passive voice automatically
Correct answer: Creates unnecessarily long, abstract, and weak sentences
Nominalization, e.g., 'make a decision' instead of 'decide,' inflates sentence length and reduces the directness and strength of the writing.
Question 6: Which option correctly uses the word 'fewer' versus 'less' in an AWA sentence about economic data?
- The policy resulted in less job losses than predicted.
- There are less applicants this quarter than last quarter.
- Fewer applicants submitted complete documentation this quarter. (Correct answer)
- The program attracted less participants over time.
Correct answer: Fewer applicants submitted complete documentation this quarter.
'Fewer' is used with countable nouns (applicants, job losses); 'less' is reserved for uncountable quantities.
Question 7: An AWA writer uses the phrase 'in terms of' repeatedly. What is the best reason to avoid this phrase?
- It is grammatically incorrect in academic writing.
- It is a vague filler phrase that often obscures the precise relationship between ideas. (Correct answer)
- It implies causation when correlation is intended.
- It is only appropriate in spoken English, not written essays.
Correct answer: It is a vague filler phrase that often obscures the precise relationship between ideas.
'In terms of' is frequently used to avoid stating a precise relationship; replacing it forces the writer to articulate the exact connection more clearly.
AWA Clarity & Language Usage 4
An AWA writer uses 'affect' instead of 'effect' in this sentence: 'The new regulation will have a significant affect on emissions.' What type of error is this?