Compass Writing Skills Practice Test 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. Firefighters and police officers risk their lives often by stepping into the way of danger physically; t̲h̲e̲r̲e̲f̲o̲r̲e̲, professionals such as doctors and lawyers have an equally significant impact on individuals’ lives medically and legally.
- therefore
- but
- nevertheless (Correct answer)
- as a result
- and
Correct answer: nevertheless
The first clause describes the physical risks taken by firefighters and police officers. The second clause introduces a different type of impact (medical and legal) by doctors and lawyers, implying that despite the difference in the nature of their work, their impact is *equally significant*. 'Nevertheless' or 'however' is appropriate here to show a contrast or concession between the types of risk/impact while asserting equal significance, unlike 'therefore' which implies cause and effect.
Question 2: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. I̲n̲ ̲m̲a̲n̲y̲ ̲c̲u̲l̲t̲u̲r̲e̲s̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲y̲ ̲c̲o̲n̲s̲i̲d̲e̲r̲ ̲f̲i̲s̲h̲ ̲e̲g̲g̲s̲ ̲a̲ ̲d̲e̲l̲i̲c̲a̲c̲y̲.
- In many cultures they consider fish eggs a delicacy.
- In many cultures fish eggs are considered a delicacy. (Correct answer)
- In many cultures a delicacy is considered to be fish eggs.
- Fish eggs, a delicacy in many cultures.
- They consider fish eggs to be a delicacy in many cultures.
Correct answer: In many cultures fish eggs are considered a delicacy.
The original sentence uses the vague pronoun 'they' without a clear antecedent, making the subject unclear. Option B corrects this by using the passive voice, making 'fish eggs' the clear subject of the sentence. This revision improves clarity and conciseness by directly stating what is considered a delicacy.
Question 3: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.Sports are a significant part of life for people all across the world, as was demonstrated in 2006 when billions of people came together to be involved with the W̲o̲r̲l̲d̲ ̲C̲u̲p̲ ̲e̲i̲t̲h̲e̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲r̲o̲u̲g̲h̲ ̲p̲l̲a̲y̲i̲n̲g̲, ̲w̲a̲t̲c̲h̲i̲n̲g̲ ̲o̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲r̲u̲ ̲a̲d̲v̲e̲r̲t̲i̲s̲i̲n̲g̲.
- World Cup either through playing, watching or thru advertising.
- world cup either through playing, watching or thru advertising.
- World Cup either through playing, watching or through advertising.
- World Cup either through playing, watching or advertising. (Correct answer)
- World Cup either through playing, watching or advertising for it.
Correct answer: World Cup either through playing, watching or advertising.
The original sentence contains two errors: the informal spelling 'thru' instead of 'through,' and a lack of parallel structure in the list of activities. Option D corrects both issues. It uses the proper spelling 'through' (implied for the last item) and maintains parallelism by listing three gerunds: 'playing,' 'watching,' and 'advertising.'
Question 4: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. The argument b̲e̲t̲w̲e̲e̲n̲ ̲P̲a̲a̲r̲i̲n̲ ̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲m̲e̲ ̲a̲b̲o̲u̲t̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲d̲e̲n̲t̲ ̲i̲n̲ ̲h̲i̲s̲ ̲c̲a̲r̲ ̲c̲o̲n̲t̲i̲n̲u̲e̲d̲ until the early morning.
- between Paarin and me about the dent in his car continued (Correct answer)
- between Paarin and I about the dent in his car continued
- about the dent in his car continued for Paarin and I
- on the dent in his car between Paarin and me continued
- between Paarin and I on the dent in his car continued
Correct answer: between Paarin and me about the dent in his car continued
The preposition 'between' requires objective case pronouns as its objects. In the original sentence, 'Paarin and me' correctly uses the objective pronoun 'me.' Using 'I' (a subjective pronoun) after a preposition, as seen in other options, would be grammatically incorrect.
Question 5: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. During the s̲u̲m̲m̲e̲r̲ ̲m̲a̲n̲y̲ ̲s̲t̲u̲d̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ ̲g̲o̲ ̲a̲w̲a̲y̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲s̲u̲m̲m̲e̲r̲ ̲c̲a̲m̲p̲s̲ ̲t̲h̲a̲t̲ ̲t̲e̲a̲c̲h̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲m̲ ̲s̲k̲i̲l̲l̲s̲ ̲a̲b̲o̲u̲t̲ ̲c̲a̲m̲a̲r̲a̲d̲e̲r̲i̲e̲, ̲p̲e̲r̲s̲e̲v̲e̲r̲a̲n̲c̲e̲ ̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲i̲n̲t̲e̲g̲r̲i̲t̲y̲.
- summer many students go away to summer camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and integrity.
- Summer many students go away to summer camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and integrity.
- summer many students go away to camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and integrity.
- summer many students go away to summer camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and maintaining integrity.
- Summer many students go away to camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and integrity. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Summer many students go away to camps that teach them skills about camaraderie, perseverance and integrity.
This revision addresses two issues of parallelism. First, the comparison 'capitalist market rather than communism' is improved by comparing 'a capitalist market' to 'a communist market' for structural balance. Second, the verbs 'is recognizing' and 'adjusting' maintain parallel grammatical form (present participles) to describe ongoing actions, ensuring consistency in the sentence's verb tense and structure.
Question 6: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. A consummate gentleman S̲t̲e̲f̲a̲n̲'s̲ ̲e̲t̲i̲q̲u̲e̲t̲t̲e̲ ̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲s̲o̲c̲i̲a̲l̲ ̲g̲r̲a̲c̲e̲ ̲w̲a̲s̲ ̲u̲n̲m̲a̲t̲c̲h̲e̲d̲.
- Stefan's etiquette and social grace was unmatched.
- Stefan's etiquette and social grace were unmatched.
- Stefan possessed unmatched etiquette and social grace. (Correct answer)
- Stefan's social grace was matched only by his etiquette.
Correct answer: Stefan possessed unmatched etiquette and social grace.
The original sentence suffers from a dangling modifier, as 'A consummate gentleman' incorrectly modifies 'Stefan's etiquette and social grace' instead of Stefan himself. Additionally, 'etiquette and social grace' is a compound subject requiring the plural verb 'were,' not 'was.' Option C corrects both issues by making Stefan the direct subject and clearly stating what he possessed, thus eliminating the dangling modifier and the subject-verb agreement error.
Question 7: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. In countries such as China the government is recognizing the advantages of a̲ ̲c̲a̲p̲i̲t̲a̲l̲i̲s̲t̲ ̲m̲a̲r̲k̲e̲t̲ ̲r̲a̲t̲h̲e̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲a̲n̲ ̲c̲o̲m̲m̲u̲n̲i̲s̲m̲ ̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲a̲d̲j̲u̲s̲t̲ economic policy accordingly.
- capitalist market rather than communism and adjust
- capitalist market rather than Communism and adjust
- capitalist market rather than a communist market and adjust
- capitalist market rather than a communist market and adjusting (Correct answer)
- Capitalistic market nor a Communist market and adjusting
Correct answer: capitalist market rather than a communist market and adjusting
The original sentence contains a parallelism error and a lack of clarity. The list 'a phone, music player and the scheduling features of a planner' mixes simple nouns with a more complex descriptive phrase. Option E corrects this by simplifying the last item to 'a planner,' making all items in the list grammatically parallel and concise.
Question 8: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. Most of my favorite movies contain s̲l̲a̲p̲s̲t̲i̲c̲k̲ ̲h̲u̲m̲o̲r̲, ̲h̲o̲w̲e̲v̲e̲r̲ ̲p̲h̲y̲s̲i̲c̲a̲l̲ ̲c̲o̲m̲e̲d̲y̲ ̲i̲s̲ ̲n̲o̲t̲ the only way to make me laugh.
- slapstick humor, however physical comedy is not
- slapstick humor, but physical comedy is not (Correct answer)
- slapstick humor, and physical comedy is not
- slapstick humor; physical comedy is not
- slapstick humor, but it is not physical comedy that is
Correct answer: slapstick humor, but physical comedy is not
The original sentence creates a comma splice by using 'however' with only a comma to join two independent clauses. 'However' is a conjunctive adverb, not a coordinating conjunction, and requires a semicolon or a period before it when connecting independent clauses. Option B correctly uses the coordinating conjunction 'but' with a comma to properly join the two independent clauses.
Question 9: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. Learning a new language can be difficult for people a̲f̲t̲e̲r̲ ̲o̲n̲e̲ ̲r̲e̲a̲c̲h̲e̲s̲ ̲a̲ ̲c̲e̲r̲t̲a̲i̲n̲ ̲a̲g̲e̲ abilities needed to retain and apply new linguistic information deteriorate with time.
- after one reaches a certain age
- after they reach a certain age (Correct answer)
- after they reaches certain ages
- after it reaches a certain age
- after you reach a certain age
Correct answer: after they reach a certain age
The original sentence has a pronoun-antecedent agreement error: 'people' is plural, but the pronoun 'one' is singular. Option B corrects this by using the plural pronoun 'they' to match the plural subject 'people.' This ensures consistency and grammatical correctness throughout the sentence.
Question 10: Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised. A growing technology trend is to merge multiple devices with complimentary functions such as a phone, music player and t̲h̲e̲ ̲s̲c̲h̲e̲d̲u̲l̲i̲n̲g̲ ̲f̲e̲a̲t̲u̲r̲e̲s̲ ̲o̲f̲ ̲a̲ ̲p̲l̲a̲n̲n̲e̲r̲.
- the scheduling features of a planner.
- and a planner with scheduling features.
- and scheduling features.
- scheduling features.
- a planner (Correct answer)
Correct answer: a planner
The original sentence contains a misplaced modifier. The phrase 'including watches, necklaces and earrings' appears to modify 'all classes,' which is illogical. Option B corrects this by placing the descriptive phrase directly after 'Jewelry,' clearly indicating that the list refers to types of jewelry, not types of classes.
Compass Writing Skills Practice Test 2
Determine whether the underlined portion of the sentence below is correct or whether it needs to be revised.
Firefighters and police officers risk their lives often by stepping into the way of danger physically; t̲h̲e̲r̲e̲f̲o̲r̲e̲, professionals such as doctors and lawyers have an equally significant impact on individuals’ lives medically and legally.
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