NBT Writing Skills & Essay Composition 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running quickly, Maria finished the race in first place.
- Having studied all night, the exam seemed easy to Jana. (Correct answer)
- Tired from the hike, the students rested at the campsite.
- After reading the article, the researchers changed their hypothesis.
Correct answer: Having studied all night, the exam seemed easy to Jana.
The phrase 'Having studied all night' should modify Jana, but grammatically it modifies 'the exam,' creating a dangling modifier.
Question 2: Which punctuation mark correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction?
- Comma
- Semicolon (Correct answer)
- Colon
- Em dash
Correct answer: Semicolon
A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without needing a coordinating conjunction like 'and' or 'but'.
Question 3: Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
- Neither the manager nor the employees was prepared for the audit.
- The committee have voted unanimously on the new policy.
- Each of the students are required to submit a portfolio.
- Neither the manager nor the employees were prepared for the audit. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Neither the manager nor the employees were prepared for the audit.
With 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the closer subject ('employees,' which is plural), so 'were' is correct.
Question 4: What is a comma splice?
- Using a comma after an introductory clause
- Joining two independent clauses with only a comma and no conjunction (Correct answer)
- Placing a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence
- Using commas to separate items in a list of three or more
Correct answer: Joining two independent clauses with only a comma and no conjunction
A comma splice incorrectly uses a comma alone to join two independent clauses, which requires a semicolon, conjunction, or period.
Question 5: Which sentence uses the correct pronoun case?
- Between you and I, the project was poorly managed.
- The award was given to she and her partner.
- The report was written by him and me. (Correct answer)
- Us students need more time to prepare.
Correct answer: The report was written by him and me.
After the preposition 'by,' objective case pronouns are required: 'him' and 'me' are both correct objective pronouns.
Question 6: What does 'parallel structure' require in a sentence?
- That every sentence in a paragraph begins with the same word
- That items in a series use the same grammatical form (Correct answer)
- That the essay uses the same verb tense throughout
- That each body paragraph is the same length
Correct answer: That items in a series use the same grammatical form
Parallel structure means that items in a list or series must all use the same grammatical form (e.g., all nouns, all gerunds, or all infinitives).
Question 7: Which sentence is grammatically correct?
- Whoever finishes first, they should help the others.
- The data clearly shows that the hypothesis was correct.
- The data clearly show that the hypothesis was correct. (Correct answer)
- Whomever finishes first should help the others.
Correct answer: The data clearly show that the hypothesis was correct.
'Data' is a plural noun (singular: datum), so it requires the plural verb 'show' in formal academic writing.
NBT Writing Skills & Essay Composition 3
Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?