NoRedInk Writing Style 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence most effectively uses a transition to show contrast?
- The project was expensive. Furthermore, it failed.
- The project was expensive; in addition, it failed.
- The project was expensive; however, it succeeded beyond expectations. (Correct answer)
- The project was expensive because it failed.
Correct answer: The project was expensive; however, it succeeded beyond expectations.
'However' is a contrastive transition that signals an unexpected or opposing idea following the previous statement.
Question 2: A writer revises 'The ball was kicked by Marco' to 'Marco kicked the ball.' This change improves the sentence by:
- Switching from past to present tense
- Converting passive voice to active voice for greater clarity and directness (Correct answer)
- Adding more descriptive detail
- Eliminating an unnecessary prepositional phrase
Correct answer: Converting passive voice to active voice for greater clarity and directness
Active voice places the subject as the doer of the action, making sentences clearer and more direct than passive constructions.
Question 3: Which word choice best replaces 'very big' to make the writing more precise?
- quite large
- really huge
- enormous (Correct answer)
- so big
Correct answer: enormous
Precise single-word adjectives like 'enormous' are stronger and more professional than intensifier-adjective combinations.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- Running quickly, Tara reached the finish line first.
- Covered in mud, the dog bounded through the door.
- Exhausted from the hike, the trail seemed never-ending to them. (Correct answer)
- Humming softly, the musician warmed up her voice.
Correct answer: Exhausted from the hike, the trail seemed never-ending to them.
In 'Exhausted from the hike,' the participial phrase illogically modifies 'the trail' instead of the hikers.
Question 5: Why do style guides generally recommend avoiding nominalizations (turning verbs into nouns, like 'make a decision' instead of 'decide')?
- Nominalizations are grammatically incorrect
- Nominalizations make sentences longer and less direct (Correct answer)
- Nominalizations are only appropriate in spoken language
- Nominalizations always confuse the reader
Correct answer: Nominalizations make sentences longer and less direct
Nominalizations add unnecessary words and weaken writing by burying the action in a noun phrase rather than expressing it as a strong verb.
Question 6: Which sentence best demonstrates concise writing by eliminating unnecessary words?
- Due to the fact that it was raining, the game was cancelled.
- Because it rained, the game was cancelled. (Correct answer)
- Owing to the reason that rain was occurring, the game had to be cancelled.
- The game was cancelled on account of the rain that was falling.
Correct answer: Because it rained, the game was cancelled.
Replacing wordy phrases like 'due to the fact that' with single words like 'because' tightens writing without losing meaning.
Question 7: Which revision best corrects the inconsistent point of view in this sentence: 'When students study hard, you tend to perform better on tests'?
- When students study hard, one tends to perform better on tests.
- When students study hard, they tend to perform better on tests. (Correct answer)
- When you study hard, students tend to perform better on tests.
- When students study hard, we tend to perform better on tests.
Correct answer: When students study hard, they tend to perform better on tests.
The sentence begins in third person ('students'), so the pronoun must remain third person ('they'), not shift to second person ('you').
NoRedInk Writing Style 3
Which sentence most effectively uses a transition to show contrast?