NYSTCE ATAS - NYSTCE Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Writing and Grammar Conventions Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teaching assistant is reviewing a student's writing assignment and finds the following sentence: 'The student's, who were excited about the field trip, boarded the bus quickly.' Which of the following corrections is needed?
- Remove the comma after 'student's'. (Correct answer)
- Change 'who' to 'that'.
- Add a comma after 'bus'.
- Change 'quickly' to 'quick'.
Correct answer: Remove the comma after 'student's'.
The word 'student's' is possessive, but the context requires the plural form, 'students'. The commas around 'who were excited about the field trip' are used correctly to set off a non-restrictive clause, but the initial noun is incorrect. The correct sentence should be 'The students, who were excited about the field trip, boarded the bus quickly.' Removing the apostrophe corrects the error.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
- Each of the students are responsible for their own supplies.
- The group of children from various schools is waiting for the museum to open. (Correct answer)
- The teacher, along with her assistants, were setting up the classroom.
- Neither the principal nor the teachers was available for a comment.
Correct answer: The group of children from various schools is waiting for the museum to open.
The subject of the sentence is 'group,' which is a singular noun. Therefore, it requires the singular verb 'is.' In the other options, 'Each' is singular and requires 'is'; the subject 'teacher' is singular and requires 'was'; and when 'neither/nor' connects two subjects, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it ('teachers'), so it should be 'were'.
Question 3: A teacher asks you to combine the following two sentences into one clear and grammatically correct sentence: 'The science experiment was successful. The students recorded their observations carefully.' Which option is the BEST way to combine them?
- The science experiment was successful, and the students recorded their observations carefully. (Correct answer)
- The science experiment was successful the students recorded their observations carefully.
- Because the science experiment was successful, so the students recorded their observations carefully.
- Successful was the science experiment, their observations were recorded carefully by the students.
Correct answer: The science experiment was successful, and the students recorded their observations carefully.
This option correctly uses a comma followed by the coordinating conjunction 'and' to join two independent clauses. Option B is a run-on sentence. Option C uses a redundant combination of 'Because' and 'so'. Option D is awkwardly phrased and uses passive voice unnecessarily.
Question 4: A teaching assistant is creating a worksheet and needs to write a sentence that correctly uses a semicolon. Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
- The students were excited for the assembly; but they needed to finish their work first.
- The classroom was decorated with several items; a world map, a colorful rug, and student artwork.
- The bell rang, signaling the end of the day; the students quickly packed their bags. (Correct answer)
- I need to buy supplies; such as pencils, paper, and glue.
Correct answer: The bell rang, signaling the end of the day; the students quickly packed their bags.
A semicolon can be used to connect two closely related independent clauses. 'The bell rang, signaling the end of the day' and 'the students quickly packed their bags' are both independent clauses that are logically connected. The other options use semicolons incorrectly where a comma, colon, or no punctuation would be more appropriate.
Question 5: When proofreading a memo to be sent home to parents, a teaching assistant notices a capitalization error. Which of the following sentences contains an error in capitalization?
- The next Parent-Teacher Association meeting is on Tuesday, April 15.
- We will be studying the Revolutionary War in our Social Studies class. (Correct answer)
- Please remember to pack a lunch for your child's field trip to the Bronx Zoo.
- Principal Thompson announced that the school would be closed for the holiday.
Correct answer: We will be studying the Revolutionary War in our Social Studies class.
While specific historical events like the 'Revolutionary War' are capitalized, general school subjects like 'social studies' are not, unless they are the name of a specific course (e.g., Social Studies 101) or a language (e.g., English). In this context, it is a general subject and should be lowercase.
Question 6: A student wrote the following sentence: 'Reading her book, the dog suddenly started barking.' Which of the following best describes the grammatical error in this sentence?
- Sentence fragment
- Run-on sentence
- Incorrect verb tense
- Dangling modifier (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Dangling modifier
The introductory phrase 'Reading her book' is a modifying phrase that should describe the subject of the main clause. However, the subject is 'the dog.' This creates a dangling modifier because it illogically suggests the dog was reading the book. The sentence needs to be rewritten to clarify who was reading, for example: 'While she was reading her book, the dog suddenly started barking.'
NYSTCE ATAS - NYSTCE Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Writing and Grammar Conventions Questions and Answers
A teaching assistant is reviewing a student's writing assignment and finds the following sentence: 'The student's, who were excited about the field trip, boarded the bus quickly.' Which of the following corrections is needed?