Word Choice & Sentence Clarity Flashcards

Which word best fills the blank? 'The politician's _____ remarks offended many constituents.'

Answer: inflammatory

'Inflammatory' means provocative or likely to cause anger, fitting remarks that offend.

Select the option that eliminates the redundancy: 'The twins looked exactly identical to each other.'

Answer: The twins looked identical.

'Exactly identical' and 'to each other' are both redundant; 'looked identical' is sufficient.

Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?

Answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and cycling.

Parallel structure requires the same grammatical form for each item in a list — all gerunds here.

What does 'cursory' mean in: 'He gave the report a cursory glance before the meeting.'?

Answer: hasty and superficial

'Cursory' describes something done quickly and without attention to detail.

Which version is most precise and formal for an essay? 'Lots of studies show that sleep is important.'

Answer: Numerous studies demonstrate that sleep is essential.

'Numerous studies demonstrate' and 'essential' are formal, precise, and appropriate for academic writing.

Which sentence contains an imprecise pronoun reference?

Answer: After Tom met Jerry, he decided to leave early.

'He' in the first sentence is ambiguous — it could refer to either Tom or Jerry.

Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: 'The professor asked us to _____ our papers with research from peer-reviewed sources.'

Answer: substantiate

'Substantiate' means to provide evidence or support for a claim, which fits the academic context.