Stanford Achievement Test Stanford Achievement (Language Arts) 4

Question 1

What is the correct way to write this sentence with a direct quotation: She said I am very tired?

Accepted Answer

She said, "I am very tired."

Answer

A direct quotation requires a comma after the attribution, opening and closing quotation marks, and a period inside the closing quotation mark.

Question 2

Which word best replaces 'very big' to make the writing more precise?

Accepted Answer

enormous

Answer

'Enormous' is a strong, specific word that conveys great size without using a weak intensifier like 'very.'

Question 3

Which part of speech is the underlined word in: 'She spoke SOFTLY to the frightened child.'?

Accepted Answer

Adverb

Answer

'Softly' is an adverb because it modifies the verb 'spoke' and tells how she spoke.

Question 4

Which sentence demonstrates parallel structure?

Accepted Answer

She likes hiking, swimming, and riding bikes.

Answer

Parallel structure requires all items in a series to use the same grammatical form; here all three use the gerund (-ing) form.

Question 5

Which transition word best shows a contrast between two ideas?

Accepted Answer

However

Answer

'However' signals a contrast or contradiction between the idea before it and the idea that follows.

Stanford Achievement Test Practice Test