Texas Civil Service Exam Grammar and Writing Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses a hyphen?
- The well known officer received a commendation.
- The well-known officer received a commendation. (Correct answer)
- The well known-officer received a commendation.
- The well known officer received a commend-ation.
Correct answer: The well-known officer received a commendation.
Compound adjectives placed before a noun are hyphenated, so 'well-known' requires a hyphen here.
Question 2: Which sentence avoids redundancy?
- The officer returned back to the station after the shift.
- The final outcome of the trial was announced yesterday.
- Please repeat the instructions again for clarity.
- The forensic analyst submitted a detailed report of the findings. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The forensic analyst submitted a detailed report of the findings.
'Returned back,' 'final outcome,' and 'repeat again' are all redundant; the fourth sentence is concise.
Question 3: Choose the sentence that uses capitalization correctly.
- The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a new directive. (Correct answer)
- The texas department of public safety issued a new directive.
- The Texas department Of Public Safety issued a new directive.
- The Texas Department Of Public safety issued a new directive.
Correct answer: The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a new directive.
Official names of government agencies are proper nouns and must be fully capitalized.
Question 4: Which sentence uses 'between' vs. 'among' correctly?
- The agreement was reached among the two departments.
- The duties were divided between all five officers.
- The evidence was shared between the three agencies.
- The disagreement arose between Officer Ruiz and Officer Chen. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The disagreement arose between Officer Ruiz and Officer Chen.
'Between' is used when referring to exactly two parties; Officer Ruiz and Officer Chen are two individuals.
Question 5: Select the option that correctly completes the sentence with a pronoun-antecedent agreement. 'Each supervisor must submit ____ timesheet by Friday.'
- their
- our
- its
- his or her (Correct answer)
Correct answer: his or her
In formal writing, singular indefinite pronouns like 'each' require singular pronouns such as 'his or her.'
Question 6: Which sentence is free of wordiness?
- Due to the fact that the file was lost, the case was delayed.
- In the event that the suspect cooperates, charges may be reduced.
- Because the file was lost, the case was delayed. (Correct answer)
- At this point in time, the investigation is ongoing.
Correct answer: Because the file was lost, the case was delayed.
'Because' is a concise replacement for the wordy phrase 'due to the fact that.'
Question 7: Which sentence correctly uses 'than' vs. 'then'?
- The sergeant is more experienced then the new recruit.
- The suspect ran faster then the officer expected.
- First review the report, than file it with the clerk.
- The new policy is stricter than the previous one. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The new policy is stricter than the previous one.
'Than' is used for comparisons, while 'then' refers to time or sequence.
Texas Civil Service Exam Grammar and Writing Skills 5
Which sentence correctly uses a hyphen?