Writing and Editing Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Writing and Editing facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. In which sentence is the word 'lie' used correctly? → She lies down every afternoon.
2. Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly? → She likes editing, proofreading, and writing.
3. Where should the comma be placed in this sentence: 'After the meeting the editor reviewed all the drafts'? → After 'meeting, the'
4. Which organizational pattern arranges details based on their physical location or position? → Spatial order
5. Which revision best eliminates the redundancy in 'advance planning'? → Planning
6. What is the main purpose of a style guide in professional writing? → To ensure consistency in language, punctuation, and formatting across documents
7. What is the best way to improve readability in a long paragraph? → Break it into shorter paragraphs, each focused on one idea.
8. Which sentence correctly uses 'fewer' vs. 'less'? → There are fewer errors in this draft.
9. What is a 'thesis statement' in expository writing? → The central argument or main point the writing will support
10. Which sentence correctly uses 'principal' vs. 'principle'? → The principal editor reviewed the manuscript.
11. What does 'circumlocution' mean in writing? → The use of many words to express an idea that could be stated more concisely
12. Which type of paragraph development primarily uses specific cases or instances to illustrate a general point? → Exemplification
13. Which form of the verb is correct: 'The data __ incomplete'? → Both A and B are acceptable
14. A paragraph that explains why something happened and what resulted from it is using which organizational pattern? → Cause and effect
15. What is a 'galley proof'? → A preliminary typeset version of a document used for final proofreading before printing
16. Which sentence uses 'affect' and 'effect' correctly? → The edits will affect the tone of the piece.
17. Which writing principle does the Inverted Pyramid structure follow? → Present the most important information first, followed by supporting details.
18. When checking for consistency in a document, what should an editor look for? → Uniform treatment of capitalization, hyphenation, numbers, and terminology throughout
19. Which sentence uses 'disinterested' correctly? → The judge was disinterested in the outcome and ruled fairly.
20. What is a 'portmanteau' word? → A word formed by blending parts of two different words
21. Which of the following describes 'point-by-point' organization in a comparison/contrast paragraph? → Alternating between Subject A and Subject B for each specific point of comparison
22. Which sentence correctly uses an ellipsis? → The original quote read, 'Edit carefully…and proofread twice.'
23. Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly? → She loves editing; she reads grammar books daily.
24. What is an 'antonym'? → A word that has the opposite meaning of another word
25. Which sentence uses the past perfect tense correctly? → She had finished the report before the meeting started.
26. What does it mean when a paragraph 'lacks development'? → The supporting details are insufficient to fully explain or prove the main idea
27. Which sentence correctly uses 'comprise' vs. 'compose'? → Both B and C are correct.
28. Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the comparative adjective? → This draft is better than the last.
29. What is a compound-complex sentence? → A sentence with at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause
30. Which sentence uses 'imply' vs. 'infer' correctly? → The author implied that deadlines matter by using urgent language.