Exam 1: College Writing Skills with Readings

PUNCTUATION MARKS Each of the sentences below contains an error in punctuation. Refer to the box below to write, in the space provided, the letter identifying the error. Then correct the error. a. missing comma b. missing apostrophe c. missing semicolon d. missing quotation marks -_____ 9. The galaxy we live in is moving slowly through space someday it will probably collide with another galaxy.

PUNCTUATION MARKS Each of the sentences below contains an error in punctuation. Refer to the box below to write, in the space provided, the letter identifying the error. Then correct the error. a. missing comma b. missing apostrophe c. missing semicolon d. missing quotation marks -_____ 5. President Coolidge, who was known as "Silent Cal" didn't talk much and slept eleven hours a day.

When freewriting, you should concern yourself with _____________.

FILL-IN: Two common methods of organizing the supporting material in an essay are emphatic order and ____________________ order.

The Modern Language Association's (MLA) style dictates that _____________.

FILL-IN: The first step in essay writing is deciding what ____________________ you want to make.

Some of the questions that follow are true-false or multiple choice questions, and some require you to write short answers. -What is the advantage of learning how to write essays?

Before writing a summary, you may want to preview the work by ______________.

INFORMATION LITERACY Some of the questions that follow are true-false or multiple choice questions, and some require you to write short answers. -When evaluating the reliability of an author, what is a pertinent question to ask?

Repeating a key word in a paragraph ___________.

_____ It's best to take notes for a research paper on loose-leaf or notebook paper.

_____ A summary is also referred to as a précis or abstract.

In questioning, you generate ideas about a topic by ______________.

IDENTIFYING TRANSITIONS AND OTHER CONNECTING WORDS The following selections use transitions, repeated words, synonyms, and pronouns to tie together ideas. The connecting words you are to identify have been boldfaced. In the space provided, write T for Transition, RW for Repeated Word, S for Synonym, or P for Pronoun. -______ 5. Too much intensive exercise can actually hurt the body. Muscles usually need a forty-eight hour rest after a good workout.

EVALUATING AN ESSAY FOR COHERENCE Read the essay below and then answer the questions about coherence that follow. Labeling Animals a In some ways, the human race seems to be in its childhood. The conventional attitude toward animals, for example, makes humanity seem like a tribe of seven-year-olds pulling the wings off flies. Instead of respecting all animals as important parts of the chain of life, humans rate them according to their usefulness. Historically, humankind has failed to recognize animals as anything other than products, toys, or monsters. b There are the products. These are the animals, such as cattle, pigs, and sheep, that provide much of the world's food. For this reason, people tend to think of them less as living creatures than as growing crops, fattening them up, herding them into slaughterhouses, and carving them into edible portions. These animals are "useful," so the general population has typically positive feelings about them. Humankind's actions show that most people are not actually fond of them. People are willing to lock baby calves into dark boxes for months and then kill them for veal, or cram thousands of chickens into tiny pens and allow them to live for only six weeks. Increased production, not humane treatment, is the bottom line. c Perhaps the most harmful label that humans pin on animals, though, is that of monster. The general population has use at all for these creatures. They are taught from birth that sharks, snakes, bats, and alligators, for instance, are evil and dangerous. The facts about these animals make no difference to people's emotions. The fact that being attacked by a shark is less likely than being struck by lightning does not stop fishermen from holding shark-killing contests. The fact that a snake is harmless does not stop sadistic hikers from crushing it. Very few will ever be mauled by a grizzly or bobcat or torn apart by wolves, yet many support the extermination of these animals in the name of "safety." d Advertisers label some animals as toys. These are the lucky ones-the puppies, kittens, pandas, koala bears, bunnies, and porpoises that children consider cute. Toys make people feel sentimental and protective. Many are willing to devote five minutes on the evening news to a baby panda, they stock their children's room with stuffed bunnies, and watch movies about friendly, funny porpoises. No one in their right mind would advocate a puppy-shoot or a koala-killing contest. Toy-like animals may occasionally be neglected or abused by individual owners, but polite society does not allow them to be destroyed on a wholesale basis. e Labeling animals is not a harmless little quirk that humans have. In separating the animal kingdom into products, toys, and monsters, society has made it easier to brutalize these defenseless creatures. The practice of categorizing has dulled humanity's respect for other living beings and even led to the destruction of entire species. As people dominate animals, they forget to behave as caretakers. This results in a loss of dignity and humanity-not only for the victimized animals, but for their human counterparts as well. -What word is a synonym for animals in the second supporting paragraph? ______________

_____Simply changing one or two words from the original is not a paraphrase.

On what pages of the magazine does the article appear? _____________________________

IDENTIFYING TRANSITIONS AND OTHER CONNECTING WORDS The following selections use transitions, repeated words, synonyms, and pronouns to tie together ideas. The connecting words you are to identify have been boldfaced. In the space provided, write T for Transition, RW for Repeated Word, S for Synonym, or P for Pronoun. -______ 1. Charles Goodyear invented the process that produces rubber. But he died in poverty in 1860, more than $200,000 in debt.

IDENTIFYING TRANSITIONS AND OTHER CONNECTING WORDS The following selections use transitions, repeated words, synonyms, and pronouns to tie together ideas. The connecting words you are to identify have been boldfaced. In the space provided, write T for Transition, RW for Repeated Word, S for Synonym, or P for Pronoun. -______ 9. Lola loves to watch gymnastics and ice skating on television. She also enjoys demolition derbies.

EVALUATING AN ESSAY FOR COHERENCE Read the essay below and then answer the questions about coherence that follow. Labeling Animals a In some ways, the human race seems to be in its childhood. The conventional attitude toward animals, for example, makes humanity seem like a tribe of seven-year-olds pulling the wings off flies. Instead of respecting all animals as important parts of the chain of life, humans rate them according to their usefulness. Historically, humankind has failed to recognize animals as anything other than products, toys, or monsters. b There are the products. These are the animals, such as cattle, pigs, and sheep, that provide much of the world's food. For this reason, people tend to think of them less as living creatures than as growing crops, fattening them up, herding them into slaughterhouses, and carving them into edible portions. These animals are "useful," so the general population has typically positive feelings about them. Humankind's actions show that most people are not actually fond of them. People are willing to lock baby calves into dark boxes for months and then kill them for veal, or cram thousands of chickens into tiny pens and allow them to live for only six weeks. Increased production, not humane treatment, is the bottom line. c Perhaps the most harmful label that humans pin on animals, though, is that of monster. The general population has use at all for these creatures. They are taught from birth that sharks, snakes, bats, and alligators, for instance, are evil and dangerous. The facts about these animals make no difference to people's emotions. The fact that being attacked by a shark is less likely than being struck by lightning does not stop fishermen from holding shark-killing contests. The fact that a snake is harmless does not stop sadistic hikers from crushing it. Very few will ever be mauled by a grizzly or bobcat or torn apart by wolves, yet many support the extermination of these animals in the name of "safety." d Advertisers label some animals as toys. These are the lucky ones-the puppies, kittens, pandas, koala bears, bunnies, and porpoises that children consider cute. Toys make people feel sentimental and protective. Many are willing to devote five minutes on the evening news to a baby panda, they stock their children's room with stuffed bunnies, and watch movies about friendly, funny porpoises. No one in their right mind would advocate a puppy-shoot or a koala-killing contest. Toy-like animals may occasionally be neglected or abused by individual owners, but polite society does not allow them to be destroyed on a wholesale basis. e Labeling animals is not a harmless little quirk that humans have. In separating the animal kingdom into products, toys, and monsters, society has made it easier to brutalize these defenseless creatures. The practice of categorizing has dulled humanity's respect for other living beings and even led to the destruction of entire species. As people dominate animals, they forget to behave as caretakers. This results in a loss of dignity and humanity-not only for the victimized animals, but for their human counterparts as well. -To what does the pronoun them refer in the third supporting paragraph? _________________