Exam 1: College Writing Skills with Readings

Read the essay below. Then outline it on a separate sheet of paper. Write out the thesis statement and topic sentences, and list the three major points that fit under each topic sentence. -Escape Reading Everyone needs to escape from a dull routine. Escape can sometimes be dangerous-if a person turns to alcohol or drugs, for instance. But escaping into a sport or hobby can be a healthy way to turn off the daily pressures. My escape hatch is reading books that carry me to other times and places. I often escape, first of all, into spy stories. These books are usually set in exotic lands I'm sure I will never actually see. Spies, for example, pass information to each other in a market in Tokyo, a cafe in Venice, or an airport in Mumbai. In addition, spy novels are filled with fascinating marvels of technology. James Bond has his Lotus car equipped with smokescreen and machine gun controls, of course, but even less-glamorous spies use hidden Web cams and microphones that pick up conversations miles away. The intricate, twisted plots of spy stories also aid the sensation of total escape. Keeping up with the secret agents, the counterspies, and the double crosses occupies my mind completely. I don't worry about whether my car will pass inspection when I'm trying to figure out which British agent is really working for the enemy. A second kind of escape reading I enjoy is the Western. A book by Zane Grey or Louis L'Amour is filled with the atmosphere of a long-ago era. I can live for a time in a town like Dodge City; I can almost see the dusty main street, the raised wooden sidewalks, and the women wearing calico sunbonnets. The Western also helps me escape by providing plenty of action. Almost every page puts me in the midst of a cattle roundup, a gunfight, or a galloping posse. The non-stop action won't allow my mind to wander back to the real world until I turn the last page. Finally, a Western tempts me to escape into it because the story usually describes a simpler, less confusing world than my own. The characters are either good guys or bad guys, and it is easy to tell the difference. In the Old West, justice always triumphs in the end. The final and most enjoyable escape I know is reading horror stories. For one thing, such stories keep me interested because the authors create fascinating imaginary monsters. A story about a slimy creature that emerges from a graveyard or a huge, hundred-pound rat that lives in a basement is a story that blanks out reality. Horror stories introduce me to imaginary places as well. A horror tale can be set in a series of tunnels beneath the Himalayas or in another dimension that exists only in a spooky old house. Pure shock, however, is what makes horror stories sure-fire escapes. The problems I have at work could never be as bad, for example, as the horrible situations Stephen King's characters endure. As I read about a woman being chased by a rabid St. Bernard, or a little boy being pursued by an insane and murderous father, I forget the outside world completely. The members of my family have learned to leave me in peace when I escape into my books. They know that giving me such time means that I will be easier to live with. After I have returned from a dangerous spy mission, a Western shoot-out, or a house of horror, I can deal more calmly with everyday crises at home.

A research paper should be narrow and deep rather than broad and shallow. Which of the following topics would be most suited for a ten-page or so research paper? a. Endangered species c. Tigers b. Animals d. Reasons tigers are on the endangered species list

FILL-IN: To revise your essay's content, you should ask three questions. These are: (1) Is my paper unified? (2) Is it supported? (3) Is it _____________________________________?

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 -_____ 4. Im thinking about calling the humane society, for our neighbor leaves his dog outside in the most bitterly cold weather.

IDENTIFYING ADEQUATELY DEVELOPED PARAGRAPHS Each of the following body paragraphs is part of a larger essay. Two of the paragraphs provide sufficient details to support their topic sentences convincingly. Write AD for adequate development beside those paragraphs. There are also two paragraphs that, in large part, use vague, wordy, or general sentences as a substitute for real supporting details. Write U for underdeveloped beside those paragraphs. -______ 4. Another strange habit shoppers have is rejecting any item that is on top, first in line, or up front. For example, no one takes the top newspaper in a stack or the first magazine in the rack; instead, the shopper takes the second one. Customers also choose the milk or yogurt carton that is farthest away from the front of the shelf, even if the freshness dates are identical. The same principle works with fruit or vegetables. The apple on top of the pile or the stalk of celery nearest the aisle may be perfect, but it will be passed over. Shoppers will stand on tiptoe to reach the rear of the bin or tunnel beneath the pile of produce to find a superior item they believe is hidden there.

In emphatic order, the most interesting or important detail is placed

FILL-IN: There are two stages to the revising process - revising ______ and revising sentences.

FILL-IN: Reporting information in your own words and style without condensing it is called ______________.

THE FOURTH STEP IN ESSAY WRITING (III): VARYING SENTENCES On separate paper, combine each of the following groups of simple sentences into one longer sentence, using the strategy indicated. A. Special Opening Words and Phrases 1. Elias walked out of the theater. He was shocked by the movie's violence. 2. The new receptionist was timid. She answered the office phone for the first time. 3. The cat was curled up in a sunny spot on the windowsill. It paid no attention to the people passing by. 4. Lillian was nauseated and feverish. She could not face the idea of making dinner for her children. B. Series of adjectives 5. An odor filled the house. The odor was damp. The odor was musty. The house was cold. The house was creepy. 6. Hakim snarled at his computer. Hakim was impatient. Hakim was angry. The computer was ancient. The computer was slow. C. Series of verbs 7. The runner stretched her legs. She rotated her shoulders. She talked quietly to herself. 8. The termites swarmed over the woodpile. They burrowed under the loose bark of the logs. They began to feast.

INFORMATION LITERACY Some of the questions that follow are true-false or multiple choice questions, and some require you to write short answers. -_____ Though full of information, Wikipedia is an unreliable source because it can be edited by anyone.

FILL-IN: Transitions occur not only within the paragraphs of an essay, but also __________ the paragraphs, in the form of linking sentences.

INFORMATION LITERACY Some of the questions that follow are true-false or multiple choice questions, and some require you to write short answers. -______ Most reputable journals, news sources, and published books have editors and other staff members to verify information; however, online no such quality control exists.