Nelson's hobby is tinkering with small appliances

1. In order for a new word to be maintained in your vocabulary, you must _______ it. A. pronounce B. read C. define D. use 2. Which of the following sentences uses the best close-up words? A. Sara is pursuing a degree. B. Sara is studying French and German.
C. Sara is pursuing a non-science degree. D. Sara is studying languages. 3. Freewriting is an exercise in which you A. write whatever thoughts come to mind. B. rewrite an article in a magazine or newspaper. C. write only grammatically correct sentences. D.
revise and polish an essay. 4. Always allow _______ to complete a writing project. A. at least one day B. just enough time C. about one week D. more time than you think you will need 5. Nelson's hobby is tinkering with small appliances. Tinkering with implies
that Nelson is unskilled at his hobby. You want to change the flavor of this sentence to show that Nelson is, in fact, quite skilled at his hobby. Which of the following should you choose to replace tinkering with so that the reader gets the right idea? A.
Messing with B. Selling C. Fiddling with D. Repairing 6. Read the word in parentheses; then decide which of these sentences most effectively translates an abstract concept into a mental picture. A. (Honesty) Jamal told the truth when asked why his cellphone
wouldn't work. B. (Rumors) Whispers of doubt filled the empty halls like the reek of rotten eggs. C. (Studious) Lucy lay on her bed reading a back issue of National Geographic. D. (Freedom) On her twenty-first birthday, Lola declared herself a woman. 7. When
we speak of the flavor of a word, we're talking about the extra understood meanings that it carries in addition to its main meaning. These extra meanings are called A. definitions. B. denotations. C. connotations. D. synonyms. 8. Choose the word that best
fills-in the blank. He went into a long _______ about the outcome of the last election after it was mentioned on the news. A. rant B. fastidious C. quibble D. assert 9. To vary the sentence structure, which one of the answer choices should you insert into
the blank space? Anna is an exceptional young girl. _______ Anna does any job that needs to be done. A. Anna is a hardworking and versatile person. B. Anna works hard every day of her life. C. Anna is always working hard at home. D. Have you noticed how hard
she works? 10. What is the most important point in the following sentence? My sister, Emily, the tallest girl in her class, has many friends. A. Emily has many friends. B. Emily is the tallest girl in her class. C. Emily is my sister. D. My sister's name is
Emily. 11. Which of the following words is most likely to carry a connotation? A. Stride B. Walk C. Stand D. Run 12. In order to become a better writer, you must read A. only nonfiction. B. good writing. C. only novels. D. anything except magazines. 13. Which
of the following direct quotations is punctuated properly? A. "Way to go, Sean", the coach shouted. "That was a great run"! B. "Way to go, Sean," the coach shouted. "That was a great run"! C. "Way to go, Sean", the coach shouted. "That was a great run!" D.
"Way to go, Sean," the coach shouted. "That was a great run!" 14. Of the following methods, the best way to increase your reading is by A. setting a goal to read five new pages every night. B. forcing yourself to read subjects you dislike. C. reading a new
book every day. D. joining a mail-order book club. 15. Which of the following sentences is written in the passive voice? A. They considered their options. B. I would not provoke that man if I were you. C. The effects of cyanide are well known. D. Having left
the building, Elvis never returned. 16. Antonyms are words that are A. the same in meaning. B. defined in a thesaurus. C. opposite in meaning. D. pronounced the same. 17. Which of the following sentences is written in the active voice? A. I was told by the
chairman that the bill was passed by the legislature. B. The chairman told me that the legislature passed the bill. C. The bill was passed by the legislature. D. It was voted by the legislature to pass. 18. Listing your ideas in order to generate a topic for
your writing project is A. webbing. B. planning. C. brainstorming. D. freewriting. End of exam 19. Which one of the following statements about making your writing fun to read is correct? A. Make your writing less personal. B. An anecdote or humorous quotation
is often less convincing than a strong argument. C. The conversation you write must sound natural for the characters. D. Direct quotations should be reserved for characters in stories. 20. Of these four words, which one is most likely to have a negative flavor
or connotation? A. Harangue B. Distract C. Confuse D. Meander