1. Deciding whether
to express yourself, inform others, or persuade readers are issues are related
to the _______ of writing an essay.
A. medium
B. point of view
C. purpose
D. audience
2. For most academic
writing, the types of evidence preferred include
A. general
statements and quotations by well-known individuals.
B. a combination of
assertions and first-hand experiences.
C. facts,
statistics, and expert testimony.
D. personal
observations and opinions
3. Most-to-least,
spatial, and chronological are all
A. methods of
organization.
B. patterns of
development.
C. thesis statement
orders.
D. critical reading
techniques
4. When you write,
the tone, vocabulary, and type of information you choose should vary depending
on your
A. values.
B. audience.
C. biases.
D. education.
5. Karen asserts
that a thesis statement is best developed as part of the prewriting process.
Kyle claims that a thesis statement should be completely developed before the
writer is sure of the topic. Who is correct?
A. Neither Karen
nor Kyle is correct.
B. Both Karen and
Kyle are correct.
C. Only Kyle is
correct.
D. Only Karen is
correct.
6. Elliot has
created a paragraph-by-paragraph outline that consists of a few key words or
phrases this type of outline is known as a _______ outline.
A. graphical
B. simple
C. scratch
D. key word
7. In evaluating a
thesis statement, it’s important to bear in mind that it should
A. make an
assertion.
B. serve as an
announcement regarding what the essay is about.
C. be general
rather than specific.
D. focus on at
least two or three points.
8. The introduction
to an essay should not only engage the reader’s attention, but also
A. defend your
approach to the topic.
B. state your
conclusions about the topic.
C. present your
thesis statement and your approach.
D. present a call
to action.
9. What is the
function of the body of an essay?
A. To support and
explain the thesis
B. To generate fresh
ideas
C. To capture the
reader’s attention
D. To narrow the
topic
10. An effective
title not only indicates the topic, but often suggests your
A. audience.
B. tone.
C. recommendations.
D. approach.
11. One strategy for
writing an effective conclusion to an essay is to
A. introduce new
supporting evidence that wasn’t included in the body.
B. remind readers
of the relevance of the topic.
C. Introduce the
conclusion with a signaling phrase, such as “In conclusion,” or
“To sum things up.”
D. directly restate
your thesis.
12. Please read the
following excerpt from an essay, and answer the question that follows.
Biologically, adolescence is marked by hormonal changes that
produce secondary sexual characteristics. These include breast development in
females and beard growth in males. Psychologically, however, adolescence is a
concept that applies only to modern industrial societies. In fact, in most
preliterate or tribal societies, the modern American idea of adolescence simply
does not exist. In such societies, the social roles of adulthood are to be
learned during childhood. Then, around the time of biological puberty, a child
becomes an adult through a ritual anthropologists call a rite of passage. By
contrast, in American society, adolescence amounts to a sort of social and
cultural limbo. Informally, the end of childhood is often marked by one’s
thirteenth birthday. The child is now a “teenager.” More formally,
the end of adolescence is marked by legal strictures that vary irrationally. In
a given state the age of sexual consent may be 16 for girls and 18 for boys. An
18-year-old may vote or enlist to die for his country, but, until he reaches
age 21, he may not legally purchase alcoholic beverages.
If the topic of this paragraph is adolescence, which of the
following statements best captures the thesis?
A. Adolescence is
an irrational concept.
B. Adolescence is
an aspect of modern society.
C. Western society
has no single concept of adolescence.
D. Adolescence is
defined differently in different societies.
13. Latisha is
writing an essay on the subject of increasing the minimum wage, and wants to
ensure that her essay will engage or entice readers. Which method of
organization will most likely support her aim?
A. Most-to-least
B. Least-to-most
C. Spatial
D. Chronological
14. Information that
distracts from or doesn’t support the topic sentence detracts from the overall
_______ of a paragraph.
A. tone
B. evidence
C. unity
D. point of view
15. If you’re
creating an opening paragraph and you present supporting details in the
beginning, your topic sentence is most likely to be
A. at the end of
the paragraph.
B. in the next
paragraph.
C. in the first
sentence.
D. in the second
sentence.
16. As a general
rule, where in your essay is it best to place your thesis statement?
A. In the first,
introductory paragraph of the essay
B. Anywhere at all,
because the best thesis statement is implied, not specified
C. At the end of
the essay, as part of the conclusion
D. In the second or
third paragraph of the body of the essay
17. _______ is a
method of narrowing a topic through subdividing it into subtopics, choosing one
and subdividing it further until you’ve settled on a topic that is interesting,
appropriate, and manageable.
A. Branching
B. Processing
C. Outlining
D. Mapping
18. Which of the
following transitional expressions would be considered a logical connection?
A. Briefly
B. In the distance
C. For example
D. Frequently
19. Lillian is
looking for ideas to write about, and she decides to make a list of everything
she can think of that relates to the topic of teenage romance. Which concept
best describes Lillian’s strategy?
A. Free association
B. Outlining
C. Brainstorming
D. Mapping
20. When creating a
formal outline, all items at the same level need to
A. support the
topic or subtopic under which it is placed.
B. express a new
thought or idea.
C. relate to the
following topic or subtopic.
D. relate to the
preceding topic or subtopic
