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“Why Text Messaging is a Good Thing” by Chelci Spiegel (2013)
Many people today think that technology such as text messages and social networking sites are creating distant relationships among people. They say that the relationships are false because face-to-face time is diminishing however, I do not believe this to be the case. These are technologies and technologies are very important tools. That’s just it they’re tools. They can be good or bad depending on how they are used. I believe that text messaging is a benefit to society because it provides fast communication with multiple people unobtrusive conversation and responding time for the receiver.
Because text messaging exists we can tell many people something very important very quickly. It is like an SOS message to whomever needs to know. If I have car trouble I can send a text to my father, brother, and friends all at once. Instead of dialing each number separately and maybe or maybe not getting anyone they all get a message then, I receive help more quickly. A more concrete example is from what I was lost in the woods searching for my horse who was also lost late one evening. I sent out one text message to multiple people and by the time I had found my way back to the truck there were seven friends pulled up with trucks mountain bikes and flashlights to help search for the horses all night. That is not evidence of relationships distanced by text messaging but brought together.
Because text messaging does not require voice it is far less obtrusive in public places. When I was standing in line at the grocery store one of the ladies were using their phone while waiting for their turn. I heard her entire life story her boy troubles, her work troubles her friend troubles and her money troubles. It was very distracting. With texting people can vent all their frustrations to someone privately. If I am trying to set a date for a barbaque, I can text my neighbor to work out details rather than let the entire store know my weekend plans. Texting is a way to conduct private business in public places.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
"They say that the relationships are false because face-to-face time is diminishing however, I do not believe this to be the case." This is a sentence comprised of two complete sentences ("They say that the relationships are false because face-to-face time is diminishing" and "however, I do not believe this to be the case.") that are separated by the transition word "however." When there are two complete sentences separated by a transition word, that word must be preceded by a semi colon, especially if either sentence already has a comma in it.
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“Why Text Messaging is a Good Thing” by Chelci Spiegel (2013)
Many people today think that technology such as text messages and social networking sites are creating distant relationships among people. They say that the relationships are false because face-to-face time is diminishing however, I do not believe this to be the case. These are technologies and technologies are very important tools. That’s just it they’re tools. They can be good or bad depending on how they are used. I believe that text messaging is a benefit to society because it provides fast communication with multiple people unobtrusive conversation and responding time for the receiver.
Because text messaging exists we can tell many people something very important very quickly. It is like an SOS message to whomever needs to know. If I have car trouble I can send a text to my father, brother, and friends all at once. Instead of dialing each number separately and maybe or maybe not getting anyone they all get a message then, I receive help more quickly. A more concrete example is from what I was lost in the woods searching for my horse who was also lost late one evening. I sent out one text message to multiple people and by the time I had found my way back to the truck there were seven friends pulled up with trucks mountain bikes and flashlights to help search for the horses all night. That is not evidence of relationships distanced by text messaging but brought together.
Because text messaging does not require voice it is far less obtrusive in public places. When I was standing in line at the grocery store one of the ladies were using their phone while waiting for their turn. I heard her entire life story her boy troubles, her work troubles her friend troubles and her money troubles. It was very distracting. With texting people can vent all their frustrations to someone privately. If I am trying to set a date for a barbaque, I can text my neighbor to work out details rather than let the entire store know my weekend plans. Texting is a way to conduct private business in public places.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Any dependent clause that begins a sentence must be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. "Because" is the beginning to a dependent clause: the phrase following "because" needs the rest of the sentence to be a complete sentence with a proper subject and verb, but the rest of the sentence does not need the part that begins with "because."
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"The Election of 1800" by Alec Slatky (2013)
The presidential election of 1800 was an unusual and unique contest in American history. The opponents were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson former friends who became rivals. Jefferson had actually been Vice President under Adams, but had not supported the latter’s policies. Jefferson leapt at the chance to unseat his former boss. Adams, too, would have enjoyed spending time on his farm more than dealing with political acrimony. Accordingly, he was too prideful to willingly relinquish his office. So, the two men who were most qualified for the position but least excited to have such a stressful job became the presidential candidates.
The campaign was a bitter partisan one and included numerous personal attacks. Critics called Jefferson a Democratic-Republican radical, he would lead the country down the bloody path of the French Revolution. Jefferson’s allies fired back, painting Adams as an anti-liberty autocrat. Adams was from Massachusetts. Adams even faced opposition from some extremists among his fellow Federalists and thus lacked the party unity required to win the election.
In the end, Jefferson emerged victorious, winning 73 of the 138 electoral votes. Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as President, and Aaron Burr was inaugurated as Vice President. The election was a milestone in American history: it was the first that shifted control of the White House to a different party, the first with a modern mudslinging campaign, and the first that truly tested whether the new nation would remain united despite all its divisions.
Which of the following would NOT be an acceptable alternative for the bolded selection?
"President, Aaron" is correct because it is a run-on sentence; it connects two full sentences without a period, semicolon, or conjunction. Each of the other choices contains one of those three options.
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Humanities: This passage is adapted from chapter three of Sir John Lubbock’s The Pleasures of Life. The chapter is entitled “A Song of Books” and was written in 1887.
Of all the privileges we enjoy in this nineteenth century there is none, perhaps, for which we ought to be more thankful than for the easier access to books.
The debt we owe to books was well expressed and articulated by Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham, author of Philobiblon, written as long ago as 1344, published in 1473, and the earliest English treatise on the delights of literature: "These,” he says, “are the masters who instruct us without rods and ferules, without hard words and anger, without clothes or money. If you approach them, they are not asleep; if you interrogate them, they conceal nothing; if you mistake them, they never grumble; if you are ignorant, they cannot laugh at you. The library, therefore, of wisdom is more precious than all riches, and nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it. Whosoever therefore acknowledges himself to be a zealous follower of truth, of happiness, of wisdom, of science, or even of the faith, must of necessity make himself a lover of books.”
This feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who love reading. “I have friends,” said Petrarch, “whose society is extremely agreeable to me; they are of all ages, and of every country. They have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field, and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences. It is easy to gain access to them, for they are always at my service, and I admit them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them. Some relate to me the events of past ages, while others reveal to me the secrets of Nature. Some teach me how to live, and others how to die. Some, by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits; while others give fortitude to my mind, and teach me the important lesson how to restrain my desires, and to depend wholly on myself. They open to me, in short, the various avenues of all the arts and sciences, and upon their information I may safely rely in all emergencies. In return for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation, where they may repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tranquillity of retirement than with the tumults of society.”
“He that loveth a book,” says Isaac Barrow, “will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counsellor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, so in all fortunes.”
"In return for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation, where they may repose in peace, these friends are more delighted by the tranquillity of retirement than with the tumults of society."
While "peace because we must consider that for" is redundant, "peace, for" commits the error of placing a comma between two independent clauses (or complete sentences).
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Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
One morning on the first of September; my grandma surprised me with a visit and a new puppy.
A comma should be used to connect a dependent clause ("One morning on the first of September") with the main clause ("my grandma surprised me with a visit and a new puppy").
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The scientist conducted her experiment in the tropical forest; instead of in the desert where the lizard population was flourishing.
A semi-colon, or a colon, is used to connect two complete sentences: here the second sentence is a fragment.
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As a child the only thing I wanted to be was a race car driver. My mothers family all lived in central Indiana, and I went to the Indianapolis 500 every year growing up. Between the colors on the cars the speed of the race and the enthusiasm of the crowd, nothing in the world seemed more exciting to a child. I would lay awake at night thinking about getting behind the wheel of my own race car. My bedroom walls were adorned with posters of the all great racers from all over the world.
When I was a teenager, I had the opportunity to race go karts on small tracks against other kids my age. Very quickly I realized I am the terrible driver. Any bumping with another driver was too much for me to handle, and I could not take the turns quick enough to keep pace with the best drivers. None of this diminished my love of racing, however, because just being at the track was such a thrill. The noise, the speed, and rushing were all more exciting from the pits than from the grandstand. If I could never be in the driver’s seat, then I would place myself behind the scenes.
With this new focus, I began studying mechanical engineering and automotive design. I might not have been able to drive a race car; but now I could design a car, build a car, and engineer it to win a race. The drivers still get all the credit for the championships, but everyone knows they would never win without the people like myself.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
A compound sentence, like the one that contains the underlined portion, joins two indpendent clauses together into one sentence to show their relationship. A compound sentence can only be properly joined by either a semicolon or a comma followed by a conjunction. As the underlined portion contains a conjunction, "but," the correct answer choice is "to drive a race car, but now."
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Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Jamie didn't bring the chips; she brought the punch.
The semicolon is an acceptable way to separate these two clauses. You can separate them into two separate sentence or join them into a single sentence with a comma and coordinating conjunction, but the semicolon is also acceptable.
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Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Sawyer attended that high school his first solo violin performance took place in the auditorium during his sophomore year.
Unchanged, the presented sentence is a run-on. The option "that high school, his first" does not fix it completely as it is a comma splice. The option "that high school, but his first" does join the two independent clauses, but it is incorrect as it indicates the two clauses contradict each other. The correct answer, "that high school; his first" correctly joins the two related independent clauses with a semicolon.
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The world is full of contradictions and I am full of them as well. Every person has their quirks and I am no exception. I love sports but I am also lazy I love animals, but I am not a vegetarian and I love teaching but I hate taking classes. With all these contradictions how does a person like me make sense? I would love to enlighten you!
How should the author punctuate the underlined portion to make it a proper sentence?
When a sentence consists of smaller sentences combined into a longer one, if those smaller sentences already contain commas (such as the commas necessary between the conjunctions in the smaller sentences), they can be separated by semi colons to help keep the sentences cohesive.
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Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
James chose a large, rusty car, Philip chose a brand new car, and I chose the cheapest, ugliest car on the lot.
Because the first and third clauses in this sentence contain commas themselves, semicolons are needed to separate the clauses in order to avoid confusion. Also, because the phrases "large, rusty car" and "cheapest, ugliest car" can also be rendered as "large and rusty car" and "cheapest and ugliest car", the commas separating the adjectives are necessary.
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As the class entered the museum, Ms. Johnson noticed that two of her students had fallen behind the group. After all of the tickets had been secured, she approached the two girls, saying: “what on Earth is causing you to go so slow?” The taller girl, whose name was Ashley, was the first to respond:
“Veronica and I were just discussing something very private. Nobody can hear what her and I are discussing.”
“Well, Ashley, I think that our tour guide, Dr. Mitchell, will be offended by your behavior. You and Veronica should find separate places in the group and you should pay attention to him and me.”
The two girls reluctantly joined the rest of the class. Ms. Johnson looked to see if another student was out of their place, but everything seemed to be in order. The tour guide, Dr. Mitchell, introduced himself to the class:
“Hello everyone! My name is Dr. Mitchell. I’m so glad that you have all come to the Museum of Natural History today; I think you’ll really enjoy our exhibits, which have been curated with the utmost care. The museum has three distinct types of exhibitions. Permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, and space shows. The permanent exhibition and the space show is always available for viewing, but the temporary exhibition changes seasonally.“
Having finished his introduction, the permanent exhibition was the first thing that Dr. Mitchell showed to the class.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Because these two clauses ("I’m so glad that you have all come to the Museum of Natural History today" and "I think you’ll really enjoy our exhibits") are independent and could function separately, they must either be joined by a comma and a conjunction OR by a punctuation mark that joins independent clauses with no conjunction. These punctuation marks include periods, semicolons, and dashes. In this case, the only answer that included a proper joining of two independent clauses was the original text, therefore no change was necessary.
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As the class entered the museum, Ms. Johnson noticed that two of her students had fallen behind the group. After all of the tickets had been secured, she approached the two girls, saying: “what on Earth is causing you to go so slow?” The taller girl, whose name was Ashley, was the first to respond:
“Veronica and I were just discussing something very private. Nobody can hear what her and I are discussing.”
“Well, Ashley, I think that our tour guide, Dr. Mitchell, will be offended by your behavior. You and Veronica should find separate places in the group and you should pay attention to him and me.”
The two girls reluctantly joined the rest of the class. Ms. Johnson looked to see if another student was out of their place, but everything seemed to be in order. The tour guide, Dr. Mitchell, introduced himself to the class:
“Hello everyone! My name is Dr. Mitchell. I’m so glad that you have all come to the Museum of Natural History today; I think you’ll really enjoy our exhibits, which have been curated with the utmost care. The museum has three distinct types of exhibitions. Permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, and space shows. The permanent exhibition and the space show is always available for viewing, but the temporary exhibition changes seasonally.“
Having finished his introduction, the permanent exhibition was the first thing that Dr. Mitchell showed to the class.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
"Permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, and space shows" is a list, not an independent clause. It can therefore only be introduced by a colon. It cannot be introduced by a semicolon, as it does not function separately as an independent clause. The list must be introduced by a colon, which is why the answer that provides no punctuation ("three types of exhibition permanent exhibitions, temporary") is incorrect.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Because my aunt lives far away; I do not see her very often.
The two clauses need to be separated by a comma.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Leading the Transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson championed individualism; and spoke against slavery.
A semi-colon separates two independent clauses. No punctuation between "individualism" and "and" is necessary.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
I talked to Jenny this morning; who said that it was too cold to go swimming.
A comma should separate the two clauses of the sentence; the second clause is a dependent clause, and cannot stand alone as its own sentence.
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In today's society, (1) they have a popular TV series that (2) follows the life of 4-5 (3) young teenage girls who are trying to raise their child while being a teenager at the same time (4). The television series shows hardships, but they (5) focus more on the relationships of these girls rather than how much their baby’s diaper is changed or how often the baby spits up all over them. They always have a happy ending, giving teen girls these days hope that it (6) will do the same for them. The show focuses of (7) a different group of teen moms each season, but all being held back by having a child at a young age. Some are alone, some have significant others, and some even decided to give (8) their baby up for adoption, but not one of their lives are perfect nor easy (9). Some teenagers enjoy watching the show just to watch the babies grow, but others watch it because they think it’s popular, they think it will make them popular as well (10). The show is based upon these girl’s (11) lives and it doesn’t always seem to have to do with their children it has to do with them being teenagers (12).
Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."
To avoid a comma splice or run-on sentence, the only option here for separating the two sentences is to join them with a semicolon since they are directly related to each other.
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It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realizes (1) he did not (2) much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their (3) grades, (4) none of them was able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, (4) and, apart from a few, (4) they didn't know (5) how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course, (6) they might get offended, and if there was one thing that Mr. Man learned (7) about teaching, its (8) that in order to keep one's job, you couldn't offend your students (9). As yet another student whined about not understanding Mr. Mans (10) perfectly clearly written assignments, he sighed inwardly (and possibly outwardly as well), (11) and waited for the last (12) one to finish so that he could get to the next one, finish his conferences, and get back to daydreaming about being anything but a teacher.
Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake(s). If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."
The first two commas should be changed to semicolons in order not to conflict with the third comma, which is setting off information within its own clause.
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It was about halfway through his last set of conferences that Mr. Man realizes (1) he did not (2) much like his current set of students. Unlike his students in the past, none of them seemed to care about their (3) grades, (4) none of them was able to tell a dangling modifier from a participle, (4) and, apart from a few, (4) they didn't know (5) how to start a paper. He would never tell any of them this, of course, (6) they might get offended, and if there was one thing that Mr. Man learned (7) about teaching, its (8) that in order to keep one's job, you couldn't offend your students (9). As yet another student whined about not understanding Mr. Mans (10) perfectly clearly written assignments, he sighed inwardly (and possibly outwardly as well), (11) and waited for the last (12) one to finish so that he could get to the next one, finish his conferences, and get back to daydreaming about being anything but a teacher.
Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."
Since the two sentences are so closely related to each other in theme, the semicolon is most appropriate here.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices repeats the underlined portion as it is written.
There are three colors in a typical traffic light; red, green, and yellow.
A semicolon should only ever be used to seperate two parts of a sentence that could each stand as independent clauses on their own. If you can't take the two parts of the sentence on either side of the semicolon and make them into their own sentences, then you should use something different. In this case, "red, green, and yellow" does not make sense as a sentence on its own, so a semicolon should not be used. A colon makes more sense because a list is being introduced, and colons are often used to introduce lists.
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