Chapter 3: Grammar, Style and Language Basics

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. When writers make errors, ______.

A. they make it harder for readers to trust them

B. they don’t really do any damage to their reputations

C. it has no effect on their publications

D. readers rarely notice

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Enhanced Trust Between Writer and Reader

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The more you can do to make your material clear and concise, ______.

A. the better chance readers will become bored

B. the better chance you have of drawing readers and retaining them

C. the more likely you will lose audience because they are not challenged

D. the more likely your material will be ignored

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Improved Understanding

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Random capitalization, misspelled words, or awkward construction will ______.

A. not be noticed by readers

B. only be noticed by other writers

C. bother readers even if they can’t articulate it

D. have no effect on your writing

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consistency Helps Readers

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. A simple sentence builds from a ______.

A. verb–noun structure

B. noun–noun–verb structure

C. direct object–noun–verb structure

D. noun–verb structure

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Noun-Verb-Object: The Holy Trinity of Writing

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Students use diagram sentences ______.

A. to help them see how each sentence was constructed

B. to help plot out the story

C. to help visualize the story

D. for fun

Learning Objective: 3-2: Use a simple sentence diagram to assess the structure and value of a sentence.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Simple Sentence Diagram

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Writers often find the need to use adjectives and adverbs when ______.

A. they choose concrete nouns and vigorous verbs in their sentences

B. they fail to choose concrete nouns and vigorous verbs in their sentences

C. they have something important to write

D. they have something unimportant to write

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Pick Concrete Nouns and Vigorous Verbs

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. ______ puts the object in the sentence first.

A. Redundancy

B. Wordiness

C. Active-voice construction

D. Passive-voice construction

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Active Voice: Let Your Verb Do the Work

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. ______ will control the pace and flow of your writing.

A. Sentence length

B. Sentence width

C. Paragraph length

D. Word length

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sentence Length

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Commas work like ______.

A. stop signs

B. yield signs

C. detour signs

D. construction signs

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sentence Length

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. ______ sentences pack a punch.

A. Extra long

B. Long

C. Short

D. Medium

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Short Sentences Pack a Punch

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. ______ sentences usually contain one or two key points and help move from the sentence above to the sentence below with intrinsic transitions.

A. Short

B. Long

C. Extra long

D. Medium

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Medium Sentences Set the Pace

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. ______ sentences can create a sense of speed or a feeling of unyielding chaos.

A. Long

B. Short

C. Medium

D. Extra long

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Long Sentences Roll On and On

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Clarity is ______.

A. not as important as grammar

B. sometimes more important than grammar

C. optional

D. elusive

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Long Sentences Roll On and On

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Reading your work aloud ______.

A. is not important

B. has value only for broadcast writers

C. has value for all writers

D. is a waste of time

Learning Objective: 3-6: Identify the value of reading copy aloud to enhance clarity.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Read Your Work Aloud

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. The AP Stylebook is ______.

A. short for “All-Purpose” Stylebook

B. no longer necessary

C. used only in book publishing

D. used as the primary source for standardization

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Five-Minute AP Stylebook

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Ten percent of the rules in the AP Stylebook ______.

A. cover 90% of style questions

B. are never used in contemporary writing

C. have to deal with numbers

D. have to deal with titles

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Five-Minute AP Stylebook

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Write quickly but edit ______.

A. slowly

B. lowly

C. when you can

D. in half the time

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Write Quickly but Edit Slowly

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. A cliché is a ______.

A. handy shortcut

B. worn-out phrase

C. funny way to end a story

D. good way to start a story

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Kill Clichés

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. In order to eliminate words that shouldn’t be there, ______.

A. write faster

B. try to become more general

C. try to become more specific

D. write slowly

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Return Your Empties

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. ______ occur when people don’t know how a word works or what it means and thus misapply modifiers to it.

A. Split infinitives

B. Run-ons

C. Clichés

D. Redundancies

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Remove Redundancies

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. “Completely destroy” is an example of ______.

A. a redundancy

B. a split infinitive

C. a run-on

D. empty words

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Remove Redundancies

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. When you rely heavily on prepositions and prepositional phrases, your writing will ______.

A. be brief and have broken fragments

B. take on a song-like quality

C. be clear and concise

D. be strong and contain long sentences

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reduce the Use of Prepositions

Difficulty Level: Easy

23 The apostrophe has the ability to add ownership and create ______.

A. contraptions

B. reductions

C. contractions

D. reactions

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Possessives Versus Plurals (and Other Similar Snafus)

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Each time you use a pronoun, find the ______ and make sure they match.

A. antennae

B. decedent

C. precedent

D. antecedent

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Examine Antecedents and Pronouns

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Writing clean copy really doesn’t matter to media writers.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do Grammar and Style Matter?

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. When writers make errors, they make it harder on themselves to maintain trust.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Enhanced Trust Between Writer and Reader

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. The more you can do to make your material clear and concise, the better chance you have of drawing readers and retaining them.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Improved Understanding

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Random capitalization, misspelled words, or awkward construction rarely bothers readers.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Consistency Helps Readers

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Master writers have more options to fix grammatical problems properly because they know how to use the language in ways novices don’t.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: More Tools in the Toolbox

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. You should write in the fanciest way possible to keep your readers entertained.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Use a simple sentence diagram to assess the structure and value of a sentence.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sentence Structure

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. “The attack was the worst shooting on a college campus in recent memory” is an example of an author using a qualifier to couch his facts.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and waste space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Remove Qualifiers That Couch Your Facts

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. You don’t need to make the best possible choices for the noun and verb of each sentence.

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Pick Concrete Nouns and Vigorous Verbs

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Passive voice construction places the object first.

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Active Voice: Let Your Verb Do the Work

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Active voice writing is beneficial because it is longer.

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Active Voice: Let Your Verb Do the Work

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Problems ranging from too many prepositions to the overuse of personal pronouns will emerge when you read your work aloud.

Learning Objective: 3-6: Identify the value of reading copy aloud to enhance clarity.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Read Your Work Aloud

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Long sentences usually contain 17-23 words with a solid and inherent pace to them.

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Medium Sentences Set the Pace

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. You can fix many writing problems if you know how to use a simple diagram.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Use a simple sentence diagram to assess the structure and value of a sentence.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Simple Sentence Diagram

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. The length of each sentence will control the pace and flow of your writing.

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sentence Length

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. A short sentence can take a long time to make a point.

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Short Sentences Pack a Punch

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. What are some ways to keep your writing tight and right?

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and wasted space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How to Keep Writing Tight and Right

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What is the value of short, medium, and long sentences?

Learning Objective: 3-4: Understand the value and effect of sentence length in storytelling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sentence Length

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Why is grammar and style important?

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do Grammar and Style Matter?

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What is the AP Stylebook?

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Five-Minute AP Stylebook

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Why is writing in the active voice beneficial?

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Active Voice: Let Your Verb Do the Work

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Why do grammar and style matter?

Learning Objective: 3-1: Understand the value of grammar, style and other language basics as they relate to media writing.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do Grammar and Style Matter?

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. How can you write sentences clearly and plainly?

Learning Objective: 3-3: Construct sentences with concrete nouns and vigorous verbs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sentence Structure

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. How can you keep your writing tight and right?

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and wasted space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How to Keep Writing Tight and Right

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Describe how to edit slowly.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Evaluate your own work to eliminate unneeded words and phrases that damage copy and wasted space.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Write Quickly but Edit Slowly

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. What is the AP Stylebook and some basic rules?

Learning Objective: 3-5: Distinguish between cases where grammar rules add value and where writers should bend the rules.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Five-Minute AP Stylebook

Difficulty Level: Medium