Final Exam Revising and Editing Samples
DIRECTIONS: Read this passage and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Video games have changed a lot in the last 20 years. (2) The arcade was once the only place kids could play
games with advanced graphics. (3) An arcade is a building containing video-game machines. (4) Later, Atari makes it
possible for kids to play some arcade games at home. (5) Because Atari was one of the original home gaming systems.
(6) The Internet allows kid’s to play against opponents all over the world.
1.
What is the most effective way to revise sentence 1 using a simile?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Video games, along with other electronic devices, have changed a lot in the last 20 years.
As any kid will tell you, video games have changed a lot in the last 20 years.
The difference between video games today and those from 20 years ago is like night and day.
As the times have changed, so have video games and the people who play them.
2.
What is the most effective way to combine sentences 2 and 3 using an appositive phrase?
A. An arcade, which is a building that contains video-game machines, was once the only place where kids could
play games, with advanced graphics.
B. Kids, interested in games with advanced graphics, had to go to the arcade, which housed video-game machines.
C. And arcade is a building containing video-game machines and is where kids went to play games with advanced
graphics.
D. An arcade, a building containing video-game machines, was once the only place kids could play games with
advanced graphics.
3.
What change, if any, should be made in sentence 4?
A. Change makes to made
B. Change possible to impossible
C. Change to play to playing
D. Make no change
4.
What change, if any should be made in sentence 5?
A. Insert a comma after Because
B. Delete Because
C. Change was to were
D. Make no change
5.
What change, if any, should be made in sentence 6?
A. Delete the apostrophe in kid’s
B. Insert a comma after opponents
C. Change opponents to opponent’s
D. Make no change
6.
What transition could be added to the beginning of sentence 6?
A. As a result,
B. Meanwhile,
C. Now,
D. However,
Final Exam Revising and Editing Samples
DIRECTIONS: Read this passage and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Medieval nobles were much more powerful then peasants under the feudal system. (2) Medieval nobles
and peasants endured similarly harsh living conditions. (3) Medieval castles were built for defense, nor comfort.
(4) So, though a lord’s castle might be large, it was rarely inviting. (5) It was build of thick stone and had few
windows. (6) It had damp, dark, and cold rooms. (7) It had bedrooms with lice-infested mattresses.
1.
What change, if any, should be made in sentence 1?
A. Insert a comma after peasants
B. Change then to than
C. Change much more powerful to most powerful
D. Make no change
2.
Which transitional word or phrase should be added to the beginning of sentence 2?
A. After all,
B. Likewise,
C. Nevertheless,
D. Thus,
3.
What change, if any, should be made in sentence 3?
A. Change built to build
B. Change nor to not
C. Change comfort to comfortable
D. make no change
4.
What is the most effective sentence to add after sentence 4?
A. Certainly it was nothing like a fairy-tale castle.
B. In other words, castles were unbelievably luxurious.
C. The era of castle building ended with the advent of the cannon.
D. Who would have wanted to visit?
5.
What is the most effective way to revise sentence 5 for variety?
A. The castle, built of thick stone and having few windows.
B. The castle was built of think stone, and the castle had few windows.
C. Built of thick stone was the castle, and with few windows.
D. Built of thick stone, it had few windows.
6.
What change, if any, should be made to vary sentences 6 and 7?
A. Damp, dark, and cold rooms it had. In the bedrooms, mattresses were lice infested.
B. Rooms were damp, dark, and cold. Lice infested the mattresses in the bedrooms.
C. It had damp, dark, and cold rooms, yet it had bedrooms with lice-infested mattresses.
D. Make no change.
Final Exam Revising and Editing Samples
DIRECTIONS: Read this passage and answer the questions that follow by choosing the best revision for the
underlined portions of the paragraph. The questions will require you to make decisions regarding the revision of the
reading selection. Some revisions are not actual mistakes, but will improve the CLARITY of the writing.
When you see a marathon runner stumble across the finish line, exhausted after a journey that would
cause the average person to keel over dead, do you (1)“say Meh. Anyone can do that?” Maybe you
(2)wouldn’t. But, many people would assert that yes, anyone can do it, and, as a matter of fact, they are made
for it.
1.
A. NO CHANGE
B. say “Meh”: anyone can do that?
C. say “Meh anyone can do that”.
D. say, “Meh. Anyone can do that”?
2.
A. NO CHANGE
B. wouldn’t, but many
C. would not; therefore,
D. wouldn’t, probably many
We don’t have sharp claws or long teeth to catch food or defend ourselves from predators. Sure, we have the
(4) most biggest brains, but our average eyesight and hearing are still likely to get us into situations in which those mammals
having claws, teeth, and an abundance of muscle make short work of us. (5)Their’s really only one thing that human beings
can do better (6) then the wild mammals: run. And not fast, either—certainly any bear or leopard will catch you before you
even turn around; though animals will outrun humans in a sprint, however, they tire very quickly, and that’s when humans
gain the advantage. It’s the long run at which we excel, mainly because we are built for it.
3.
Which of the following sentences would be the most appropriate introductory sentence for paragraph 2?
A. No one can question the ability of long distance runners in comparison to most predators.
B. In comparison to the average mammal, a person’s physical ability may not seem especially impressive.
C. In comparison among mammals, people are not especially impressive.
D. Modern footwear, some runners attest, is conducive to foot injury over long distances.
4.
A. NO CHANGE
B. bigger
C. most bigger
D. biggest
5.
A. NO CHANGE
B. They’re is
C. Theres’
D. There’s
6.
A. NO CHANGE
B. that
C. than
D. as