PRAXIS-WRITING-SECTION Online Practice Questions and Answers

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The problem with this sentence is that it uses the passive voice and a mistaken pronoun to refer to people (i.e. that). Choice "Alumni who have worked hard since graduation and now consider themselves successful usually look forward to high school reunions" and choice "Alumnus that have worked hard since graduation and now consider themselves successful usually look forward to high school reunions" change the passive voice to the active voice by writing that the alumni commit the action, rather than writing that the action was committed by the alumni. Also, choice "Alumnus that have worked hard since graduation and now consider themselves successful usually look forward to high school reunions" mistakenly changes "alumni" (plural) to "alumnus" (singular). Choice "Alumni who have worked hard since graduation and now consider themselves successful usually look forward to high school reunions" is the best choice because "alumni" is plural as it should be based on the logic of the sentence (not just one person looks forward to high school reunions) and the active voice is properly implemented.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: Although the sentence as it is written is not technically incorrect, version "those who built the business from the ground up" is easier to read because it puts the verb clause who built the business in front of the relative clause from the ground up.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: This sentence is correct as written.

Correct Answer: E

Explanation: The contraction for you are is inappropriate. Also, the two clauses express slightly different ideas and should therefore be separated by a semi-colon.

Correct Answer: E

Explanation: The sentence is correct as written.

Correct Answer: E

Explanation: This sentence is correct as written.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The correct answer is "then" because the word "then" has been used instead of "than." Though many people use these words interchangeably, the two words have different functions and cannot be used in place of each other in grammatically correct writing. "Then" is a measure of time; it tells the reader when something will occur. For example, I'll eat lunch and then go to the store. "Than" is used to compare people or things. For example, Mary likes Pedro more than Edward. To correct the sentence above, change "then" to "than" to show the comparison between walking to work and riding the bus.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: The correct answer is "who" because "who" should only be used to describe people, not things. Since a clock is clearly a thing, this sentence would be correct if "who" were changed to "that." Note that "who" can sometimes be used to refer to personified things to emphasize their human qualities. For example, that cartoon features a clock named Frank who sings, dances, and talks to the people in the village. In this case, the writer uses "who" to convey the clock's similarity to a person. By comparison, the clock in Titus' clock shop is just a clock.

Correct Answer: D

The correct answer is "quick" because "quick" is an adjective and should not be used to describe a verb. In this sentence "quick" is the manner in which the person should get to the store. To correct the problem, simply substitute the adjective "quick" with the adverb "quickly."

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The correct answer is "isn't" because the verb "isn't" doesn't agree with the subject "scissors." It's pretty obvious that "scissors isn't" doesn't sound correct when spoken aloud; you would naturally say "scissors aren't" if you were describing the condition of Adam's scissors. However, you've undoubtedly learned from other examples that you can't always trust what sounds right to your ear. This sentence is especially tricky because "scissors" is singular noun, so you might be tempted to think that "isn't" is the correct verb. However, there are a few words, like "scissors" and "pants," that act like plural nouns even when there is just one of them. Like all grammar rule exceptions, these singular nouns that behave like plural nouns have to be memorized.