Study Questions: Chapter 17
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Multiple Choice Questions
1. Formal and informal writing are examples of ________, which is related to word choices and level of language.
a) style
b) tone
c) diction
d) syntax
C (pp. 448–9)
2. Periodic sentences begin with ________.
a) an independent clause
b) modifiers
c) nouns
d) All the above
B (p. 465)
3. Faulty ________ occurs when a verb cannot be logically connected to its subject.
a) logic
b) predication
c) construction
d) subject
B (p. 451)
4. When writers used two words when one is enough, editors offer this formula: ________.
a) two – one = one
b) two + two = negative
c) one + one = one-half
d) two + two = four – three
C (p. 439)
5. A(n) ________ is a word or phrase that adds emphasis to the word or expression it modifies but has little meaning on its own.
a) intensive
b) noun
c) passive construction
d) None of the above
A (p. 442)
6. Phony phrases are ________ prepositional phrases.
a) redundant
b) active
c) concise
d) passive
A (p. 441)
7. Replacing die with pass away is an example of ________.
a) the passive voice
b) an idiom
c) a euphemism
d) None of the above
C (p. 446)
8. ________ is an example of a redundant verb–adverb pairing.
a) Strictly forbid
b) Anxiously fear
c) Examine closely
d) None of the above
D (p. 440)
9. ________ are often viewed as vain attempts to make writing flashy or more interesting.
a) Clichés
b) Allusions
c) Symbols
d) Italics
A (p. 455)
10. His bark is worse than his bite. This sentence is an example of a(n) ________.
a) idiom
b) diction
c) colloquialism
d) sentence fragment
A (p. 449)
Short Answer Questions
1. ________ writing often employs contractions, colloquialisms, and idioms.
Informal (pp. 448–9)
2. ________ refers to the final check of the formatted material.
Proofreading (p. 466)
3. ________ Syndrome refers to a writer’s tendency to automatically use two words when one is enough.
Noah’s Arc (p. 439)
4. ________ constructions are inappropriately used passive constructions that weaken a sentence.
Black Hole (p. 443)
5. A ____________ is a word or phrase substituted for the actual name of something in order to make it more acceptable.
euphemism (p. 446)
6. ________ is the method by which you start at the end and read to the beginning word by word or sentence by sentence.
Reading backward (p. 467)
7. Faulty ________ occurs if there is no logical connection between a verb and its subject.
predication (p. 451)
8. In academic writing, ________ must be objective; that is, a writer should not write sarcastically or ironically.
tone (p. 452)
9. Cumulative sentences begin with a(n) ________ clause.
independent (p. 465)
10. When a reader reads a work from the beginning and breaks every word into syllables, he or she is reading ________.
syllabically (p. 467)