Question

be the editor
below is a rough draft of a section of \the rise of news influencers.\ youll notice that certain parts of the excerpt are underlined and numbered. in the column on the right, youll find choices or alternatives for each underlined part. choose the one that makes the most sense, improves the clarity of ideas, or fixes an error in sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. in cases where you think the original version is best, select
o change.\
for roughly the past century, mainstream media in the u.s. had shaped the news that reaches americans. editors and reporters decided what was worthy of coverage and then presented those stories to their audience. journalists were meant to be impartial observers, reconciling the who, what, when, wear, and why. but many americans have lost faith in that model. according to a 2024 gallup survey, just 31 percent of americans said they trust the media to report the news \fully, accurately, and fairly,\ compared with 69 percent in 1974.
todays news creators, experts say, are drawing audiences by meeting them on the platforms where they already spend time, and taking a more personable approach to sharing the news, whether theyre aggregating articles from mainstream outlets into 60 - second clips or conducting long - form interviews.
\they make you feel like youre having a conversation with somebody,\ says jess rauchberg a professor of communication technologies at seton hall university who studies the influencer industry. \an influencer feels more relatable in the ways they portray themselves and are talking to you.\
news influencers make the news more personable.
news creators can monetize these connections by getting a lot of views on social media platforms, including instagram, tiktok, and youtube, or by selling newsletter subscriptions.

1. a no change

b were
c where
d were

1. the authors editor is considering replacing the underlined transition with a different word. which of the follow could be used instead without changing the meaning of the sentence?

a since
b yet
c and
d because

1. a no change

b there
c their
d theyre

1. a no change

b says jess rauchberg, a professor of
c says jess rauchberg; a professor of
d says jess rauchberg. a professor of

1. the authors editor is considering cutting the underlined detail. should it be kept or deleted?

a deleted because it repeats information
b deleted because it is inaccurate
c kept because it introduces a new idea
d kept because it explains something in the paragraph

Explanation:

1. The verb tense should be present - perfect 'have shaped' as the action started in the past and continues to the present. But among the given options, the original 'had shaped' is incorrect as it implies past - perfect which is not appropriate here. However, if we assume the focus is on the existing options, the context is in past tense and 'were' is the correct form to agree with'mainstream media' (plural in a sense of different media entities).
2. 'But' indicates a contrast. 'Yet' also indicates contrast and can be used interchangeably in this context. 'Since' indicates a cause - effect or time relation, 'And' is for addition, and 'Because' is for causation.
3. 'their' is the correct possessive pronoun to show that the audiences belong to the news creators. 'there' is an adverb of place, 'they're' is a contraction of 'they are' which is not appropriate here.
4. The correct punctuation is a comma after 'Jess Rauchberg' as the appositive 'a professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University' is non - essential information about Jess Rauchberg.
5. The underlined detail "a professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University who studies the influencer industry" provides important context about who Jess Rauchberg is and why her opinion matters, so it should be kept as it explains something in the paragraph.

Answer:

1. b. were
2. b. Yet
3. c. their
4. b. says Jess Rauchberg, a professor of
5. d. kept because it explains something in the paragraph