Question

standardized test practice
read each passage and decide which type of error, if any, appears in each underlined section. mark the letter for your answer on your paper.
ms. julie burke
koch laboratories
1800 abrams parkway
dallas, tx 75214
dear ms. burke
i am the president of the science club at roosevelt high school. i read an article recently about your company in the newspaper. the tests that you are conducting sound very interesting to me. would you be willing to speak to our club about the work that you do? it would be very informative to hear about your studies, your background, and your thoughts about the profession.
the science club meets every tuesday at 4 p.m., but we would be willing to work around your schedule if necessary. you can contact our faculty advisor, dr. harold ripley, at the school’s main office. thank you in advance for your time. i hope we will have the opportunity to meet soon.
sincerely,
zachary dunham
1 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
2 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
j no error
3 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
4 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
j no error
5 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
crocodiles first emerged in the pre-historical record 200 million years ago. more than eighty million years later, there were crocodiles forty feet long that now have preyed on dinosaurs. today’s crocodiles can be six, head crocodiles are as short as five feet long, while saltwater crocodiles from southeastern asia, can grow up to twenty feet in length, and weigh one ton or more.
the female crocodile buries her eggs in a bed of vegetation near the water. heat from the sun and the rotting plants incubate the eggs, which hatch about three months later. when the baby crocodiles hatch, they are still buried. they must call to their mother to dig them out. she then brings them down to the water.
1 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
2 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
j no error
3 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
4 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
j no error
5 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
6 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
j no error

Explanation:

Each error is identified by checking spelling, capitalization, and punctuation rules for formal writing:

1. (1): "president" and "science Club" – "science" should not be capitalized here as it's a common adjective, so it's a capitalization error.
2. (2): "The teen that you are conducting" – no spelling, capitalization, or punctuation error.
3. (3): "very informative to hear" – no spelling, capitalization, or punctuation error.
4. (4): "The Science Club" – this is a specific club name, so capitalization is correct; no error.
5. (5): "dr. Harold Ripley" – "dr." is an abbreviation for Doctor and should be capitalized as "Dr." when used before a name, so it's a capitalization error.
6. (6): "more than eighty million years later, there" – no spelling, capitalization, or punctuation error.
7. (7): "Today, crocodiles race in size" – "race" is a spelling error; the correct word is "range".
8. (8): "saltwater crocodiles from southeastern asia" – "asia" is a proper noun and should be capitalized as "Asia", so it's a capitalization error.
9. (9): "The female crocodile buries her eggs in a bed of vegetation near the water" – no spelling, capitalization, or punctuation error.
10. (10): "rotting plants incubate the eggs, which hatch about three months later. When the baby crocodiles hatch they are still buried" – there should be a comma after "hatch" (When the baby crocodiles hatch, they are still buried), so it's a punctuation error.

Answer:

Left Passage:

1. B Capitalization error
2. J No error
3. D No error
4. J No error
5. B Capitalization error

Right Passage:

1. D No error
2. F Spelling error
3. B Capitalization error
4. J No error
5. D No error
6. H Punctuation error