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.
jodie looked carefully across the checkerboard at her opponent. she was playing with her mother. jodie and her mother played checkers every saturday. sometimes jodie won and sometimes her mother won. hoping that she would win this time jodie concentrated very hard. she had worked out a strategy and she was feeling confident.
today, jodie had the red pieces and her mother had the black. her mother hopped over two of jodie’s pieces.
“i might just win this time,” jodie’s mother said.
“don’t be so sure!” jodie said and jumped over four of her mother’s pieces. she had won the game!
“i’ll get you next time!” laughed jodie’s mother. as was their tradition, they went into the kitchen and had some milk and cookies after their game.
1 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
2 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
i 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
i 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
i no error

in the last half of 1998, a number of scientists traveled to lima, india. they set out into the desert with hand - mined copper ore. they wanted to reenact the way people in the region did 6,500 years ago. jim leary, an archaeologist from california, was one of the leaders of the group.
after a ten - day trek across the desert, the team arrived at the site of the ancient village of bhimbetka, whose ruins lie in modern - day israel. they used the term crucible technology to heat the copper ore and reduce it to metal. when they had kept the ore at temperatures of nearly 2000 degrees for a whole hour, they were left with only a few pea - sized lumps of copper. they left with a new appreciation of what hard work the ancient metalworkers had been faced with!
1 a spelling error
b capitalization error
c punctuation error
d no error
2 f spelling error
g capitalization error
h punctuation error
i 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
i 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
i no error

Explanation:

Left Passage (Lodie & Mother)

1. Item 1: "checkerboard" is correctly spelled, capitalization and punctuation are correct.
2. Item 2: "every saturday" needs "Saturday" capitalized (proper noun, day of week).
3. Item 3: No spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors here.
4. Item 4: "red pieces" is correctly written, no errors.
5. Item 5: No spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors here.
6. Item 6: "mothers pieces" needs an apostrophe: "mother's pieces" (possessive form).

Right Passage (Scientists in India)

1. Item 1: "dozens" is correctly spelled, capitalization and punctuation are correct.
2. Item 2: "Tom Levy" is a proper noun, both words need capitalization (only "Tom" is capitalized here).
3. Item 3: "across the desert" is correctly written, no errors.
4. Item 4: "strong fires" is correctly written, no errors.
5. Item 5: "temperatures of more 2000 degrees" has a capitalization error: "2000" should be "2,000" but the key error is not present; no spelling/capitalization/punctuation error fits, so no error.
6. Item 6: "new appreciation of just how" is correctly written, no errors.

Answer:

Left Passage

1. D No error
2. G Capitalization error
3. D No error
4. J No error
5. D No error
6. H Punctuation error

Right Passage

1. D No error
2. G Capitalization error
3. D No error
4. J No error
5. D No error
6. J No error