Free Practice Quiz Question List

2 Writing Conventions Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 2 Writing Conventions, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

A writer capitalizes the word “city” in a sentence only because the writer considers the word important. Is that capitalization justified by standard conventions?

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A team has reduced the number of questions it needs to answer. Which sentence uses “fewer” or “less” appropriately?

A
The team has less questions to answer.
B
The team has fewer questions to answer.
C
The team has fewer time to answer.
D
The team has less question to answer.

Written response

1 point

Which contraction completes the sentence with the meaning “They are ready to leave”: “_____ ready to leave”?

Fill in the blank

1 point

Complete the sentence with the verb that agrees with its subject: “The list of supplies on the desk.”

Choose one

1 point

The sentence “When Maya spoke to Lena, she was worried” has an unclear pronoun reference. Which revision clearly states that Maya was worried?

A
When Maya spoke to Lena, she was worried.
B
Maya spoke to Lena when she was worried.
C
Maya was worried when she spoke to Lena.
D
When Maya spoke to Lena, they were worried.

Written response

1 point

What must come before a colon that introduces a list or explanation?

Fill in the blank

1 point

Replace the comma with a punctuation mark that can separate the two complete sentences: “The meeting begins at noon We should arrive early.”

True or false

1 point

In standard U.S. usage, commas and periods generally go inside the closing quotation mark.

A
True
B
False

Choose all

1 point

Select all sentences that use apostrophes correctly.

A
The teacher’s desk is near the window.
B
We’re ready to begin.
C
Three book’s are on the table.
D
The student’s brought their notebooks.

Choose all

1 point

Select all practices that follow the guidance for handling conventions that may vary by audience, region, or style guide.

A
Follow any requirements given for the task.
B
When no special rules are given, use standard conventions for your variety of English.
C
Change conventions from sentence to sentence to suit personal preference.
D
Assume one style guide applies to every audience and task.

Open ended

1 point

You have finished a draft and want to improve both its organization and its correctness. Describe an effective sequence of editing passes and one final reading strategy that can help catch problems.

Choose one

1 point

A spell-checker does not flag “The student read the storey,” but the writer means a narrative. What is the best correction?

A
Leave “storey” because a spell-checker accepted it.
B
Change “storey” to “story” because the sentence refers to a narrative.
C
Change “read” to “red” because it sounds the same.
D
Replace the whole sentence without checking the intended meaning.

Choose one

1 point

A report’s headings use a capitalization style that differs from another publication’s style. What should the writer do?

A
Capitalize every word in every heading.
B
Never capitalize any word in a title.
C
Choose a consistent style for headings and titles.
D
Capitalize general nouns differently in every heading.

True or false

1 point

When you are uncertain about a word’s spelling or usage, consulting a reliable dictionary is preferable to guessing.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Choose the correctly spelled word to complete the sentence: “___ ready to leave.”

A
Their ready to leave.
B
They’re ready to leave.
C
There ready to leave.
D
Theyre ready to leave.

Choose one

1 point

Which sentence correctly capitalizes the specific place and month while leaving the general noun lowercase?

A
We visited the city in october.
B
We visited Lake Erie in October.
C
We visited lake erie in October.
D
We visited Lake Erie in october.

Written response

1 point

In the sentence “Before class, we reviewed the notes,” which punctuation mark separates the introductory material from the main clause?

Choose one

1 point

Choose the sentence that uses the usual word for a countable number of questions and has subject–verb agreement.

A
There was less questions on the second page.
B
There were less questions on the second page.
C
There were fewer questions on the second page.
D
There was fewer questions on the second page.

Choose one

1 point

Maya is the person who was worried. Which revision makes that meaning clear and avoids an unclear pronoun reference?

A
When Maya spoke to Lena, she was worried.
B
When Maya spoke to Lena, Lena was worried.
C
Maya was worried when she spoke to Lena.
D
She was worried when Maya spoke to Lena.

Written response

1 point

In “The list of supplies are on the desk,” which noun is the grammatical subject whose number determines whether the verb should be singular or plural?