Final Review

 Consists of 60 Multiple Choice Questions  Skills include:  Reading Comprehension  Commonly Confused Words  Subject-Verb Agreement  Comma Rules  Comparative/Superlative Adjectives

 Begin with what you know best  Take a few minutes to look over the test and find the skills you know best  Complete those parts FIRST  Then move on to skills you have most trouble with ▪ If you run out of time, you don’t end up guessing on questions you absolutely know the answer to instead of guessing on questions you may not be best at

If you find yourself running out of time – Pick ONE LETTER and answer every blank question with that one letter Statistically, you have less chance of getting it right if you keep switching For instance: You pick C and answer every blank question with C – at some point, the answer HAS to be C. Then go back and try to answer the questions correctly one by one until time runs out.

 If you have Test Anxiety, use the first few minutes when you walk in to write  Studies have shown that writing about your fear/anxiety with tests before you take a test helps calm you down and erases some of the anxiety.  Write for a minute or two, crumple it up, then throw it away (like your throwing away your fear)

Don’t get hung up on one question – If you find yourself struggling, answer as best you can – Then put a little mark next to the question on your Scantron to remind you to come back to that question if time remains at the end. Finally, double-check your answers before you turn in your answer sheet! – Even if you take a minute or two break after finished before you double-check to relax—it never hurts to double-check!

 Commonly Confused Words are  Words used often in spoke and written language  That sound similar and are spelled similarly, but have different definitions. ▪ Sometimes, their definitions can even be similar: ▪ effect/affect ▪ capitol/capital ▪ Their/there/they’re

 The best way to do well on this portion of the test is to read each sentence CAREFULLY  Begin by breaking down the sentence ▪ What is the main idea of the sentence? ▪ How does the blank space in the sentence leave the sentence unfulfilled? ▪ How does each option given to me helps the sentence make sense? ▪ How does one word suit the sentence better than the rest?

Commonly Confused Words Quiz

 When a subject and a verb agree within the sentence  Each sentence has a subject  Each sentence has a verb  If subject is singular, verb is singular  If subject is plural, verb is plural

Singular subjectSingular verb (NO “S”)(YES “S”) The man buys Plural Subject Plural Verb (YES “S”)(NO “S”) The men buy

 Conjunction “AND”  Always receives a PLURAL (NO “S”) verb  The man and his son play baseball together.  Conjunction “or”  Depends on whichever word is closest to the verb  The father or his sons clean the garage.  The sons or their father cleans the garage.

Subject-Verb Agreement 1 Subject-Verb Agreement 2

 These questions will test your ability to read a selection of text/passage and answer questions about it’s content and intent.  Passages may range from 2 paragraphs to a page and consists of around 5 to 9 questions following each passage.  Questions may be based on what is actually stated in the text, the order in which things are stated, the meaning behind the text, or the author’s purpose in writing the text.

Reading Comprehension Number 1 Reading Comprehension Number 2 Reading Comprehension Number 3

 1a. Introductory clauses, phrases, and words: Only use a comma when necessary such as: after an introductory clause, after a long introductory prepositional phrase or more than one introductory prepositional phrase, after introductory verbal phrases, some appositive phrases, or absolute phrases, if there is a distinct pause, or to avoid confusion.  After a long night out, I was excited to be able to sleep in.  1b. Do not use a comma if it is a brief prepositional phrase (fewer than five words?), after a restrictive (or essential) appositive phrase, or to separate the subject from the predicate.  The author O. Henry wrote “One Thousand Dollars.”

 2a. Information in the middle of a sentence: Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.  The book, which was a terrific read, took only a week to finish  2b. Do not use comma if it is essential for the sentence to still make sense.  The book that I borrowed from you is excellent.  3. Two or more coordinate adjectives: Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.  He was a difficult, stubborn child.

 3b. Two or more contrasted adjectives: Use a comma to separate the contrasting adjectives near the end of a sentence or for a distinct pause.  You're one of the senator's close friends, aren't you?  3c. Do not use comma if the adjectives are not coordinate/“similar”.  She often wore a gray wool sweater  4. List: When there is a list of three words, phrases, or clauses all related to each other, set them off with commas.  The dinner Mom made consisted of steak, potatoes, and a salad.  5. Avoid Confusion: Use a comma to separate names, places, etc. in order to avoid confusion.

Comma Rules 1 Comma Rules 2

COMPARATIVE  To compare two like nouns  Our dog was faster than our cat. SUPERLATIVE  To show the highest degree  Our dog was the fastest on the block.

 Most change easily  Fast = Faster/Fastest  Ends with y, drop it and add an I  Easy = Easier/Easiest  Short vowel sound, add a consonant  Big = Bigger/Biggest  More than 3 syllables, add more/most  Beautiful = more beautiful/most beautiful

 Comparative/Superlative 1 Comparative/Superlative 1