44 Editing Tests

This chapter will give you practice in editing, or revising, to correct sentence-skills
mistakes.

KEY TERMS

editing: revising to correct sentence-skills mistakes.

proofreading: carefully examining written text to correct typographical mistakes and

other related errors.

proofreading symbols: shorthand notations intended to call attention to

typographical mistakes and other related errors.

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The twelve editing tests in this chapter will give you practice in revising to correct
sentence-skills mistakes. Remember that if you don’t edit carefully, you run the risk of
sabotaging much of the work you have put into a paper. If readers see too many surface flaws,
they may assume that you don’t place much value on what you have to say, and they may not
give your ideas a fair hearing. Revising to eliminate sentence-skills errors is a basic part of
clear, effective writing.

In five of the tests, the spots where errors occur have been underlined; your job is to
identify and correct each error. In the rest of the tests, you must locate as well as identify and
correct the errors.

EDITING HINTS

1. Have at hand two essential tools: a good dictionary and a sentence-skills handbook
(you can use Chapter 5 and Part Four of this book).

2. Use a sheet of paper to cover your essay so that you will expose only one sentence at a
time. Look for errors in grammar, spelling, and typing. It may help to read each sentence
 out loud. If a sentence does not read clearly and smoothly, chances are something is
wrong.

3. Pay special attention to the kinds of errors you tend to make. For example, if you tend
to write run-ons or fragments, be especially on the lookout for those errors.

4. Proofreading symbols that may be of particular help are the following:

Editing Test 1

In the spaces at the bottom, write the numbers of the ten word groups that contain
fragments or run-ons. Then, in the spaces between the lines and in the margin, edit by making
the necessary corrections.

1
I remember my childhood as being generally happy and can recall experiencing some of
the most carefree times of my life. 2But I can also remember, even more vividly, other
moments. 3When I was deeply frightened. 4As a child, I was truly terrified of the dark and of
getting lost. 5These fears were very real, they caused me some extremely uncomfortable
moments.
6 Maybeit was the strange way things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night.
7 That scared me so much. 8 The streetlight outside or passing car lights would create shadows

in my room. 9As a result, clothes hung over a chair taking on the shape of an unknown beast.
10
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw curtains move when there was no breeze. 11A tiny
creak in the floor would sound a hundred times louder than in daylight, my imagination would
take over. 12Creating burglars and monsters on the prowl. 13Because darkness always made me
feel so helpless. 14I would lie there motionless so that the “enemy” would not discover me.
15 Another
of my childhood fears was that I would get lost. 16Especially on the way home
from school. 17After school, all the buses lined up along the curb, I was terrified that I’d get
on the wrong one. 18Scanning the bus windows for the faces of my friends. 19I’d also look to
make sure that the bus driver was the same one I had in the morning.

1. ______
 2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

5. ______

6. ______

7. ______

8. ______

9. ______

10. ______

Editing Test 2

Identify the five mistakes in essay format in the student paper that follows. From the box
below, choose the letters that describe the five mistakes and write those letters in the spaces
provided. Then correct each mistake.

1. Title should not be underlined.

2. Title should not be set off in quotation marks.

3. There should not be a period at the end of a title.

4. All major words in a title should be capitalized.

5. Title should be a phrase, not a complete sentence.

6. First line of a paper should stand independent of the title.

7. One line should be skipped between title and first line of the paper.

8. First line of a paragraph should be indented.

9. Right-hand margin should not be crowded.

10. Hyphenation should occur only between syllables.

 Editing Test 3

Identify the ten sentence-skills mistakes at the underlined spots in the student paper that
follows. From the box below, choose the letter that describes each mistake and write that letter
in the space provided. (The same kind of mistake may appear more than once.) Then, in the
spaces between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1. fragment

2. run-on

3. inconsistent verb tense

4. dangling modifier

5. missing comma

6. spelling mistake
 Editing Test 4

Identify the ten sentence-skills mistakes at the underlined spots in the student paper that
follows. From the box below, choose the letter that describes each mistake and write that letter
in the space provided. (The same kind of mistake may appear more than once.) Then, in the
spaces between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1. run-on

2. mistake in subject-verb agreement

3. faulty parallelism

4. missing quotation marks

5. wordiness

6. slang

7. missing comma
 Editing Test 5

Identify the ten sentence-skills mistakes at the underlined spots in the student paper that
follows. From the box below, choose the letter that describes each mistake and write that letter
in the space provided. (The same kind of mistake may appear more than once.) Then, in the
spaces between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1. fragment

2. run-on

3. mistake in subject-verb agreement

4. misplaced modifier
 5. dangling modifier

6. missing comma

7. wordiness

8. slang

Editing Test 6

Identify the sentence-skills mistakes at the underlined spots in the paper that follows.
From the box below, choose the letter that describes each mistake and write that letter in the
space provided. (The same kind of mistake may appear more than once.) Then, in the spaces
between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1. fragment
 2. run-on

3. mistake in subject-verb agreement

4. mistake in verb tense

5. mistake with quotation marks

6. mistake in pronoun point of view

7. spelling error

8. missing comma

Editing Test 7

Identify the ten sentence-skills mistakes at the underlined spots in the student paper that
follows. From the box below, choose the letter that describes each mistake and write that letter
in the space provided. (The same kind of mistake may appear more than once.) Then, in the
spaces between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.
 1. fragment

2. run-on

3. mistake in subject-verb agreement

4. missing comma

5. missing capital letter

6. dangling modifier

7. homonym mistake

8. missing apostrophe

9. cliché

Editing Test 8

Locate the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in
the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group in the space
provided. Then, in the space between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.
 1 The greatest of my everyday fears is technology. 2Beginning when I couldn’t master bike
riding and extending to the present day. 3Fear kept me from learning to operate a jigsaw, start
an outboard motor, or even using a simple tape recorder. 4I almost didn’t learn to drive a car.
5 At age sixteen, Dad lifted the hood of our Chevy and said, “All right, you’re going to start

learning to drive. 6Now, this is the distributor. . .” 7When my eyes glazed over, he shouted,
“Well, I’m not going to bother if youre not interested!” 8Fortunately, the friend who later
taught me to drive skipped what goes on under the hood. 9My most recent frustration is the
digital camera, I would love to take professional-quality pictures, but all the buttons and tiny
electronic menus confuse me. 10As a result, my unused camera is hidden away on a shelf in
my closet. 11Just last week, my sister gives me a beautiful digital watch for my birthday. 12I
may have to put it on the shelf with the camera—the alarm keeps going off, and you can’t
figure out how to stop it.

Editing Test 9

Locate the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in
the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group in the space
provided. Then, in the space between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1I was six years old when, one day, my dog was struck by a car while getting ready for
school. 2My mother and I heard the terrifying sound of squealing brake’s. 3In a low voice, she
said, “Oh, my God—Rusty.” 4I remember trailing her out the door and seeing a car filled with
teenagers and a spreading pool of bright blood on our cobblestoned street. 5To me, it seemed
only a matter of seconds until a police car pulled up. 6The officer glanced at the crumpled dog
under the car. 7And drew his gun. 8My mother shouted, “No!” 9She crawled halfway under the
car and took the dog, like a sack of flour, out from under the wheels. 10Her housedress was
splashed with blood, she cradled the limp dog in her arms and ordered the officers to drive her
to the vets office. 11It was only then that she remembered me, I think. 12She patted my head,
was telling me to walk up to school, and reassured me that Rusty would be all right. 13The rest
of the story including Rusty’s slow recovery and few more years of life, are fuzzy and vague
now. 14But the sights and sounds of those few moments are as vivid to me now as they were
twenty-five years ago.

Editing Test 10

Locate the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in
the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group in the space
provided. Then, in the space between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1 Most products have little or nothing to do with sex a person would never know that by
looking at ads’. 2A television ad for a headache remedy, for example shows the product being
useful because it ends a womans throbbing head pain just in time for sex. 3Now she will not
say “Not tonight, honey.” 4Another ad features a detergent that helps a single woman meet a
man in a laundry room. 5When it comes to products that do relate to sex appeal advertisers
often present more obvious sexuality. 6A recent magazine ad for women’s clothing, for
instance, make no reference to the quality of or how comfortable are the company’s clothes.
7 Instead, the ad features a picture of a woman wearing a low-cut sleeveless T-shirt and a very

short skirt. 8Her eyes are partially covered by semi-wild hair. 9And stare seductively at the
reader. 10A recent television ad for perfume goes even further. 11In this ad, a boy not older
than twelve reaches out to a beautiful woman. 12Sexily dressed in a dark room filled with
sensuous music. 13With such ads, it is no wonder that young people seem preoccupied with
sex.
 Editing Test 11

Locate the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in
the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group in the space
provided. Then, in the space between the lines, edit and correct each mistake.

1 Being a waitress is an often underrated job. 2A waitress needs the tact of a diplomat, she
must be as organized as a business executive, and the ability of an acrobat. 3Serving as the link
between customers and kitchen, the most demanding diners must be satisfied, and the often
temperamental kitchen help must be kept tamed. 4Both groups tend to blame the waitress
whenever anything goes wrong. 5Somehow, she is held responsible by the customer for any
delay (even if it’s the kitchens fault), for an overcooked steak, or for an unavailable dessert.
6 While the kitchen automatically blames her for the diners who change their orders or return

those burned steaks. 7In addition she must simultaneously keep straight who ordered what at
each table, who is yelling for the check, and whether the new arrivals want cocktails or not.
8 She must be sure empty tables are cleared, everyone has refills of coffee, and no one is

scowling because a request for more rolls are going unheard. 9Finally, the waitress must travel
a hazardous route between the busy kitchen and the crowded dining room, she has to dodge a
diners leg in the aisle or a swinging kitchen door. 10And you must do this while balancing a
tray heaped with steaming platters. 11The hardest task of the waitress, though, is trying to
maintain a decent imitation of a smile on her face—most of the time.

Editing Test 12

Locate the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in
the box below. As you find each mistake, write the number of the word in the space provided.
Then, in the space between the lines, correct each mistake.
 1 The earliest type of paper appeared about five thousand years ago in Egypt it took its
name from the papyrus plant. 2The fibers of which were used in its manufacture. 3The kind of
paper that you use today probably originated in china in the second century. 4However, some
historians argue that paper have been invented in that country hundreds of years earlier. 5Made
of hemp fiber and tree bark, the Arabs brought this new paper to Europe in the fifteenth
century via spain. 6A country they controlled at the time. 7When printing was invented, the
manufacture of paper increased greatly. 8Today, most paper consist of wood fiber, but they
may also contain cotton and other textiles.