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 subjectEach sentence has a verb If subject is singular, verb is singular If subject is plural, verb is plural

Singular subject Singular 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